Operational and Safety Guidelines around Schools in Texas

The State of Texas has experienced considerable population growth in recent years. This growth has produced new schools in areas near highways designed for low volumes and relatively high speeds. Another trend is the higher proportion of children being transported to and from schools in private vehicles. These realities, and other issues, make it important to aggressively consider the design of roadways within and around schools to ensure the safest possible traffic environment. Equally important is the consideration of the location and design of the school site, preferably during the planning stages, in order to establish safe and efficient operations. This paper summarizes the results of a two-year study to develop school site planning guidelines for transportation-related elements such as site selection, general site requirements and design, bus operations, parent drop-off/pick-up zone, driveways, turn lanes, signing and marking, parking, and pedestrian/bicycle access. The research team based these guidelines on a comprehensive review of existing guidelines and the results of field studies at over thirty schools in Texas. Examples of good practices and of practices to avoid are provided to illustrate the guidelines. The guidelines are focused on transportation design, operations and safety within school sites – with a particular focus on parent drop-off/pick-up zones. The final portion of the paper contains a site plan review checklist based on the 21 consensus guidelines. Engineers, field crews, architects, and school district personnel can use this checklist to coordinate efforts and improve the safety and efficiency of school site access and traffic flow.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/1933452137
• Corporate Authors:

  Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

  Washington, DC  United States 
• Authors:
  • Cooner, Scott A
• Conference:
  • ITE 2006 Technical Conference and Exhibit Compendium of Technical Papers
  • Location: San Antonio Texas, United States
  • Date: 2006-3-19 to 2006-3-22
• Publication Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: ITE 2006 Technical Conference and Exhibit Compendium of Technical Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Access; Bicycles; Cyclists; Driveways; Guidelines; Highway design; Highway planning; Highway safety; Left turn lanes; Location; Parents; Parking; Pedestrians; Private passenger vehicles; Right turn lanes; Road markings; School children; School safety; Schools; Signs; Traffic safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Drop off/pick up zones; School bus operations
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01025364
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 1933452137
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 31 2006 3:12PM