{"id":1378,"date":"2016-05-17T22:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T02:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/?page_id=1378"},"modified":"2016-05-18T23:20:49","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T03:20:49","slug":"safer-access-to-schools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/projects\/safer-access-to-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision Zero: More Focus Needed on School Access Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Make Queens Safer strongly supports Mayor de Blasio&#8217;s Vision Zero initiative. \u00a0After two years\u00a0of the program, we believe that the city needs to begin putting more focus on initiatives to improve safety for vulnerable populations, including children, teens, and the elderly.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, schools have not been sufficiently integrated into the city\u2019s Vision Zero efforts. \u00a0 There have been a number of good early steps.\u00a0\u00a0We were pleased by the recent announcements \u00a0DOT and DOE would collaborate on a new\u00a0Vision Zero curriculum for 4th-6th\u00a0graders. \u00a0We applaud the use\u00a0of speed cameras in school zones and the Mayor\u2019s commitment to broadening their deployment and hours of\u00a0operation. We appreciate the efforts of\u00a0some schools to\u00a0put in place safer arrival and dismissal procedures. And we\u2019re fans of the DOT Safety Education and Outreach office\u2019s excellent programs.<\/p>\n<p>But there is much more that needs to be done to sharpen the focus on safe access to schools. \u00a0The Department of Education only recently joined the interagency coordination process established to implement Vision Zero (which initially included only NYPD, DOT, TLC and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), and their role is limited to the new 4th-6th grade VZ curriculum. \u00a0DOE&#8217;s role in Vision Zero needs to be much more central, befitting its\u00a0tremendous impact and reliance on the\u00a0city&#8217;s streets. \u00a0 DOE\u00a0<strong>educates<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>more than 1 million children<\/strong> in over <strong>1,800 public schools<\/strong> whose parents, teachers and school administrators travel during set hours daily. \u00a0DOE employs over <strong>135,000 people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Issues at NYC Schools\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>School safety plans don\u2019t mention street safety<\/li>\n<li>Lack of coordination and follow-up for safety\u00a0complaints<\/li>\n<li>Extremely small reach of DOT school safety education<\/li>\n<li>Limited resources of NYPD crossing guards and traffic agents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Better interagency cooperation and more DOE involvement is needed to help schools with policies and procedures for safe student arrival and dismissal. At elementary schools, afternoon dismissal is particularly challenging, because of the need to monitor that children are being delivered to the correct adults, and the large number of parents who drive to the schools to collect their children. The number of crossing guards is inadequate, their deployment appears to be uneven and arbitrary, and they lack the training and authority to perform traffic management on busy corridors. The city lacks effective channels for raising these concerns, so they tend to be addressed only when they capture the attention of a sympathetic elected official. The overall program needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive manner, and would benefit tremendously from the proactive, data-driven, interagency approaches that characterize the city\u2019s other Vision Zero efforts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We would like to propose the following to integrate schools more completely into the Vision Zero program.<\/p>\n<p>DOT:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Refresh the Safe Routes to Schools program<\/span>. The city\u2019s \u201cSafe Routes to Schools\u201d plans are outdated. NYCDOT needs resources to update and overhaul this program.\n<ul>\n<li>The report on \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/dot\/downloads\/pdf\/schoolsafetymitigation.pdf\">General Mitigation Measures<\/a>\u201d used for these plans was developed 12 years ago. It needs to be updated to incorporate NYCDOT\u2019s current street design toolkit.<\/li>\n<li>The Safe Routes to Schools program should be broadened to incorporate curb management, traffic management and other operational strategies. These could include temporary street closures and the establishment of additional no-parking zones during school arrival and dismissal hours.<\/li>\n<li>The program should continue to look beyond the immediate school perimeter to address safe crossings for students at major arterials nearby.<\/li>\n<li>NYCDOT should work with schools and precincts to reassess conditions in the field, update school traffic safety maps, and develop new data-driven priorities for capital and operational investments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Safe arrival and dismissal policies manual<\/span>. Elementary schools are unique- as afternoon dismissal poses the challenge of delivering the child to the correct adults, especially in schools where parents drive to pick up. \u00a0NYCDOT should lead development of a \u201cbest practices\u201d manual to provide guidance to schools on techniques for managing sidewalk crowds and vehicular pick-ups and drop-offs in congested neighborhoods.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Recognition for best practices<\/span>. \u00a0NYCDOT should publicly recognize a handful of schools each year that have taken innovative and comprehensive approaches to school access safety.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Increase reach of traffic safety education programs<\/span>. \u00a0Unfortunately the school reached by\u00a0these programs has been steadily declining. \u00a0In 2013, DOT visited over 700 schools. \u00a0In 2015, they visited 580 schools. \u00a0The current safety education goals in the Vision Zero Year Two report are to reach 500 schools each\u00a0year. \u00a0 More resources are needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1389\" src=\"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SafetyEdMap.jpg\" alt=\"SafetyEdMap\" width=\"702\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SafetyEdMap.jpg 624w, https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SafetyEdMap-300x115.jpg 300w, https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/SafetyEdMap-619x237.jpg 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>DOE:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A Vision Zero champion in every school<\/span>. Every school should designate a person to lead its Vision Zero efforts. This person would:\n<ul>\n<li>Act as a site coordinator and liaison for the city\u2019s Vision Zero efforts.<\/li>\n<li>Review and update policies and procedures for student arrival and dismissal.<\/li>\n<li>Work to integrate school access safety into School Safety Plans.<\/li>\n<li>Participate in Parent-Teacher Association meetings to report news about school safety plans and receive feedback on issues and concerns.<\/li>\n<li><em>Be empowered to elevate issues and concerns about school access safety<\/em> and request an official review by the local NYPD precinct and DOT borough commissioner.<\/li>\n<li>Reassess and coordinate the school\u2019s participation in DOT safety education programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A Vision Zero Coordinator at DOE<\/span>. This person would oversee the overall program within DOE, including:\n<ul>\n<li>Providing guidance, training, and support to the school VZ champions.<\/li>\n<li>With NYPD and NYCDOT, prepare an annual report on access safety issues raised by school coordinators, and how these concerns are being addressed.<\/li>\n<li>Solicit feedback from school VZ champions on safety educational programs that reach each school, and publish annual statistics on the numbers of students reached by each program, and teachers\u2019 assessments of the programs\u2019 quality and effectiveness. \u00a0Establish an online feedback and rating system, so that teachers and administrators can weigh in on which programs they found to be effective and productive for their students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>NYPD:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Expand and rationalize the use of school crossing guards<\/span>. \u00a0The number of crossing guards is<a href=\"http:\/\/cristinafurlong.github.io\/roadscholarnyc\/\"> inadequate<\/a>, and their deployment appears to be <a href=\"https:\/\/raquelvega00.cartodb.com\/viz\/bca47f56-9ca9-11e5-972c-0e3ff518bd15\/public_map\">uneven and arbitrary<\/a>.\u00a0 The city lacks effective channels for addressing\u00a0concerns raised about crossing guard placement, and is often in a position where it\u00a0is forced to react to the communities that complain the loudest.\u00a0\u00a0The placement of crossing guards\u00a0would benefit tremendously from the comprehensive, data-driven, interagency approaches that characterize the city\u2019s other Vision Zero efforts.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mobilization of other NYPD resources<\/span>. Crossing guards are not trained or empowered to manage traffic. \u00a0On major dangerous arterials near schools, NYPD should be assigning Traffic Enforcement Agents to manage traffic and perform targeted enforcement during school arrival and dismissal hours. \u00a0Strategies should be developed to discourage discharging passengers in traffic, and citations should be issued for U-turns, cell phone use by drivers, and other dangerous behaviors in school zones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Integrate pedestrian safety into school wellness programs.<\/li>\n<li>Part of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/visionzero\/pages\/initiatives\/initiatives.shtml\">Vision Zero year two goals<\/a> (section 2.38) was to \u201cCreate new partnerships with schools and priority neighborhoods that will promote Vision Zero and active living.\u201d \u00a0Department of Health should be involved in safety education\n<ul>\n<li>As a health risk topic<\/li>\n<li>As a school based active design project, Safe Routes to Schools should be incorporated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>DOH already produces a <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/html\/doh\/downloads\/pdf\/ip\/ip-nyc-inj-child-fatality-report13.pdf\">child fatality report<\/a> which shows that motor vehicle injury is a leading cause of death in school aged children. They have studied this further in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/doh\/downloads\/pdf\/survey\/survey-2015cfrat-report.pdf\">Understanding Child Injury Report<\/a> which further investigates motor vehicle related deaths. \u00a0They should continue to expand their analysis and publications\u00a0on this topic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>NYS Legislature<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pass legislation <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">permanently authorizing NYC&#8217;s\u00a0use of traffic safety cameras in school zones<\/span>; authorize their use at every school in the city; and extend their operation around the clock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>See also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/juliajrh.github.io\/community-profile\/\">Vision Zero for Queens Schoolkids<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/a841-dotweb01.nyc.gov\/SSML\/\">DOT School Locator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1390\" src=\"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map.jpg\" alt=\"School map\" width=\"717\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map-768x569.jpg 768w, https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/School-map-619x458.jpg 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>1\/24\/2016, Updated 5\/17\/2016<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Make Queens Safer strongly supports Mayor de Blasio&#8217;s Vision Zero initiative. \u00a0After two years\u00a0of the program, we believe that the city needs to begin putting more focus on initiatives to improve safety for vulnerable populations, including children, teens, and the elderly. In particular, schools have not been sufficiently integrated into the city\u2019s Vision Zero efforts. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":65,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1378","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1378"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1392,"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1378\/revisions\/1392"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/makequeenssafer.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}