A path to healthier students and safer streets in Lynn

LYNN — The City of Lynn is committed to encouraging students to become more active in their school commutes, all while getting more cars off the road.

The efforts are being coordinated through the Safe Routes to School Program — a free, federally funded program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that works to increase safe walking, biking and rolling among public elementary, middle and high school students. The program uses a collaborative, community-focused approach that bridges the gap between health and transportation. The aim is to help students stay active and build independence, boost attendance and reduce tardiness; and decrease traffic congestion and improve air quality. The program serves more than 1,170 schools in more than 280 communities across the Commonwealth.

“By utilizing the Safe Routes to School program, we can take advantage of state funding to make improvements to our streets that not only make our streets safer for students and their families, but also improve the overall quality of our public realm and make even vehicular traffic move more efficiently at pickup and drop-off times,” said Lauren Drago, the city’s associate planning director.

“The Safe Routes to School program serves multiple purposes,” said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “It provides an opportunity for students to combine exercise with getting to school safely, while reducing vehicular traffic around our schools. We are pleased to partner with MassDOT on this important initiative.”

Some of the schools are implementing walking school buses, in which a group of students meet at designated stops and walk to school with one or more adults.

On Wednesday, Brickett Elementary School students participated in the International Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day (iWalk)—one of the program’s four flagship event. The other three include the Winter Walk, Bike & Roll in February, Car-Free Campus Day in April, and Massachusetts Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day in May. As part of the iWalk, FedEx employees came to Brickett to help students cross intersections, give them a tour of a truck and talk about pedestrian safety.

During the school year, Safe Routes to School offers pedestrian and bicycle training activities, walk and bike assessments, and arrival/dismissal observations at schools. A coordinator works with schools and their local communities to help customize safety-focused activities, provide resources to help facilitate safe student travel, and offer one-on-one assistance for each school’s specific needs.

“Our coordinator meets individually with principals, and reviews what’s happening at arrival and dismissal. It’s really helpful, and neighborhood-specific,” said Maricel Goris, deputy superintendent of Lynn Public Schools. “She comes in with so much information, and it’s a low lift for the district.”

The program also offers grant funding for infrastructure improvements, signs and lines, technical assistance and bike racks. Lynn is currently pursing a grant that would make improvements near Brickett.

“If we are awarded the infrastructure grant, we’ll be able to work with MassDOT to engineer a few different interventions that could help make Lewis Street safer for students getting to school,” said Drago. “By making sidewalks wider, creating more visible crosswalks, and considering different design changes that would minimize vehicular speeding, we believe we can make the neighborhood safer not only for students, but for all the households in the area.”

Safe Routes to School’s infrastructure funding program launched two years ago, and 84 projects have been completed or are in progress. The program provides design and construction services for projects between $300,000 and $1.5 million.

“I’m really happy to be working on this application because the school leadership, elected officials, and residents in this area had expressed concern about the safety of pedestrians on this street,” said Drago. “I am excited to be able to act on this feedback and hopefully use these existing state programs to make an improvement.”

Beyond the grant, Drago said they are working with MassDOT to conduct arrival/dismissal reports for all of the district’s schools.

“These reports are a huge help for grant applications like this or to help us consider the intricacies of arrival/dismissal processes when we’re contemplating street improvements near schools,” she said.

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