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As much as 25 percent of all weekday morning traffic can be school-related. The safe and efficient management of school-related traffic, and incentives for students to walk or bike to school, reduce weekday morning peak hour traffic congestion, improve the environment, and reduce childhood obesity.
Most public schools have well defined attendance boundaries centered on the school. Typically, students who live nearby are expected to walk or bicycle to school. Public school bus service typically is provided to students who live farther away. Many students are driven to school by their parents or guardians.
During most times of day, public schools have few transportation impacts. During short periods of time, however, schools typically generate intense traffic impacts, as students are dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.
Wells + Associates has provided the following services to these schools:
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Site selection |
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Site layout/campus planning |
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Preparation of the transportation elements of campus master plans |
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Transportation impact studies |
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Preparation of Transportation Management Plans (TMP), including carpool, shuttle bus, variable class times, monitoring, and compliance plans |
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Drop-off/pick-up lane design and operating plans |
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Queuing and dwell time studies |
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Parking demand studies |
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Parking lot and garage design |
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Parking operations plans |
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Shuttle bus plans |
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Speed studies |
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Justification of variances from local zoning requirements, as appropriate |
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Traffic signal plans |
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Signing and pavement marking plans |
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Maintenance of traffic plans |
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Expert witness testimony |
The ideal school site has the following attributes:
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The school is located in the center of its attendance area |
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The site has frontage on two or more public streets among which traffic is uniformly distributed |
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The school is connected by multiple streets with sidewalks and pedestrian/bicycle paths to the neighborhood it serves |
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Safe, efficient, adequate vehicular access, egress, and on-site circulation systems |
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Safe, secure, and direct pedestrian and bicycle connections |
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Students are not required to cross busy streets without the aid of adult crossing guards |
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No significant vehicle-pedestrian conflicts |
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High carpool and bus use |
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Separate auto and bus drop-off/pick-up lanes |
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Ample on-site queuing to prevent spillover into adjacent public streets |
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Adequate, well-organized, well-managed parking for faculty, staff, students, and visitors |
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Adequate parking and traffic for sporting and other special events |
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Segregated pedestrian, bus, auto, and service/delivery vehicle systems |
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Well conceived plan for traffic and parking management during sporting and special events |
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Good emergency vehicle access |
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Appropriate traffic control devices and pavement markings |
Few school sites are ideal. Common problems are:
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Traffic is focused on the one street along which the school has frontage |
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Lack of connectivity to adjacent neighborhood streets, sidewalks, and pedestrian/bicycle paths |
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Inadequate drop-off/pick-up lane capacity: queues spill over onto adjacent public streets |
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Vehicle-pedestrian conflicts on public streets and the school site, which pose safety hazards |
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Inadequate parking: faculty, staff, student, and visitor parkers spill over into adjacent residential neighborhoods and parking lots |
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Poorly organized or poorly managed parking |
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Objectionable traffic impacts in residential neighborhoods |
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Low average auto occupancy: parents form too few carpools |
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Under-utilization of school bus capacity |
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Spillover traffic and parking problems during special events such as back-to-school night, performances, sporting events, charitable events, and graduation |
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