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Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee outlines priorities: code updates, crossing guards and interagency coordination
Summary
The volunteer School Traffic Safety Committee briefed the Transportation Committee on Jan. 21, describing recent cross‑agency work, successes and priorities including city code changes for school parking, state funding for crossing guards and operational requests such as restarting school zone camera processing.
The Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee — a multi‑agency and volunteer body established by the City Council in 1975 — briefed the Transportation Committee on Jan. 21 about its recent work, priorities and requests for city and state support.
Ryan Baum, the committee’s chair and a district resident and Seattle Public Schools parent, outlined the committee’s role in coordinating Seattle Public Schools, SDOT, Seattle Police Department, King County Metro and community volunteers to address school traffic safety. Baum said the committee helped arrange a multi‑agency walking tour to address safety near I‑5 ramps and has been updating elementary school walk‑zone boundaries with a scoring rubric to identify crossing needs.
The committee highlighted several accomplishments and outstanding needs. Successes included persuading SDOT to revisit and revise its all‑way stop guidelines after a parent request at James Baldwin Elementary; that change allowed a crossing treatment to move forward. Outstanding priorities include updating city code for school parking requirements (the committee said outdated provisions increase project costs and delays — the committee said draft revisions have been under development with Seattle Public Schools and the Department of Construction and Inspections and were expected for Spring but the timeline has slipped), and pushing the state to fund crossing guards (the committee noted state law directs the state to fund crossing guards but that funding has not been provided).
The committee also urged a restart of processing for school zone camera tickets, temporary enforcement patrols at high‑risk sites when available, continued funding for Safe Routes to School, and support to reduce crossing guard vacancies (the committee reported about 55% vacancy in crossing guard positions). The committee said it wants to increase youth representation and improve coordination with Washington State Department of Transportation on safety around freeway ramps and state jurisdiction corridors.
Committee volunteers described examples of effective cross‑agency work: SDOT changes that allowed more children to walk safely to school after infrastructure upgrades and King County Metro schedule adjustments to add trips timed to school bell schedules at Mercer Middle School. The committee requested the Council’s continued help to finish code updates and to elevate school traffic concerns in interagency planning.
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Sources: Presentation by Ryan Baum and School Traffic Safety Committee volunteers; committee Q&A, Jan. 21, 2025.
