The Safe Routes to School program is collecting data on infrastructures near the schools through a survey and community meetings. The survey includes a public input map where participants are able to locate and report issues from five different categories:

• Sidewalks
• Street crossings and intersections
• Comfort
• Driver behavior
• Safety

Participants are also able to submit a picture with their comments. The survey will stay open until May 10.   

The second phase of the project includes community meetings to discuss concerns, survey key findings and potential solutions. The project intends to gather data and observations from parents, school staff and students on transportation at school hours and see if improvements can be made through current and future projects (e.g., Transportation Master Plan) or maintenance. 

The public input map and the community meetings are preliminary steps to walk audits that would be conducted at Menlo Park public schools, as proposed (but not funded) by the Transportation Master Plan. 

What is a walk audit? A walk audit is an assessment of traffic safety, walkability and infrastructures. During a school walk audit, a group of stakeholders (e.g., parents, school administration, elected official, city staff and students) is convened on the school campus during drop off and pick up hours to make observations. The observation is generally followed by a discussion to identify potential solutions. The data collected are analyzed by engineers who will then make recommendations and develop an improvement plan for the school site. The improvement plan includes countermeasures such as the creation of school loading zones, speed bumps, speed feedback signs, street lane striping, crossing guards, curb extension/bulb outs, high-visibility crosswalks, raised crosswalks or rectangular rapid flash beacon crossing signals.

Please take five minutes to complete the survey and help share the word!