Many cities have determined that school zones take the highest priority in traffic safety project planning. In order to ensure that these zones receive extra consideration, some cities offer a system of identifying, evaluating and prioritizing school zone safety that is separate from other traffic-calming considerations. Here is an example of one such successful program.

Evaluation Phase:

A list of all school zones under the city's responsibility is developed. Details regarding each zone - including the classification of street, number of marked crosswalks and traffic signal locations are collected. Using this data, the city scores each zone in order to rank and prioritize them for possible locations of school safety projects. A two-tiered scoring system is used to score the zones.

First-Tier scoring - based on street classification & existing marked crosswalks as follows:

Once scores from this first tier are collected, a short list of schools is chosen based on the scores and the school's geographic location - north, northeast, southeast and west. Geographic location is taken into consideration to ensure that all districts receive equitable consideration.

Second-Tier scoring - schools zones that make the short list are then evaluated based upon traffic speed and volume data. The highest priority school safety projects are selected by comparing each school's point totals.

Once a school has been selected to receive a school safety project, the following steps are taken:

1. A project committee is formed for each targeted school. This committee is typically made up of the school’s administration, parent groups, neighborhood association, the Fire Bureau, Police Traffic Division, the local transit authority and transportation staff. This committee begins to discuss problems, possible solutions and project designs drawn up by the transportation staff.

2. An Open House is held to allow others to comment. This may include neighbors, local businesses, parents and other interested parties.

3. A final plan is developed and implemented.