Lafayette Celebrates Traffic Safety Improvements Around Schools

LAFAYETTE, CA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / October 18, 2024 / Lafayette, Calif. – On Tuesday night, the Lafayette City Council heard a presentation about recent traffic safety improvements around town.

          Traffic safety around the City of Lafayette’s public and private schools was prioritized in 2021 by the Lafayette City Council and the City’s Transportation & Circulation Commission. In response, the City’s Engineering Department initiated a series of Rapid Implementation School Safety Plans for each of the schools in Lafayette. 

          As part of the effort to develop the Rapid Implementation School Safety Plans, City staff and a consultant team solicited participation and input from residents and representatives from each school community, including parents and school staff, to collaboratively identify safety concerns and potential mitigation efforts on city streets around Stanley Middle School, Lafayette Elementary School, Springhill Elementary School, Acalanes High School, Happy Valley Elementary School, Burton Valley Elementary School, and The Meher Schools.

          The process resulted in plans for each campus with identified short-term, mid-term, and long-term projects intended to address the documented safety concerns. Then, the City’s Transportation-Circulation Commission made recommendations on which projects to prioritize to the City Council, which allocated $1.3M in development fees to the City’s Engineering Department to design and construct those priority projects. As of this summer, implementation of the identified priority projects has been substantially completed, including:

·      23 ADA-compliant curb ramps 

·      10 high-visibility crosswalks 

·      Seven-speed humps 

·      Six rapid flashing beacon crossings

·      Six bulb-outs

·      Four-speed radar signs 

·      Two raised crosswalks

·      Two bike lane projects

·      Two pedestrian “head start” signal timing adjustments 

·      Two lanes were narrowed for speed reduction

·      One new sidewalk 

In addition to these physical improvements, the City initiated additional efforts to slow vehicle traffic around schools and improve safety for students, parents, caregivers, and school staff. These include: 

·      Reduced school zone speed limits around all Lafayette schools; 

·      Completed a traffic calming project for the Burton Valley neighborhood surrounding Burton Valley Elementary School; 

·      Initiated the Slow Down Lafayette campaign, led by the Lafayette Police Department, to reduce vehicular speeds and contribute towards a culture of slower driving throughout the City.

          Mayor Gina Dawson reflected after the meeting, “This has been a Council priority since 2021, and the significant improvements made this summer are truly remarkable. These are achievements for the City to celebrate and take pride in, and we are grateful to all the people who gave their input and helped identify the neighborhood priorities.”

          The presentation came just over two years after Ashley Dias, a crossing guard, was tragically killed in a traffic collision in front of Stanley Middle School on September 8, 2021. Mayor Dawson ended the City Council meeting on Tuesday night in Mr. Dias’s memory.

          For a comprehensive list of enhancements regarding Lafayette’s Rapid Implementation School Safety Plans, visit https://www.lovelafayette.org/city-hall/city-departments/engineering/transportation/local-road-safety-plan/traffic-safety-around-schools or contact Patrick Golier, Transportation & Circulation Program Manager, at (925) 299-3229 or email pgolier@lovelafayette.org. You can also watch the staff presentation to the City Council on October 15, 2024, on the City’s YouTube channel. You can also read the staff report. 

A PDF of the slide deck presented on October 15, 2024, is part of the Staff Report and available online at:  https://lafayette.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=43&clip_id=7435&meta_id=188482.