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Bike Lakewood urges transparent transition planning and consistent data on student travel as schools consolidate
Summary
Bike Lakewood urged the board to include active-transportation partners in transition planning after an elementary-closure decision, to publish selection criteria for the transition team, and to adopt systematic data collection (ODOT teacher tally) on how students travel to school.
Emily Lindbergh, speaking on behalf of Bike Lakewood, told the board that decisions about elementary closures and preschool centralization will have real impacts on students' ability to walk and bike safely to school. "Lakewood is a walking district and that brings major benefits for both students and the community," she said, and warned that past operational choices have increasingly prioritized private vehicle travel and created longer car lines and fewer pedestrian access points.
Lindbergh said the district announced a transition team to form in early 2026 but did not explain how members will be selected or whether community partners could apply. She urged a transparent process and recommended that the existing Safe Routes to School working group (which includes city council members, police and parent volunteers) be included in transition conversations and data collection. "A transparent open process is essential," she said, adding that consistent districtwide use of the ODOT teacher tally survey would provide the data planners need to make equity-based decisions about boundaries and transportation.
The board heard the request as part of public comment; no formal action was taken during the meeting.
