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City and district roll out Safe Routes to School strategic plan; consultants urge coordinated programs, infrastructure and school outreach
Summary
Tool Design, the Bike Fed and City of Madison presented a district‑wide Safe Routes to School strategic plan covering program sustainability, street and campus safety, and behavior/education recommendations; the plan includes 32 school‑level plans and a mix of short‑term low‑cost actions and longer‑term capital needs.
City and district officials and consultants presented a Safe Routes to School strategic plan aimed at increasing safe walking, biking and bus travel for Madison students. Tool Design’s Madison director, Sonia Heuchel, said the project produced both a city/district strategic plan and school‑specific plans for 32 schools (23 led by the consultant team and nine by the city). The City of Madison is the project sponsor and will lead adoption and many infrastructure actions.
The plan is organized around five goals: sustainable and equitable programming, safe streets, safe campuses, safe behaviors (education and enforcement), and building a supportive culture of active transportation. Short‑term recommendations include clarifying roles and responsibilities for school and city staff, expanding walking school buses, and improving school travel brochures for families. Longer‑term recommendations focus on funding, capital projects (sidewalks, raised intersections, addressing multiple‑threat crossings) and aligning school redesigns with safe campus access.
Board members asked about implementation and communications: who will be notified when a hazard is mitigated, how the city’s Uncontrolled High‑Threat (UHT) scoring tool will prioritize crossings, and what cadence the district will use to report progress to the board. City and district staff said they will provide twice‑yearly updates to the board and share school travel brochures with schools over the summer so families get consistent information at the start of the school year.
Local examples discussed included recent UHT mitigations (Park Street, Schrader Road, Wright Middle School area) and recommendations to avoid installing RRFB flashers on multi‑lane approaches near schools due to multiple‑threat scenarios; raised intersections and other traffic calming were highlighted for major thoroughfares. Partners from the Bike Fed and City transportation staff described education programming (helmet distribution, bike/pedestrian curriculum) and grant funding sources (Transportation Alternatives Program) used to implement programs across Dane County.
The city plans to adopt the strategic plan later this summer; implementation will rely on grant funding, city capital scheduling and ongoing coordination with MMSD transportation and school leadership. The board asked staff to consider how board members might periodically engage with the implementation effort and requested clearer mechanisms so families know how and when street or campus issues are being addressed.
