Steps for Developing a School Traffic Safety Plan

1. Identify traffic safety problems:

• Use School Traffic Safety Evaluation Form
• School principal should fill out school traffic safety evaluation form (MS Word) to identify issues typically seen and what has been previously done to address problems.
• Observe parent drop off/pick up behavior
• Contact Lisa Bullard-Cawthorne at Public Health Madison & Dane County for adapting parent drop-off checklist (PDF) for your school.
• Determine locations, times and days for observations, depending on where there are perceived problems.
• Enlist individuals for making observations, e.g. parents, staff, neighborhood association representatives.
• Examples of concerns typically observed (PDF)
• Obtain speed study data (if speeding is an issue) or other data that might be relevant to traffic concerns (e.g. crashes, red light running, etc.)
• Contact local municipal police or sheriff's office.
• Take photos of issues
• Ideally, have students assist with taking pictures.

2. Stakeholder meeting to discuss issues and brainstorm solutions:

• Arrange a meeting with the following:
• School district level decision makers (business, safety, facilities, transportation)
• School staff (principal and others interested)
• Local law enforcement (including those in charge of traffic, parking and adult crossing guards)
• Municipal Engineering, Traffic Engineering, and/or Public Works
• Public Health- Madison & Dane County
• PTO/PTA representative
• Neighborhood Association representative
• Alder or local politician (at least keep informed)
• Safe Kids Coalition and Safe Communities  
• In Madison, the Madison School Traffic Safety Committee includes many of the representatives above: MMSD, Public Health, Madison Police and Traffic Engineering, Safe Kids Coalition and Safe Communities
• Compile and present photos and data of identified issues to group.
• Pinpoint identified problems on map.
• Discuss potential solutions.
• Identify which individual/agency will resolve issues and set timeline for action to be taken.

3. Develop school traffic safety brochure for parents:

• Identify individuals who are willing to draft brochure.
• Provide examples of school traffic safety brochures.
• Obtain base map of school vicinity (from school district) for use to convey school plan.
• Mark up map to show new school traffic safety plan and locations for drop off, crossing guards, etc.
• Decide on text for brochure and include the following:
• If you drive . . . (suggested drop-off locations)
• If you walk . . . (suggested places to cross)
• If you bike . . .
• If you take the bus . . .
• What the signs mean
• Ways to reduce congestion
• Circulate draft brochure to school traffic safety team for comment.
• Send brochure (and marked up map) to Lisa Bullard-Cawthorne at Public Health, who will make arrangements for it to be formatted and finalized.

4. Determine educational strategy

A. Parents

• Determine timeline and method of distribution - at an already existing school event, e.g. registration, PTO meeting, etc.
• Arrange for brochure to be handed out by original stakeholders, including police officers in morning and afternoon on a particular day/week, e.g. first week of school, Walk Our Children to School Week.
• Send home brochure to parents via backpacks.

B. Students:

• If Madison, contact Safety Educator, Steve Meiers at Madison Traffic Engineering for conducting classes on pedestrian safety.
• If other Dane County communities, contact your local law enforcement agency. There are many officers/deputies that go into the schools to educate the students.

5. Evaluate effectiveness of School Traffic Safety Plan

• Relook at issues (at least annually) to see how things are working. It might require repeating observations of parent drop-off / pick-up behavior.
• If problems are beginning to arise again, plan to reinforce educational and enforcement efforts to parents.