Santa Barbara Area Council of PTAs

The Safety Committee was formed in February 2000, after parents at several schools complained of traffic problems in the school zone. All children, we believe, deserve a trip to school that is safe and stress free, whatever their mode of travel. Children should be able to walk or ride a bike to their neighborhood school. We called on local government officials, school administrators, law enforcement, and parents to work together to achieve this goal.

Since then, we have worked cooperatively with all of these groups. We are now part of a local Safe Routes to School coalition that consists of 17 organizations. Elected representatives such as Lois Capps, Susan Rose and Gail Marshall, the CHP and Santa Barbara City Police, and public works staff from the city and county of Santa Barbara have been among our guests. Last summer, we lobbied successfully for a county wide school zone safety package featuring high visibility crosswalks, new fluorescent signs and flashing beacons. In the fall of 2000, we approached State Assembly member Hannah-Beth Jackson with an idea to double traffic fines in school zones and apply the money to pedestrian safety programs around schools. This became AB 1886, a new state law effective January 1, 2003. This success would not have been possible without the support of the State PTA leadership and advocacy by PTA members throughout California. We thank them and Hannah-Beth Jackson for working with us on this bill.

We encourage every school in the area to have a PTA traffic safety representative in charge of bike and pedestrian safety education programs, trip reduction programs, special events such as Walk and Bike to School Day, and to address specific traffic safety problems as they come up. Working with the Council Safety Committee, the safety rep will oversee the implementation of AB 1886 and make sure his/her school gets its fair share. This is an important responsibility and a chance to have real influence.

The PTA Safety Committee holds meetings the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Vieja Valley School, 434 Nogal Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93110. We also have a ppt. presentation on school traffic safety that we can show at PTA meetings or special workshops. For more info, contact Eva Inbar, eva.inbar@verizon.net.