FILE: EEAA-R
WALKERS AND RIDERS
A. Background
The provision of regular education transportation services for students in the State of Colorado is not a legal requirement. Each local school board has the authority to establish the level of transportation services for its individual school district. The District’s transportation program has been designed to transport students who live an unreasonable walking distance from their designated school or school assigned by boundary, to and back in an efficient, safe and economical manner.
The laws and regulations concerning transportation services for special needs students are covered by Federal law.
This regulation is designed to implement the policies for walkers and riders as determined by the school board. It shall be used as a tool to help determine student eligibility for district provided transportation services.
Definitions
Construction – Roadway construction, including new construction or major repairs of existing roads, and residential or commercial building, where student pedestrian safety could be impacted due to major equipment movement in the area over a period of more than three (3) months.
Controlled Intersection – An intersection with a crosswalk, pedestrian crossing light and / or a vehicle traffic control signal (signs or lights).
Inadequate Visibility – (1) Fixed or permanent conditions which will impact the ability of a motor vehicle operator to see pedestrian traffic. (Includes roadway corners, buildings, hills, and vegetation.) (2) Temporary conditions which will impact the ability of a motor vehicle operation to see pedestrian traffic. (Includes sun glare or adverse weather conditions.) Only fixed or permanent conditions will be assigned a value for inadequate visibility.
Major Arterial – Streets that permit rapid and relatively unimpeded traffic movement throughout the City and carry high volumes of inter and intra-traffic. Connects major land use elements as well as communities with one another. Major function is to serve through traffic. Normally four to six lanes of moving traffic with right and left turn bays. Design speeds 40 – 45 MPH.
Major Residential Collector - Streets designed to serve the local needs of the neighborhood and to provide direct access to abutting properties. All traffic normally has an origin or a destination within the neighborhood. Normally two to four lanes of moving traffic. Design speeds of 35 MPH.
Minor Arterial – Streets that permit rapid and relatively unimpeded traffic movement throughout the City and carry high volumes of inter and intra-traffic that connects major land use elements. Normally four to five lanes of moving traffic. Design speed 40 MPH.
Minor Residential Collector - Streets designed to serve the local needs of the neighborhood and to provide direct access to abutting properties. All traffic normally has an origin or a destination within the neighborhood. Normally two to three lanes of moving traffic. Design speeds of 30 MPH.
Mitigating Factors – Those factors that impact on the classification for transportation eligibility that could be corrected. Actions that could be implemented by parent, schools, the District, or the City of Colorado Springs to resolve a safety issue which may result in a change of eligibility for District provided transportation services.
Residential – Streets designed to serve the local needs of the neighborhood and to provide direct access to abutting residential properties. All traffic normally has an origin or a destination within the neighborhood. Normally two lanes of moving traffic. Design speeds of 25 – 30 MPH.
Roadway Crossing – Roadways that students are required to cross on their route to school will be classified using the City of Colorado Springs "Subdivision Policy Manual and Public Works Design Manual." In determining the point value for the TSI, the evaluator will list all roads students will be required to cross. The value will be the most dangerous roadway to be crossed. Only one point value will be assigned. The presence of a crossing guard for elementary students will offset the assigned value resulting in a zero (0) for that crossing. The presence of a controlled intersection (crosswalk, traffic control lights) for middle and high school students will offset the assigned value to the next lower value.
Topography – Includes steep hills or inclines required to be negotiated by students in their walking route to and from school.
Unusual Circumstances (Evaluator’s Assessment) – These are factors that have not previously been considered in the evaluation. These include those structures or situations not considered in other evaluation criteria that may serve as a safety hazard to pedestrians. These include railroad crossings, open drainage ditches, attractive nuisances (i.e. massage parlor, adult book store, pawn shops, bars, etc.) and areas of high crime as classified by the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Walk Path / Sidewalk – Walk paths include non-finished surfaces, such as dirt or gravel, which serve as the primary or recommended walk route. Sidewalks include finished surfaces, such as concrete or asphalt, which generally meet city code requirements. Bike and walking trails are also considered in this category.
Walking Distance – The actual distance, using the shortest route, in miles and tenths, from the student’s address to the student’s school.
C. Responsibilities
1. Students
Students are responsible for knowing and following all safety rules pertaining to their means of travel to and from school. Students are responsible to arrive at school, home and / or their assigned bus stop at the appropriate and designated time. Normally, students should go directly to and from school and / or their bus stop. Students are responsible to get to and from school and / or their designated bus stop by the safest route. Students are required to obey all traffic signals and follow the directions provided by law enforcement officers, school crossing guards, school bus drivers and other school officials in the performance of their duties. No matter which mode of travel is used (walking, riding bike, riding in / driving a personal owned vehicle, riding city or district provided transportation), students should always be courteous and respectful to others.
2. Parents
Parents have the primary responsibility to get their child to and from school and / or assigned locations for district provided transportation. Parents need to know their children’s school start times, allowing enough walking or driving time to get to school and / or the assigned bus stop at the appropriate and designated time.
Parents should educate their child on proper safety measures to be taken while walking, biking, riding as a passenger / driving a personal vehicle, riding on the school bus or using public transportation. These should include, but not be limited to, safe walk routes, areas to avoid, proper procedures for crossing at intersections, observation of traffic signs and signals, bicycle safety, use of passenger restraints, school bus safety rules and any other safety practices considered prudent and reasonable to ensure the safety of their child. If a child is walking, or taking the school bus, parents should know the route their child takes to and from school and / or the bus stop.
Parents should set good examples for their children as well as other children by following rules of road, safety procedures and complying with district / school policies and procedures. Parents should exercise extreme caution and courtesy when driving in the vicinity of a school. When walking / driving follow all signs, flow of traffic, traffic laws, etc. to ensure the safety of self, child and other pedestrians. When parents have a concern regarding safety it is the parent's responsibility to make the appropriate agencies aware of the concern and provide feasible solutions.
3. School
Each school principal should ensure that, in conjunction with the Parent Teacher Student Association and / or the Building Advisory Accountability Committee (BAAC), Board Policy AE-R-2, a Safety Sub-Committee is established to address all issues as they pertain to student safety. The Designated Site Safety Representative (Board Policy AE-2) should be a member of this sub-committee. Issues to be reviewed by the Committee should include but not be limited to building safety, grounds safety, pedestrian, bus and traffic safety, especially in and around the school. The School Safety Committee is responsible for identifying, reviewing and recommending solutions to resolve student safety issues. Schools should put in place committees that involve school staff, parents and students.
School staff needs to be aware of the flow of traffic to / from and around the school. School staff should, whenever possible make themselves visible to parents, students, drivers and walkers to help assist with the flow of traffic at the school and watch for potential safety hazards. School staff should review and recommend any changes for intersections, cross walks, signage, etc. to be in place and visible to drivers and pedestrians. When not in place or visible they should report such to district and / or city officials as appropriate.
4. Colorado Springs School District 11
The district should ensure that the safety of children is a primary concern. The district is responsible for establishing a working relationship with the parents, school administrators, City Department of Public Safety, Traffic Engineering and Transit Services. A relationship of communication and cooperation should exist to identify, review and work on resolving safety issues as they pertain to students getting to and from school. These alliances with city, county and private organizations should be designed to initiate safety procedures and equipment as needed to ensure student safety.
The district is responsible for establishing policies and procedures as they pertain to transported and non-transported areas. The District shall work in conjunction with the City of Colorado Springs to establish crossing guards for elementary school students at locations where student safety assistance is necessary and when the Pedestrian Safety Index (PSI) exceeds 40 for that location.
The district should examine all schools and the surrounding areas to ensure that signs, walk routes, cross walks, traffic signals and traffic flow are designed to provide for the safety of students. If any area is in need of improvements, it is the district’s responsibility to notify appropriate agencies to remedy the problem. All policies and procedures should be in place and effective communications should flow from the district to schools and to the parents.
The district is responsible for promoting school safety programs and providing safety information to students and parents, to assist in their responsibility of instructing their children.
5. City of Colorado Springs
The City of Colorado Springs acknowledges a portion of responsibility for providing the safest environment for children traveling to and from school. The City of Colorado Springs will regulate the installation of signs, markings, and traffic controls that are necessary, based on engineering review and evaluation under the guide lines of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Traffic Engineering will continue to communicate with the District and citizens to review expressed concerns. There will be an on going process of designating walk routes by the City of Colorado Springs. The City of Colorado Springs will continue with the evaluation of crossing locations and authorization of crossing guards provided by the intergovernmental agreement. The City of Colorado Springs will oversee a pedestrian safety education program throughout the District. The City of Colorado Springs will continue to review development plans to insure that all safety concerns are addressed at the time plans are submitted to optimize safety for students. It should be understood that the responsibility is limited and shared with the District, parents of the students, and students.
D. Eligibility for District Provided Transportation Services
1. Transportation Service Index (TSI)
The TSI is a tool used to evaluate district areas for eligibility for district provided transportation services. The primary factors taken into consideration are student age, school level, actual walking distance and student safety. Walking distance is defined as the shortest distance from home to school using safe designated trails, walking paths and sidewalks. Required roadway crossings along the route to and from school along with unusual safety circumstances are taken into account.
Streets to be crossed (Roadway Classifications - major / minor arterial, major / minor residential collectors, etc.) are defined in the City of Colorado Springs "Subdivision Policy Manual and Public Works Design Manual." Classifications will be based on the City of Colorado Springs "Roadway Classification Map." Other factors, such as absence of walk paths or sidewalks, construction, visibility and topography are taken into consideration.
All factors are evaluated, weighed and assigned a numeric value. The total TSI Points equals the total of all the factor values. The Total TSI Points must equal or exceed fourteen (14) points to qualify for district provided services.
Areas can be requested for evaluation by parents, principals, district administrators or school board members. The evaluation will be conducted by the Transportation Department and approved by the Director of Transportation. Results of the evaluations will be briefed monthly to the Transportation Advisory Committee for final determination of action to be taken.
The TSI has been designed to ensure that an equitable system is in place to evaluate all areas throughout the school district.
Special Needs
Students with special needs, that fall under applicable federal and state regulations will be evaluated during their staffing. Eligibility for transportation as a related service will be determined at that time. Services will be prescribed in the students Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Students that meet the criteria for Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 should request transportation services through the District’s Equal Opportunity Programs & Ombudservices Director for an eligibility determination.
Permit Students
Parents will be responsible for transportation of students that "permit" to another school outside their home school attendance area.
4.
Space Available TransportationSchool bus routes are designed to support only those students eligible for district provided transportation services. Bus stops will only be designed in the "Transported Area."
In an effort to ensure the maximum utilization of District assets, students may ride district school buses on a "Space Available Basis." This service is provided to those students that live in the school’s attendance area but do not live in the school’s transported area. Permit students are not eligible for transportation services.
This service will not be available until after October 1st of each new school year.
Space Available service may be cancelled at any time during the school year or school day during the AM or PM route. This may occur to ensure that a seat on the bus is provided for students who are eligible for transportation services. Other options for families to transport their children to and from school should be in place at all times.
Parents desiring to utilize this service may apply at the District’s Transportation Office. Where students are required to cross major roads and thoroughfares to access space available transportation services and the safety of the student is a factor, space available transportation services may be denied by the Transportation Department.
Adopted: January 2002
Revised: December 2002
Cross Ref:
EEA Student Transportation
EEAA Walkers and Riders
EEAB Special Education Student Transportation
EEAC Bus Scheduling and Routing
EEAC-R Bus Scheduling and Routing
EEAE Bus Safety Program
EEAEA Bus Driver Requirements, Training and Responsibilities
EEAEAA Controlled Substances and Alcohol Testing
EEAEAA-R Controlled Substances and Alcohol Testing
EEAEC Student Conduct on School Buses
EEAEC-R Mandatory Rules Student Conduct on School Buses