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CRTPA board adopts 'Take the Safe Route' school safety study to prioritize improvements at 12 schools
Summary
The CRTPA board unanimously adopted a regional school safety study that identifies 12 priority schools across Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties and provides an implementation toolkit and grant‑matching guidance for sidewalks, crosswalks and other near‑term safety improvements.
The Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency board on April 15 adopted the "Take the Safe Route" school safety study, a two‑phase report that identifies 12 priority public schools across Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties and provides a grant‑ready toolkit for local partners.
The study, presented by Lindsay Slaughterback, transportation planner with Kimley Horn, said the project used a desktop analysis and site visits to prioritize schools and produce site‑specific recommendations and cost/time estimates. "We identified 12 schools throughout the region," Slaughterback said, and the report pairs observations and photos with a recommendation matrix intended for use in grant applications.
The study found the majority of students arrive by family vehicle and described parent survey concerns including distance to school, traffic and speeding, and unsafe intersections and crossings. "The major concerns really are that parents don't want their kids walking to and from school if it's too far away," Slaughterback said, adding the appendix contains full student travel tallies and survey data.
Slaughterback emphasized the plan was designed to be "very implementation friendly" so partners can move quickly from observations to grant applications; the plan also lists about 18 relevant grant opportunities that staff will update as funding cycles change.
Board members asked whether the study had been coordinated with school districts; Slaughterback said Lori Cox and the technical advisory committee participated and recommended bringing the final document to district staff for action. A member of the board stressed urgency: "I can't emphasize enough that, you know, these need to be taken care of," urging staff to prioritize low‑cost actions such as crosswalk repainting, signage and enforcement.
After discussion about implementation responsibility — staff said most recommended improvements are outside school grounds and will be handled primarily by city and county public works and utilities — a motion to accept the report as presented passed by voice vote. Staff said they will notify implementation partners and update the grants matrix when cycles change.
Next steps: the board approved the study for use by local agencies and encouraged coordination with public works and school district staff as funding becomes available.
