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Work group debates whether school-area pedestrian-safety scores should block road projects
Summary
Public comment proposed that roads with low pedestrian-safety scores be forbidden from construction near schools. County staff and committee members agreed the scores should inform required traffic-calming and mitigation measures rather than act as an absolute stop on projects.
A public-comment submission urged that pedestrian-safety scores be required and that projects be forbidden from proceeding if a school zone's score fell below a threshold. A committee member read that comment aloud and invited discussion on practicality and enforcement.
"Furthermore, we would recommend that the pedestrian safety scores developed in recommendation 6 become a requirement before roads are built, expanded, or altered, and projects in school zones are forbidden from proceeding if pedestrian safety scores are below a threshold," the committee member read from public comment. Agency representatives and committee members pushed back on using the word "forbidden," saying it would be difficult to enforce and that objective criteria are more practicable when used to require specific safety features.
An agency representative recommended that an objective risk-assessment criterion inform traffic-calming and mitigation features required in project designs rather than block construction outright. The group coalesced around language that would have the criteria inform required traffic-calming or design elements for roads in school zones, leaving enforcement and prioritization to relevant agencies and the budget process.
