A school district in North Carolina is leading an effort to improve road safety for students and school staff who walk or bike to school.
The Durham Public Schools system is taking on road safety as "a transportation equity issue," writes Akilah Davis. "They're looking into ways to increase mobility, accessibility and safety for students going to and from school."
This is the first time a North Carolina school district has taken the lead on traffic safety. DPS transportation planner Kristen Brookshire "will be in meetings with local government and NCDOT identifying problems and coming up with solutions." One suggestion is creating designated routes so children and their guardians can walk to school together. "Lower-income communities are more likely to live in higher traffic or higher volume roads. So then, you have traffic safety concerns for those students walking or biking to school," said Brookshire.
Road safety for schoolchildren is a widespread concern for pedestrian advocates. The USDOT's Safe Routes to School initiative "promotes walking and bicycling to school through infrastructure improvements, enforcement, tools, safety education, and incentives to encourage walking and bicycling to school."
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