Walk It before Planning It! - A New Take on the Safe Routes To School Planning Meeting.
What a great experience! On Tuesday, October 24, 2017, Santa Clara County Public Health Department's (SCCPHD) organized a Safe Routes To School Walk Audit & Planning Meeting for Rod Kelley Elementary School, Gilroy, CA. A slew of stakeholders (parents, school trustee’s, school representatives, Gilroy Engineering department, SVBC, and etc.) woke up early (arrived by 7:20am) for a beautiful and brisk walk around the school’s wider block. The aim of the task was to visually understand the neighborhood walking, biking and driving conditions (i.e. undertake a walking audit). Usually a walk audit is undertaken by SCCPHD and the school staff as part of organizing a Safe Routes To School (SRTS) Planning Meeting, but asking all stakeholders of the planning meeting to also be involved in a walk audit before the Planning Meeting was definitely a treat!Participants were able to watch firsthand some crosswalks where Crossing Guards were already assisting children to cross busy intersections, but we heard that there still remained some serious safety concerns. It was more than that; physically observing parents U-Turn randomnly around a corner or just rolling through yet another crosswalk – it made me (a parent, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) employee, and someone from outside the community), stand up and be concerned!SVBC believes the Walk Audit was a very effective SRTS Planning Meeting tool. As we’ve seen with other SRTS schools, we applaud Santa Clara County Public Health and all Gilroy stakeholders involved in building our community safety awareness, growing our health and wellbeing. Funding for the SRTS program is provided through the Active Transportation Program (ATP) grant, a 3 year-grant from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). We truly look forward to working with the Rod Kelley Elementary School and community, so that walking and biking to school is fun, healthy, safe, and accessible to all.
