Avoiding Child Pedestrian Accidents at FUSD Schools
By Lucille Friedland
Tragically, too often we hear news about a child accidentally being hit by a car in a school drop-off zone. Vehicles killed 103 Californian child pedestrians during school commute times on official school days over the last five years, according to Doug Snyder of The California Association of School Transportation Officials. These accidents occurred from 6 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. in the 94/95 through 99/00 academic years. One can project that many times more walkers were injured in school-related crashes.
Administrators at California's Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) are taking steps to protect their students.
"School traffic safety problems had cropped up over the years at our various schools," says FUSD's Director of Facilities Management Therese Gain. Parents ranked this issue a top concern in a health and safety survey related to a 2002 bond. So Gain contracted with the civil engineering and surveying firm that serves her school district and 50 others in Northern California: Underwood & Rosenblum, Inc. (U&R). In response, President Frank Rosenblum developed a new "Nine-Step School Traffic Safety Solution" to involve the input of parents, school administrators and city representatives in developing a successful plan.
Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
Typical factors that increase the likelihood of child pedestrian accidents among California schools also impact FUSD:
- Most FUSD schools were designed and built over 30 years ago, when far fewer students enrolled per school.
- Schools were originally designed with the 1950's concept that young children will walk to school with their moms, while older children walk alone or with friends.
- Parents today typically drive their children to school, since most parents work outside the home and are concerned about "stranger danger" crime issues.
- Parents’ busy lives lead them to rush when dropping off and picking up their children.
Challenges in Finding Solutions
"People aren't going to go back to the days of stay-at-home moms and walk-to-school kids," says Gain. "We need to change the school infrastructure to adapt to society."
Parents, school administrators and city representatives want to prevent these school traffic safety problems in the future. Yet each person often proposes different, sometimes even conflicting, solutions. Blueprints/technical drawings explaining proposed solutions can make the process even more confusing for non-engineers and non-architects.
Rosenblum explains, "Quick and easy answers cannot solve school traffic safety issues. Many complex factors need to be considered to create a real solution."
U&R's Nine-Step School Traffic Safety Solution
Underwood & Rosenblum, Inc. developed a nine-step solution for developing school traffic plans that increase children’s safety when arriving at and leaving school. Rosenblum and his team performed background research and made recommendations regarding four FUSD schools with different layouts to serve as a model for plans to revamp the entire district. Summarized below, this solution involves parents, school administrators and city planners by working to meet each group’s needs:
- Observe Situation and Solicit Involvement.
- Collect School Input.
- Observe Cars and Children during Peak Traffic Times.
- Review Observations and Input. Give direction to engineering consultant.
- Develop Proposed Solutions.
- Study Team Review and Revisions.
- Prepare Multi-Color Exhibits with Maps of Traffic Plan.
- Present to School Interest Groups for Input.
- Prepare Final Drawing Exhibit and Cost Estimate.
U&R's Nine-Step Traffic Safety Solution is now available to schools throughout Northern California. To obtain more information, please visit www.uandr.com or contact President Frank Rosenblum of Underwood & Rosenblum, Inc. (U&R) civil engineers and surveyors at (408) 453-1222 or frank@uandr.com.
Lucille Friedland is Principal at Friedland Marketing & Communications in San Jose, California. Underwood & Rosenblum, Inc. is one of her clients.
| 
