The Safe Routes to School demonstration around Hood River Middle School has ended, and the community is invited to share experiences and opinions, which will help determine whether the project will become permanent and what shape it will take.
A project team, including consultants, developed the HRMS SRTS Demonstration Project. The project focused on safe routes to school on 17th, 18th and May streets as the top infrastructure priorities.
The Safe Routes to School demonstration around Hood River Middle School has ended, and the community is invited to share experiences and opinions, which will help determine whether the project will become permanent and what shape it will take.
HOOD RIVER — It is not only the candy that makes Halloween one of the most popular holidays with children in America. It is the one day of the year when the streets belong to them, and they can run free.
Halloween is also a deadly one: “Children are three times more likely to be fatally injured by a car on the holiday, and the risk grows to 10 times for kids 4-8,” according to a Washington Post article. And so, perhaps it is only appropriate that the 10-week long Safe Routes To School (SRTS) Demonstration Project around Hood River Middle School (HRMS) concluded on Halloween.
A demonstration project is a temporary street redesign that offers a community an opportunity to “try on” new designs in an inexpensive way and gives the project organizers immediate feedback. In contrast, a traditional approach is usually a community presentation with drawings, after which the community commits to an expensive permanent design before the community has a chance to see a design in person. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has invested part of $5 billion over five years in these type of demonstration projects because of their effectiveness, according to the U.S. DOT article.
Safe Routes to School program coordinator Megan Ramey with the ‘80s Walk and Roll club.
Photo courtesy Megan Ramey
A project team, including consultants, developed the HRMS SRTS Demonstration Project. The project focused on safe routes to school on 17th, 18th and May streets as the top infrastructure priorities. The team focused on these areas because of community feedback regarding the lack of a sidewalk and bike lanes, an unsafe intersection, and high speeds from vehicles.
Hood River City Council adopted the Safe Routes to School Plan and Councilor Mark Zanmiller said that he was ready for action. Simultaneously, Hood River received a Better Blocks demonstration design courtesy of Portland State University students.
The city’s leadership supported the project and had a design; however, funds were needed to implement the design. As Safe Routes To School manager, I applied for three grants: $11,000 for materials, and a total of $15,000 for an after school program that engaged HRMS students in the demonstration process while exploring Hood River through the ‘80s Walk and Roll club.
The 5-8 grade students spoke with all 35 of the neighbors along the project corridor and got their signatures in support of the project.
The City of Hood River Public Works worked through 100 degree heat in August to lay down paint and delineators on 17th, May, and 18th streets to form a separated bikeway and walkway route to the school. The project added a stop sign to make the intersection a three-way stop. School started one week later and the students began to use it.
The HRMS SRTS Demonstration Project was implemented for 10 weeks. HRMS student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The stop sign received positive reviews and will stay permanently. There were a few minor behavioral adjustments needed with school district deliveries, family vehicle drop-offs, and special event parking.
A project team, including consultants, developed the HRMS SRTS Demonstration Project. The project focused on safe routes to school on 17th, 18th and May streets as the top infrastructure priorities.
Photo courtesy Megan Ramey
A major flaw with this project was that the installation was not fully completed, so the students and families never experienced a connected route from Belmont to Sherman. The Adams Creek Co-Housing construction was the original reason for the path abruptly ending at the school property, but that construction project was finished in mid-September with six weeks remaining in the demonstration. This disconnected route made it confusing for the students and community in terms of whether to walk and ride on the left or right side of the street.
Despite some issues, students responded well to the design. Some of the after school club members wanted to protest the removal. For eight of the 10 weeks, I interviewed students coming to school, asking their thoughts in exchange for a donut. Popular responses included:
• “I am no longer afraid of cars.”
• “I feel safer.”
• “It’s nice not to ride on the sidewalk.”
• “We have our own space now.”
• “I can bike faster [versus riding on the sidewalk] and see everything.”
• “I wish it was longer [past Belmont and Sherman].”
Many neighbors reported they were excited about a place to walk with strollers and dogs. I had two conversations with people who were concerned that students were not learning how to ride or walk with vehicles due to the separation.
While the SRTS program is educating students in kindergarten through eighth grade through PE classes on biking etiquette, laws, and confidence through the 2022-2024 grant with Oregon Department of Transportation, education alone does not invite participation.
The Safe Kids Organization said, “Parents do not feel safe when their children are riding in streets, even if the school is only a short distance from their homes … Protected bike lanes provide higher levels of confidence. Surveys show that parents and children feel safer and are more willing to ride on the road if there is a protected bike lane. On Austin’s Bluebonnet Lane leading to Zilker Elementary School, bike use increased by nearly 50% after constructing a protected bike lane.”
The City of Hood River and Hood River County School District, with support from Oregon Department of Transportation, collaborated on this project.
Now that the demonstration has been removed, the planning team asks community members to share their experiences and opinions using this online survey at www.tinyurl.com/bt3encpc. Survey feedback, data and the student stories will be presented to the Hood River City Council in January to determine whether the project will become permanent and what shape it will take.
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