schmitt elementary school - denver · schmitt elementary school is located in the ruby hill...
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Schmitt Elementary School
Safe Routes to School Walking Audit and Recommendations
Walk Denver Spring 2014
Schmitt Elementary School
1820 South Vallejo Street, Denver, Colorado 80223
This project was supported by Safe Routes to School grant with funds from Colorado Department of Transportation, 2013/14 school year.
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2
Overview of the School and Neighborhood ............................................................................. 2
Walk Audit Results ................................................................................................................ 10
Resources .............................................................................................................................. 16
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Introduction The Safe Routes to School programming grant 2013/04 was managed by Denver Health with funds from the Colorado Department of Transportation. Participating schools were selected based on an evaluation of Denver Public Schools elementary schools developed by Denver Health. The schools were categorized based on the following criteria:
Enrollment and percent of student enrollment living within one mile
Percent of students receiving free/reduced lunch
Number of pedestrians involved in collisions and number of collisions during school hours (7:00AM‐4:30PM) within one mile of the school
The components of the grant included:
Educational programming provided by Bicycle Colorado and Bike Denver
Walk Audits provided by Walk Denver
Community engagement provided by CREA Results
Overview of the School and Neighborhood
2012‐13 School Year Data
Total Students Within 1 mile of school With free/reduced luncI
420 91% 95%
Total traffic accidents While driving to school
4 2
Wellness Team Yes
School hours 8:15 am‐3:05 pm
Schmitt Elementary School is located in the Ruby Hill Neighborhood of southwest Denver. It is a one‐story, blonde brick building. The school occupies two full blocks bounded by West Colorado Avenue on the north, South Tejon on the east, West Jewell on the south, and South Vallejo on the west. The large school site accommodates a playground, play areas, and several urban farming plots. The blocks bounding the school are entirely residential, primarily single‐family detached houses dating to the 1950s. Asbury at Tejon Park is located just south of the school. The E(Urban Edge)‐SU(Single Unit)‐DX‐D zoning reinforces this character. The school boundary is West Florida on the north, South Platte River on the east, West Evans on the south and South Federal/Clay/Canosa/Zuni on the west. See school boundary map below.
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Schmitt Elementary School Playground
The size of the school grounds allows for significant garden space, including “the Kitchen Community” container gardens
The surrounding neighborhood is predominantly residential with narrow attached sidewalks
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) distributed a survey about walking and
biking to 400 parents of children at Schmitt; only 16 (4%) responded. Half of the parents
completed the survey in Spanish, and half in English. Their children represented first, second,
and third grades. Fifty percent of respondents live less than ¼ mile from the school, and an
additional 31% live within a mile. Forty‐four percent of respondents reported that their child
walks to school, an equal number reported that they drive their child to school, and 6% carpool.
Although 94% of respondents believe that walking or biking to school is “very healthy” or
“healthy” for their child, 56% percent indicated they would not feel comfortable allowing their
child walk or bike to school without an adult at any age.
The survey asked parents about issues that affected their decision to allow, or not allow, their
child to walk or bike to/from school. The chart below shows that the most commonly cited
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issues were the amount of traffic along the route (25%), violence or crime (25%), and weather
or climate (25%).
The survey also asked if parents would probably let their child walk or bike to/from school if the
issues identified above were changed or improved. The chart below shows that respondents
were mostly likely to allow their child to walk or bike if violence or crime, weather or climate, or
adults to walk/bike with were changed or improved.
25%
25%
25%
19%
19%
13%
13%
6%
6%
6%
0%
0%
Amount of Traffic Along Route
Weather or climate
Violence or Crime
Safety of Intersections and Crossings
Adults to Bike/Walk With
Speed of Traffic Along Route
Distance
Time
Crossing Guards
Sidewalks or Pathways
Child's Participation in After School…
Convenience of Driving
Issues Affecting Decision to Allow (or Not Allow) Child to Walk or Bike
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0% 5% 10% 15%
Amount of Traffic Along Route
Weather or climate
Violence or Crime
Safety of Intersections andCrossings
Adults to Bike/Walk With
Speed of Traffic Along Route
Distance
Time
Crossing Guards
Sidewalks or Pathways
Child's Participation in AfterSchool Programs
Convenience of Driving
Would you probably let your child walk or bike to/from school if this problem were changed or improved?
Yes
No
Not Sure
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Schmitt Elementary School is located in the Ruby Hill Statistical Neighborhood, which is generally bounded by West Mississippi, the South Platte River, West Jewell, and South Federal Boulevard. Ruby Hill Park occupies the northeast corner of the neighborhood and industrial uses occupy the southeast corner. Aside from commercial and apartment uses along Federal, the remainder of the neighborhood is predominantly residential. As is typical of many Urban Edge Context neighborhoods, Ruby Hill has a grid of streets with the orientation of the blocks switching from north‐south to east‐west at Jewell. The blocks to the south of Jewell are much larger than those to the north. The shift in the grid and block size reduces some street connectivity adjacent to Schmitt Elementary. Ruby Hill is a fairly stable neighborhood with population and school enrollment remaining fairly consistent between 2000 and 2010.
Neighborhood Demographics
Population 9,820
Average household size 2.9
Race/ethnicity African American Latino White
2.4% 66.2% 20.9%
Owner occupancy 58.8%
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Schmitt
Denver Public SchoolsDepartment of Planning and Analysis
Boundaries effective onJuly 1, 2001
Map last updatedApril 18, 2011
Schmitt School Boundary
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Public Amenities
Parks Ruby Hill Park; Asbury at Tejon Park
Recreation Center Athmar Park Recreation Center, 2680 West Mexico
Library Hadley Branch Library, 1899 South Grove St.
Transportation Connections and Conditions (see maps below)
Public transit (RTD) RTD Rte 21‐West Evans/stops at Evans and Tejon
School buses (DPS) One school bus
Major Streets South Zuni and West Jewell
Traffic control Traffic signal at Jewell and Vallejo
Bike routes D‐5 (Zuni from city limits north to Cedar/D‐14)
Sidewalks Attached, typically narrow with rolled curb
Trails Sanderson Gulch Trail
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Walk Audit Results
WalkDenver met with parents at the Principal’s meeting on March 26, 2014. Julia Davenport from Bicycle Colorado and Ryan Sagar and Gosia Kung from WalkDenver made the presentation. About 35 parents plus school staff attended the discussion about getting their kids to school. School staff provided Spanish interpretation. Based on a show of hands, ten of those present indicated that they walk their kids to school. Reasons given for walking included:
No car available
Enjoy walk in nice weather
Quality time with children
Live nearby, though the traffic congestion is concerning Reasons given for not walking included:
Fearful of children walking in traffic
Children go to multiple schools
Don’t have time before other responsibilities
Too far
More convenient to drive In addition, on April 8 WalkDenver conducted an observation of the school drop‐off area during morning arrival. Principal Patty Gonzales also provided her insights about conditions around the school. Key findings include the following:
Sidewalk conditions o Sidewalks throughout the neighborhood are very narrow. Some are cracked and
damaged.
Intersections o Jewell and Vallejo is a high‐traffic intersection o Jewell is unnecessarily wide curb‐to‐curb, creating a longer crossing distance o Crosswalks are incomplete at several intersections near the school
(Colorado/Umatilla, Colorado/Vallejo, and Jewell/Vallejo), and none of them have pedestrian or student crossing signs.
Traffic safety and school zone signage o Drivers don’t obey traffic rules, roll through stop signs, and speed through the
school zone, especially downhill westbound on Jewell. o Numerous accidents in the area are due to sunlight glare on east‐west streets o Street lighting is inadequate o There are no school zone signs on the perimeter of the school grounds o The bus loading zone is larger than needed for one bus o There are two paid crossing guards, and open positions for two more o The school parking lot is available only to staff, which has alleviated some of the
mid‐block crossing
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Drop‐off/pick‐up o Parents stop in the middle of the street, make U‐turns, and use nearby driveways
to drop‐off or turn around o Kids sometime cross in the middle of the block o The staff parking lot is locked during pick‐up and drop‐off times
WalkDenver also conducted a technical audit of the pedestrian environment on April 19, 2014, when several volunteers used the WALKscope pedestrian data collection tool to record information about sidewalk and intersection quality throughout the Ruby Hill neighborhood. All of the data collected, including images and commentary, can be viewed on the interactive map at www.walkscope.org. The map below shows summary data on sidewalk conditions. The vast majority of sidewalks in the neighborhood are attached, meaning there is no buffer between the sidewalk and the street, and less than three feet in width. Obstructions and poor pavement conditions occur sporadically throughout the neighborhood. The second map below shows overall ratings of sidewalk and intersection quality on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high). Most of the neighborhood received low ratings (2’s and 3’s), with the lowest ratings (1’s) along Jewell and Vallejo. To improve pedestrian conditions along these routes, WalkDenver recommends installing features aimed at slowing down traffic and shortening pedestrian crossings such as bulb outs, traffic circles, bike lanes etc. The first priority for these improvements is in the immediate vicinity of the schools. Low‐cost, interim design options can be incorporated using paint, flexible posts, epoxied gravel, interlocking pavers, etc.
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Recommendations Action Type Responsibility Timing
1. Encourage students and parents to walk to and from school
Enroll Schmitt in Fire Up Your Feet Behavior School administration Short‐term
Encourage parents to participate in Way to Go School Pool
Behavior School administration Short‐term
Encourage DPS to adopt a district‐wide SRTS program
Behavior School administration/ DPS
Short‐term
Improve sidewalk snow removal and maintenance during the winter months.
Operational School administration Short‐term
Conduct an audit of the current school zone signage, curb ramps and street lighting; request additional signage’ ramps and lighting where needed to meet standards
Operational School administration/ DPS
Medium‐term
2. Make needed pedestrian improvements
Add school zone signage around perimeter of school grounds
Operational Denver Public Works Short‐term
Complete or enhance crosswalks adjacent to school:
Jewell and Vallejo
Umatilla and Colorado
Vallejo and Colorado
Jewell and Tejon
Operational Denver Public Works Short‐term
Reduce crossing distance at Jewell and Tejon using devices such as bulb‐outs
Public improvement
Denver Public Works Medium‐term
Widen and buffer sidewalks along streets connecting to the school:
Jewell
Vallejo
Colorado
Tejon
Public improvement
Denver Public Works Medium‐term
3. Improve the drop‐off and pick‐up experience
Provide cross guards at critical intersections
Operational School administration/ DPS
Short‐term
Enforce speed and parking regulations Operational Denver Police Short‐term
Establish, implement and enforce a school pick‐up and drop‐off policy
Behavioral School administration/ DPS
Short‐term
Provide clear drop‐off/pick‐up protocol to parents
Behavioral School administration/ DPS
Short‐term
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Create a parent safety campaign to address speeding, mid‐block stops, and U‐turns
Behavioral School administration/ DPS/Denver Police
Short‐term
Develop a transportation management plan for pick‐up and drop‐off
Behavioral School administration/ DPS/Denver Public Works
Medium‐term
Clearly mark designated drop‐off and pick‐up zones with signage and striping
Operational DPS/Denver Public Works
Medium ‐term
4. Make needed street/public right‐of‐way improvements
Add signage alerting motorists of school zone and reduced speed, especially on Jewell
Operational Denver Public Works Short‐term
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Resources SRTS Community Connector: Fernando Pineda
CREA Results
720‐495‐3180
Fire Up Your Feet The Fire Up Your Feet Program helps encourage families, students and schools to work together and create active lifestyles which inspire our children to be healthy and physically active. Everything is here to help you walk more, play more, and find the joy of being physically active as a family and in your school. http://fireupyourfeet.org/ WayToGo Schoolpool If you need help getting your kids to and from school, Way to Go can help you get started with Schoolpool for FREE. Our secure system will connect you with families in your neighborhood to share in the responsibilities of getting the kids to school and back via carpooling, walking, biking or riding RTD together. Thousands of other families are already connected…what are you waiting for? Just try it! You’ll gain support and a sense of community and get some much‐needed help in return. http://www.waytogo.org/getting‐around/schoolpool Safe Routes to School District Policy Builder This tool walks the user through a series of policy options to help build a customized Safe Routes to School policy for school districts, which they can then download for the school board to adopt. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a movement that is changing communities and making children healthier by getting them to use their own power to get to and from school. Ensuring children are active on their way to and from school will improve health outcomes for them, as well. http://changelabsolutions.org/news/changelab‐solutions‐safe‐routes‐school‐national‐partnership‐release‐school‐district‐policy Denver Public Schools Cross Guard program contact: Valerie Barrientos
Manager of Campus Security
Office # 720‐424‐1896
Cell # 303‐591‐4160
Fax # 720‐424‐1921
Dispatch # 720‐423‐3911
Email [email protected]
Traffic Safety Enforcement Daniel McNulty [email protected] To report any issues related to signage, safety, sidewalk conditions or crime: 311