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District staff identify one immediate hazardous walking route and schedule traffic counts for others to seek PennDOT designation
Summary
A consultant review found one intersection near McKinley meets PennDOT’s hazardous-route accident criteria; the district will pursue PennDOT designation and collect traffic counts on other candidate streets to complete formal applications.
District staff updated the board on a consultant review of safe and hazardous walking routes to and from the district’s elementary schools and said they will pursue PennDOT’s hazardous‑route designation for a corner near McKinley Elementary.
Presenter Mr. Brockman summarized PennDOT’s three criteria for declaring a roadway hazardous for school transportation: pedestrian accident history in the 15‑minute window before or after school arrival and dismissal, crossing at an uncontrolled intersection, or an uncontrolled railroad crossing. The consultant found a single corner that met PennDOT’s accident‑history criterion — the segment of East 23rd Street between East Avenue and Perhade Street near McKinley, where a child had previously been struck by a bus — and staff said they will apply to PennDOT for hazardous‑route status for that location.
For other candidate streets, staff said the consultant will take vehicle volumes during the arrival and dismissal windows and account for roadway width in determining whether PennDOT thresholds are met. If PennDOT designates a route as hazardous and a pupil lives within the program’s mileage threshold (1.5 miles in the district’s example), then the child may qualify for district transportation under state rules.
Staff noted they do not have any elementary walking routes that require crossing an uncontrolled railroad based on current boundaries. The presentation and maps are posted with the board’s agenda packet and staff said they will return with traffic counts and the formal PennDOT application material as the next steps.
Why it matters: Hazardous‑route designation affects which children qualify for district transportation and can change operational costs and routing. The McKinley corner will be the district’s immediate candidate for an application to PennDOT.
What’s next: Staff will run traffic counts on the candidate roads during arrival and dismissal windows and prepare PennDOT hazard‑designation forms for the intersection near McKinley; consultant results will return to the board for follow‑up.
