Agenda - 11-07-2024; 6-b - Safe Routes to School Plan

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5 1. Introduction Background The North Carolina Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) has a long history of promoting active travel to and around schools.The IMD continues to work with numerous communities across the state to develop pedestrian and bicycle plans.This is the first step in improving non-motorized transportation infrastructure within a municipality. IMD provides a number of other services, including safety education, bicycle use training, crossing guard training, and helmet promotions throughout the state. NCDOT first identified safe routes to school as a safety priority in 2000.The North Carolina Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program was established in 2005 to coordinate with the federal program.The program works with schools, local governments and agencies, advocacy and non-profit organizations, and public health professionals at a grassroots level to identify improvements that can help make bicycling and walking to and from school a safe and healthy transportation alternative. The Orange County Safe Routes to School Update analyzes the existing traffic conditions, pedestrian infrastructure, strengths, and deficiencies of 13 public schools in Orange County.The plan then recommends project and program recommendations to address the deficiencies at each school that are preventing active transportation.This report addresses 13 schools in Orange County: ♦ AL Stanback Middle, ♦ New Hope Elementary, ♦ Cedar Ridge High, ♦ Grady Brown Elementary, ♦ Central Elementary, ♦ Hillsborough Elementary, ♦ Orange Middle, ♦ Orange High, ♦ Efland Cheeks Global Elementary, ♦ Gravelly Hill Middle, ♦ River Park Elementary, ♦ Partnership Academy, and ♦ Pathways Elementary. The Orange County Safe Routes to School Update acts as a resource to further engage schools and identify how travel to and from schools can be made safer, and how to provide safe opportunities for the students to walk or bike to school.There are a multitude of reasons for the lack of active travel to school.A few of these reasons include valid concerns about traffic safety surrounding the schools, the absence of sufficient non-motorized transportation, land use policies, and school consolidation. As a result, more parents are driving their children to school, morning traffic congestion is worsening, and children are getting less exercise. Residents in Orange County can change this cycle,just as those in other communities across the country have done. Safe Routes to School Orange County,North Carolina 3