Safe Routes for All Seattle Schools

In Seattle, 83 percent of public school students live within their school's official walk zone, but only 24 percent are walking or bicycling to school. "A huge amount of peak-hour traffic is just for school drop-off and pick-up," reports Tom Fucoloro. This creates a catch-22, he explains: parents are afraid to let their kids walk or bike to school, so they drive them, thus contributing to the car traffic and creating a more dangerous space for walkers and bicyclists.

As part of the city's new Vision Zero plan to eliminate all traffic-related deaths, the Safe Routes to School program will be expanded to include 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade education on biking and walking for all public school students; safety improvements for sidewalks and crosswalks; and strategies for long-term infrastructural investments. The plan emphasizes the importance of reduced speed limits, citing numerous statistics comparing the dangers of 20 mph vs. 30-40 mph speed limits. For example, nine out of ten pedestrians hit by a car traveling at 20 mph will survive; only one out of ten will survive the impact at 40 mph.

"The grassroots powering the plan make it one of the best collections of ideas you will find in any road safety plan," writes Fucoloro.