Fuquay Varina Pedestrian Plan - Adopted 8-1-2022

LINCOLN HEIGHTS SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL ACTION PLAN LINCOLN HEIGHTS SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL ACTION PLAN

Below are examples of recommendations from the Lincoln Heights Safe Routes to School Action Plan that could serve as a template for Safe Routes to Schools & Parks Plans in other locations of Fuquay-Varina.

Safe Routes To Schools & Parks Action Plans

ENCOURAGEMENT

WALKING SCHOOL BUS / BIKE TRAINS PROMOTIONAL COMPETITIONS ENCOURAGEMENT, CONTINUED

Recommendation: Develop action plans for active transportation connections to both schools and parks around Fuquay-Varina building off efforts such as the Lincoln Heights Safe Routes to School Action Plan as well as the priority recommendations in this pedestrian plan update.

Walking School Buses and Bike Trains let students walk or bicycle to school as a group, often with an adult volunteer. They may be daily, weekly, or monthly events. Student art competitions showcase local talent while teaching traffic safety principles. Students compete to have their artwork featured in a campaign. Competitions can include poster or video contests as well as social media campaigns and competitions. Best Practice Programs: » Pinehurst Elementary School in Pinehurst, NC, created a Walking School Bus that resulted in a 22% reduction in traffic. » Michigan’s SRTS program developed Walking School Bus volunteer resources, sample parent letters, and resources to help develop a route. » Santa Clarita, CA, SRTS developed a Walking School Bus Training Guidebook to help parents form walking school buses. » Tampa Bay, FL, Washington, DC, Denver, CO, and Portland, OR, participated in a Bike Train Webinar . Best Practice Programs: » Davis, CA holds an annual Traffic Safety Poster Contest with an art opening to celebrate. » San Ramon Valley, CA’s StreetSmarts has an annual “Be Reel” video contest for middle school students. » Tacoma, WA, planners partnered with school artists on a "35 Ways to Safer Neighborhood Streets” book.

BACKGROUND Safe Routes to Schools and Parks enables and encourages children to walk and bike to schools and parks. These programs facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools and parks. Both schools and parks are key local destinations with significant amounts of local travel (ie; shorter, walkable distances). If connected by all ages and abilities pedestrian infrastructure, they have the potential to influence a shift to more active modes of transportation. Serving as 'mini' pedestrian/bicycle plans for each school/park, these planning processes could begin by incorporating the recommendations for the network updates from this plan, and further explore opportunities and challenges for infrastructure, programming, and policy. See the Safe Routes to Schools and Parks Projects in Chapter 3 as well as Priority Project #’s 1 and 3 in Chapter 3 of this plan for an example of potential connectivity improvements to multiple schools and parks in Fuquay-Varina. Encouraging children to walk or bike to and from schools and parks is an easy and inexpensive solution. Following are suggestions on programmatic approaches to active transportation for students to schools/parks:

• If children live close enough and have a safe route, they can walk to school— walking with parents, friends or others in their neighborhood. • Another option is a walking school bus, led by parents or school staff. Students can gather at a designated location and walk in a “bus” with a parent or other trusted adult leading the group to school in the morning and home again in the afternoon. • For students who live too far away, a drop-off location within walking distance of the school can be used as the meeting location. Churches are often willing to host these meet-ups. The students would then walk together, preferably with an adult, to and from the school. • National Walk to School Day: In partnerships with the National Center for Safe Routes to School organizes an annual Walk to School Day during the rst week of Walk Month. Encourage parents and school officials to organize a walking school bus for parents at local schools and engage the next generation of bicyclists. Learn more and get tips at www.walkbiketoschool.org. Many of these ideas and resources are both applicable to schools and parks connectivity as key destinations in Fuquay Varina.

Suggested Lead Agency: » Suggested Lead Agency:

Lincoln Heights SRTS Task Force

Cost: $-$$

Lincoln Heights SRTS Task Force

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Cost: $

WALK-AT-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

SUGGESTED ROUTE TO SCHOOL MAPS

Through this program, children are given the opportunity and are encouraged to increase how much they walk during school hours through competitions, prizes, goal setting, and other activities. This type of program is especially important for schools that don't have good walking or biking routes, or if students live too far to walk or ride bikes. Suggested route maps show existing sidewalks, trails, bikeways, crossing guards, and traffic control to help parents find the best walking and biking routes to school. An example and template for Lincoln Heights can be found on page 4-16. Involving students in the development of personal maps is recommended. Best Practice Programs: » Tigers on the Prowl is a popular walking program at Davidson Elementary School in Davidson, NC. » The Creative Walking website provides resources and materials to create school walking wellness programs. » Taking the First Step Toolkit also provides examples and resources for implementing walk-at-school programs. Best Practice Programs: » The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has a white paper on School Route Maps. » Washington State requires school districts to develop suggested route maps for all elementary schools. » Davis, CA, developed user-friendly Suggested Route Maps that include walking times and bicycle parking.

Suggested Lead Agency: Suggested Lead Agency:

Lincoln Heights Elementary Staff Lincoln Heights SRTS Task Force

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Cost: $ Cost: $-$$

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CHAPTER 4: PROGRAMS CHAPTER 4: PROGRAMS

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CHAPTER 4: PROGRAM & POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

FUQUAY-VARINA PEDESTRIAN PLAN

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