How does your student typically get to school or travel in their neighborhood?
Across Oregon, Safe Routes to School Programs are working to make it safer, easier, and more fun for families to be active on the way to school.
The Project Opportunity
The City of Ashland was recently awarded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) planning assistance from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Through this program, staff from City of Ashland, Ashland School District, and ODOT are working together to create an SRTS Plan that identifies street improvements near Ashland Middle School, Ashland High School, Walker Elementary School, TRAILS Outdoor School, Helman Elementary School and Bellview Elementary School to support students and families in walking and biking to school safely. The SRTS Plan will also recommend opportunities for education and engagement to promote walking and biking to school. Planners from Alta Planning + Design, an active transportation consulting firm, are guiding the planning process.
This spring, the project team will identify and prioritize safety needs within a mile of the school. Then, the team will identify SRTS construction, education, and engagement recommendations and complete the SRTS Plan. This will also include a project team visit to the community and a walk audit to observe student arrival and dismissal. During this visit, the team and community members will document the walking and biking conditions around the school area.
There are three ways to participate:
1) Join us for school walk audits on April 10th and 11th!
On April 10th and 11th, the project team will host walk audits at Ashland Middle School, Ashland High School, Willow Wind, TRAILS Outdoor School, Helman Elementary School and Bellview Elementary School to document the walking and biking conditions around the school area. These will be morning and afternoon sessions to observe arrival and dismissal.
Below are the details regarding the time and location of these walk audits. Visit the mentioned location and look for the yellow vests.
April 10th:
7:50 at Ashland Middle School, Willow Wind, and TRAILS Outdoor School (Main Entrance of Ashland Middle School)
2:30 p.m. at Ashland High School (In front of the theater on Mountainview Ave)
April 11th:
7:30 a.m. at Helman Elementary School (Office)
2:30 p.m. at Bellview Elementary School (Main Entrance)
2) Attend a community meeting to share your ideas on April 11, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
The project team will be hosting a meeting to introduce the project and gather feedback from community members. Join us on April 11, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Ashland Middle School library at 100 Walker Ave.
3) Share feedback using our interactive online map.
Tell us about your experiences getting to and from school using our interactive online map. Your feedback will inform where we should prioritize safety improvements. By sharing your feedback, you’ll also be entered to win a walking or rolling safety pack ($50 value).
Link to the online map: http://odotsrtsprojectid.com/
ODOT SRTS Field Visit Schedule
School Site Half Sheet Plans
Ashland High School
Ashland Middle School & TRAILS Outdoor School
Bellview Elementary School
Helman Elementary School