LWSD has recently updated the school walk route maps for elementary schools, and we need your help in reviewing them to ensure that they are accurate. If your child attends Sandburg, Thoreau, or Juanita Elementary School, please take a moment to look at the map for your child’s school and send an email to Amy Falcone (amyef81@yahoo.com) with your feedback, including any parts of your child’s walk route that aren’t already included on the map and any areas of your route that are a particular safety concern, with a description of the safety issue. Amy will share the neighborhood’s consolidated feedback with the school district for consideration in map revisions. It’s important to have this map reflect your child’s walk route so that any needed improvements can be eligible and prioritized for future funding opportunities. Thank you!
Input Needed on School Walk Routes
LWSD references “Washington State School Walk and Bike Routes: A Guide for Planning and Improving Walk and Bike to School Options for Students” as the social and legal basis for defining these walk routes and needed transportation options. The Guide states that schools should defined safe walk routes within one square mile of the school, yet in most cases the routes are limited to .25 to .50mi from the school. There are several features that are missing from the maps, for example the perimeter fences on school grounds should show gates and other other access points for students coming from different directions.
84th Avenue between Sandburg Elementary & Finn Hill Middle School has been of concern for awhile because there is no sidewalk on the West side of 84th. Also 132nd from Finn Hill Middle School from 84th to 87th Ave NE, again no sidewalk on most of this segment and very dark in the mornings late Fall-Winter – lots of student pedestrians and lots of cars especially after school.
Also, intersection of 84th & 132nd in front of Finn Hill Middle School – drivers are disregarding pedestrians frequently and going through intersections while pedestrians crossing.
Finally, the 20 MPH signs placed between Sandburg and FHMS are both obstructed by tree branches. Drivers rarely obeying the 20 MPH speed.
*when the yellow light is flashing