Santa Barbara Area Council of PTAs

Our approach to safety in the school zone is based on the 3 E's: Engineering, Enforcement, Education.

Engineering:
The most basic step to improve safety in the school zone is to make crosswalks and signs more visible. Modeled on a pilot program in San Francisco we proposed and won approval for a basic school zone safety package for all k-12 schools in Santa Barbara County. This will create highly visible and uniform school zones throughout the county and will consist of:

ladder striped thermoplastic crosswalks
Fluorescent lime green signage
Flashing beacons for selected locations.

This program is now in jeopardy because of funding cuts. We will continue to pursue it.

There are many more traffic calming measures for schools. Check out the Portland/Ore traffic calming web site for ideas! Portland has a comprehensive school safety program that allocates regular funds to traffic calming in school zones based on a point system. An example of a well-designed school zone in Santa Barbara is the intersection in front of Roosevelt School, featuring curb extentions and ladder striped crosswalks, pictured above.

We enthusiastically support the Safe Routes to School law. It yielded new sidewalks in the city and the county of Santa Barbara. Thank you! However, there are still many schools that are missing sidewalks, among them Hope, Monte Vista, Vieja Valley, Foothill, La Colina.

A very simple and cost effective "engineering device" is the crossing guard. Crossing guards are essential to ensure the safety of children on their way to school. But while all the major cities in the county, including the new city of Goleta, are funding them at least in part, the County of Santa Barbara abandoned its crossing guard program during the recession of 1993 and never re-instated it. This leaves almost half of all elementary schools in Santa Barbara County without crossing guards. Some school districts have stepped in, PTAs and businesses are donating, teachers and principals are doing double duty, and still, in many places, young children are simply left to fend for themselves. Crossing guards, like police, are an essential public safety responsibility of the government. The County needs a new crossing guard program!

Enforcement
Consistent enforcement is critical to safety in the school zone. We maintain a close relationship with the SBPD, the new Goleta police department and the CHP. We appreciate the new pedestrian right-of-way enforcement program at the SBPD, which included a site at Santa Barbara High School. Hannah-Beth's Jackson's bill AB 1886, the new pilot program that will double traffic fines in school zones starting in 2003, will no doubt help improve enforcement around schools. The money will go to pedestrian safety programs, including crossing guards.

Education
The SBPD, the Sheriff's Department and the CHP all offer bicycle rodeos. We offer a guide to organizing bike rodeos, downloadable here (Microsoft Word document). Courses in basic road bicycling, taught by certified instructors, are now being offered as an after school program. Contact us if you would like to offer such a course at your school. There are also low-cost or free helmet programs. Contact us if you are interested in any of this. More pedestrian safety education for elementary school children is planned.