Washington Technology Magnet School Safe Routes to School Plan

Washington Technology Magnet School

Safe Routes to School Plan

May 10, 2017

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Report Prepared by:

The Office of Saint Paul City Councilmember Amy Brendmoen, Ward 5

15 W. Kellogg Blvd. Suite 320E, Saint Paul, MN 55102

651-266-8650

Washington Technology Magnet Safe Routes to School

Planning Team

Amy Brendmoen, City Councilmember

City of Saint Paul

Kim O’Brien, Legislative Aide

City of Saint Paul

Dr. Mike McCollor, Principal

Washington Technology Magnet School

Michelle Leba, Curriculum Coordinator

Washington Technology Magnet School

Carol Grady, SHIP Grant Lead

Saint Paul Public Schools

Tom Burr, Transportation Director

Saint Paul Public Schools

Kerry Antrim, Executive Director and Parent

District 6 Planning Council

Commander Jeremy Ellison

Saint Paul Police Department

Elizabeth Stiffler, Traffic Engineering

Saint Paul Public Works

Luke Hanson, Traffic Engineering

Saint Paul Public Works

Erin Laberee, Traffic Engineering

Ramsey County Public Works

Janice Rettman, Commissioner

Ramsey County

Toi Fokuo, Parent

Levi Randle, Parent

Abdi Ari Mohamed, Parent

Aisha Bare, Parent

Philip Friedlund, Parent

Maria Soto, Parent

Salena Meyers, Parent

Chris Boulton, Parent

Carmen Diprima, Parent

Connie Bernardy, Executive Director

Ramsey County Active Living

Ronna Woolery, Property Manager

Lamplighter Village Apartments

Shonette Doggett, Injury Prevention Program

Coordinator

Regions Hospital/Health Partners

Binita Basnet, Student

Dhiraj Basnet, Student

Srijana Kharel, Student

Chapter 1: Background

Project Background

Bikram Phuyel was 11-years old and a 6

grader at Washington Technology Magnet School when on

October 27, 2014 at 7AM he was hit by a car and critically injured on his way to school. He was crossing

Rice Street, a busy, four-lane arterial road running north/south through the North End neighborhood in

Saint Paul. It was still dark outside and Bikram was waiting to cross Rice Street at Hoyt. One car stopped

for him to cross the street. Another car did not stop. After suffering a traumatic brain injury and a lot of

rehabilitation, Bikram is back at school and doing well, however, he will suffer lingering effects of the

crash throughout his life. Bikram’s cousin, who witnessed the crash, is a member of the Safe Routes to

School Planning Committee that created this report.

After Bikram’s crash, the community demanded improvements to the pedestrian environment on Rice

Street and enforcement of speed and traffic laws. Indeed, the Saint Paul Police targeted enforcement in

the area following the crash and continue to monitor speeds and failure to yield to pedestrians in the

neighborhood. The City of Saint Paul passed a resolution requesting the speed limit on this section of

Rice Street (which is a Ramsey County road) be reduced from 35MPH to 30MPH. Unfortunately, MnDOT

conducted a speed study and determined that the limit is set appropriately for 35MPH, to the

disappointment of the neighborhood. The community also requested Ramsey County consider a

different treatment of Rice Street at Hoyt, where four lanes merge to three, however, the county

engineers determined this was the appropriate location for the lane reduction and made no changes.

Finally, City Councilmember Amy Brendmoen and Washington Technology Magnet School Principal Mike

McCollor decided to conduct a community driven process to create a Safe Routes to School plan for

improvements for students walking and biking to school. In September 2016, the school and city

convened SRTS Planning Committee to engage the local community, students, parents and teachers in

the process to set a vision for a more walkable, bike-able and safer community around Washington

Tech.

Washington Technology Magnet School

Washington Technology Magnet School is a 6-12 middle and high school that is the largest school in

either Minneapolis or Saint Paul. The attendance area (Area C) is entirely East of Rice Street, though the

school itself is West of Rice. So, many students enrolled at Washington do need to cross Rice Street to

get to school. Others who live nearby and open enroll may need to cross another busy road, Arlington

Ave., to get to school. The school serves 2,106 students of which nearly half qualify for free lunch

services. According to data collected the vast majority of students are bused to school. The school has

several large parking lots, most of which are empty as the majority of the student body does not have

personal vehicles. The drop-off area of the school is very busy every morning with parents or caregivers

choosing to drop off students. This adds to traffic and congestion at the school entrance and nearby

streets.

Map of area around Washington Technology Magnet School, 1495 Rice Street, St. Paul, MN 55117

Safe Routes to School Activities

In October of 2015, Washington Tech hosted the Safe Routes to School National Course Summit,

bringing the local community, planners, administrators and others together to learn about Safe Routes

to School and opportunities for funding to encourage and improve the ability for students to walk or

bike to school each day. The benefits to walking or biking to school are numerous including physical and

mental benefits to students and environmental benefits to the community. Following the summit, some

opportunities for improvement of the pedestrian environment around the school were identified,

though no formal report, plan or community engagement process was established.

In preparation of an application for Safe Routes to School funding, Saint Paul Public Works and

Washington Tech teamed up for a student and parent survey, which was completed in December 2015.

The survey confirmed that bussing was the primary mode of transit for students. Factors outside of the

engineered environment were determined to be strong factors in why parents did not allow their

children to walk to school. Factors identified included crime/personal safety and the weather, for

example. In addition, dangerous crossings, speed and volume of traffic, and lack of sidewalks were

identified as barriers in the surveys. The application for SRTS funding submitted to MnDOT in January of

2016 was not selected for funding.

In Summer of 2016, Saint Paul Public Works submitted a new application for SRTS funding for the area

this time including sidewalk gap infill to the Metropolitan Council Regional Solicitation which was

selected for funding. The grant includes $860,000 with expected contribution from the city capital

improvement budget of another $240,000. The funding comes available in 2020-2021. The grant request

included crosswalk improvements, sidewalk infill, signage, and shortening crossings along Rice Street

and Arlington Ave with bump outs.

Additionally, in early 2017, Ramsey County commenced a study of Rice Street, with intent to reconstruct

the street all the way from University Avenue through Larpenteur Avenue in Saint Paul starting in 2019.

Pedestrian crashes continue to abound in the area surrounding Washington Tech. A key school crossing

on Arlington Avenue was the site of a fatal pedestrian crash in November of 2016. The victim, an elderly

man who lived across the street, was walking in the marked crosswalk when he was hit by a vehicle that

did not see him. Several police reports show pedestrian crashes at marked crossings at the intersections

of Rice and Arlington and Rice and Nebraska.

The Safe Routes to School Planning Committee has created a plan to address safety through Education,

Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering and Evaluation (The 5 E’s). This plan should be implemented

as resources become available with short-term, mid-term and long-term improvements and

programming.

Safe Routes to School Planning: The 5 E’s

Education—Teaching children to bike and walk safely.

Encouragement—Developing programs to highlight walking and biking to school as fun, healthy and

safe.

Enforcement—Having law enforcement participation such as speed zone enforcement, pedestrian

yielding education and enforcement and increased patrols.

Engineering—Identifying and eliminating infrastructure barriers to walking or biking to school safely.

Addressing sidewalk and bike lane gaps, unsafe intersections and road design.

Evaluation—Measuring the impact of investments.

SRTS Washington Tech Timeline

 September 19, 2016—Kick-Off Meeting

 October 4, 2016—Washington Wake-Up (Meeting with Parents)

 October 17, 2016—Mapping area to identify key barriers

 November 21, 2016—Discussion of Education and Encouragement

 December 19, 2016—Walk the area and Discussion of Enforcement

 January 16, 2017—Discussion of Engineering

 February 1, 2017—Winter Walk to School Day; Ramsey County Public Meeting on Rice

Street/Student Presentation

 March 20, 2017—Review Draft Report and findings from Parent and Student surveys

 May 10, 2017—Report Released. National Bike/Walk to School Day observed

Ramsey County Public Meeting on Rice Street Study Rice and Arlington on Project Teams Area Walk

JROTC Students and Principal McCollor at Hoyt Ave on Project Team’s Area Walk

Winter Walk to School Dday

Chapter 2: Recommendations (The 5 E’s)

Education

Because Washington Tech is a Middle and High School, the education curriculum must meet older

students where they are at. The Safe Routes to School Planning Committee recommends robust

education around awareness education and teaching the students how and where to safely cross the

street. The committee recommends the following strategies to improve education:

 Washington Tech will create and publish preferred walking and biking route maps on the

school website, as well as have printed versions available for students and parents at the front

desk. We will consider asking Washington Students to assist in developing an app showing safe

routes to school.

 Washington Tech will include pedestrian and bicycle safety education annually during Bike and

Walk to School Week. Messaging will include the dangers of distracted walking and promote

crossing at signalized intersections whenever possible.

 Washington Tech will promote the health and wellness benefits of walking and biking to school

to students.

 Washington Teach will provide personal safety education to students including environmental

awareness (avoiding distractions) and calling for students to report to parents when they have

arrived safely to school.

 Driver education is also important for the community. Saint Paul Police will help educate drivers

to stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk (at every street corner) by continued promotion and

the Stop for Me campaign and events.

Encouragement

To get students excited about walking and biking to school, and to support students who do walk and

bike, the SRTS Planning Committee recommends:

 Bike/Walk to School Day and Winter Walk Day will be observed annually with a large school

event that include walking and biking giveaways/swag (donated from partners such as Health

Partners, St Paul Police Department, and Department of Education). Walk to School Day involves

bussed kids through a “remote drop-off” event where busses will drop students off ¼-1/2 mile

away from school and walk as a group.

 Additional bike racks be added at school entrances.

 Instating a volunteer program for crossing guards or supervisors at major crossings. This will

encourage students to walk (and parents to feel safe allowing children to walk) by having

responsible, adults supervising the route to and from school.

 Offer an opportunity for students and parents to “sign up” and connect for others who live in

their neighborhood for group walks (i.e. Walking Bus) during Open House events.

Enforcement

The Saint Paul Police Department has been very supportive of Safe Routes to School planning at

Washington Tech and others. The Police conducted an enhanced enforcement program in December

and January. Police stopped and cited 21 violators for various moving violations, to include speeding,

failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, seat belt violations, distracted driving (texting) and failure

to obey traffic control signals. In addition, the SPPD has agreed to:

 Conduct more frequent patrols in the area around the school around school start and end

times.

 Continue the Stop for Me campaign to enforce the law that vehicles are to yield to pedestrians

at every intersection. Conduct a Stop for Me event at Rice and Hoyt during school start and/or

end times.

 Rice Street will be a focus corridor for the 2017 Stop for Me campaign, meaning frequent

pedestrian safety events in the area throughout the year.

 Support SRTS efforts by providing police presence and resources to assist in Winter Walk Day

and Bike/Walk to School Day.

 Build strong relationships with students and parents in the area and recognize perspectives of

people who will be concerned to see police vehicles parked at the school for events.

 Place dynamic speed display signs on Rice Street between Arlington and Larpenteur to help

reduce speed.

Engineering

The Planning Committee recommends a number of changes to the physical environment in the

neighborhood around Washington Technology Magnet to promote safety when walking and biking to

school.

Rice Street Re-Design

Ramsey County is in the process of studying Rice Street and plans to rebuild the street within the next

several years. This is an opportunity to change the character of the street from one that prioritizes

vehicles over pedestrians to a “complete street” that serves people whether on foot, bike, car, bus or

wheelchair. The Planning Committee recommends the

following improvements to Rice Street:

 Reduce speed limit on Rice Street to 30MPH.

Further, implement a School Zone on Rice

Street with a limit of 20MPH during school

start and end times. Use dynamic display signs

to post the correct speed limit for the time of

day and week so motorists do not have to

guess what the limit is.

 Convert Rice Street from 4 lanes to 2 or 3

lanes (at least in the segment North of

Maryland Ave.). The center lanes should be for

turning left with one lane of traffic in either

direction. This will eliminate the “double

threat” to pedestrians of a car speeding

around another that is yielding. Ensure

adequate notification of drivers that the lane

shift is coming to avoid points of conflict.

 Add pedestrian refuge islands at key intersections to reduce the length of safe crossing of Rice

Street. Where possible, plant trees or grass in the medians to improve the aesthetic and health

of the corridor.

 Add “human scale” and “above average” lighting to Rice Street (lantern-style) rather than tall

“bent straw” lights common to highways. This will increase lighting on the street, calm traffic

and change the aesthetic.

 Eliminate parking on Nebraska leading up to the school. Reduce width of street by extending

boulevards and/or using paint to stripe a refuge area between curb and driving lane.

 Add a high visibility crosswalk for a safe pedestrian crossing at Rice and Hoyt (such as a HAWK

(High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk) or RRFB (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon)). These are

lighted pedestrian crossing signs that are activated by a pedestrian and instructs vehicles to stop

while the pedestrian crosses safely.

 Discuss placement of Metro Transit Bus Stops for maximum rider and pedestrian safety.

Encourage upgraded bus shelters (add shelters where none exist) with real-time bus schedules,

benches, and increased waiting refuge areas. (Metro Transit is planning several shelter upgrades

in the area in Summer 2017.)

Intersection Improvements

 Add bump-outs at the intersection of Rice and Nebraska and Rice and Arlington that would

shorten the crossing area. If there is no room for bump-outs on Rice, the bump outs could only

be added to the side streets (Nebraska and Arlington). Bump outs will also create more space

for pedestrians to wait safely for walk signals.

 Add bump-outs at the intersection of Arlington and Matilda. In the short-term, use bollards to

shorten the crossing at this intersection before permanent bump-outs are constructed.

 Paint high visibility pedestrian crosswalks at the intersections of Rice and Nebraska and Rice

and Arlington. These include (but not limited to block-style painted stripes).

 Improve traffic signals at the intersections of Rice and Nebraska and Rice and Arlington.

Consider a left-turn arrow to reduce congestion for drivers turning into the school.

 Install Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) timing on traffic signals at Arlington and Nebraska on

Rice (completed, March 2017). Consider expansion of LPI to other signaled intersections in the

Washington Tech School walk area.

Bicycle Infrastructure

 Stripe the bike lane on Arlington Ave. Use green paint to clearly identify the bike route and

extend through intersection with Rice.

 Complete the portion of the Grand Round on Wheelock Parkway from Rice Street west to Dale

Street. This will add sidewalk and bike lane and connect the area to the rest of the Grand Round.

Ensure bike connection is extended with safe passage through the Rice Street intersection. The

Grand Round will provide an excellent bike and walk route to Washington Tech students.

 Add a connection from the Grand Round directly to the school’s north side entrance off Hoyt.

 Add bike racks to school property at three entrances (Arlington, Nebraska, Hoyt).

 Add a bike fix-up station for students and staff to encourage biking to school.

Sidewalk Infill

The area around Washington Technology Magnet School is not well-served by sidewalks, despite being a

densely populated area near a commercial corridor and school. For safe walking to school sidewalk infill

must be prioritized. Below is a list of gaps in the system in the immediate area.

 Rice Street on the west side from Larpenteur to Wheelock (pictured below).

 Hoyt Avenue on both sides from Rice Street all the

way to the school.

 Nebraska on the north side of the street (sidewalks

go to the school on the south side already).

 Pave foot path diagonal on grassy area at entrance

to school from Rice on Nebraska.

 Side streets leading up to Nebraska Ave including:

Marion, Woodbridge and Albermarle.

 Wheelock Parkway west of Rice Street on north and

south sides (will be added when Grand Round is

completed).

 Larpenteur Avenue gaps on north and south sides

between Dale and Interstate 35E.

 Arlington Avenue east of Rice Street on south side.

School Property

The school was built with a large capacity for parking cars and on most days, many the parking lots sit

unfilled. Students are not driving to school in the numbers that they used to and many staff also chose

alternative modes of getting to school.

It is the recommendation of the SRTS team that the Saint Paul Public Schools reduce the size of the

parking lot and increase green space (and pedestrian and bicycle connections) through school property.

Two large parking lots east of the school, especially

the southern lot are underutilized most of the day.

Chapter 3: Conclusion

The students and staff at Washington Technology Magnet School have every reason to be hopeful for

improvements in the months and years to come to the experience and ability to walk or bike to school.

The benefits of walking or biking are enumerable to the individual and to the community. With a

planning process now underway to reengineer Rice Street by Ramsey County Public (construction

estimated to begin in 2019), this plan is well-timed to assure meaningful improvements to that main

barrier.

Additionally, our success in securing federal Safe Routes to School funding (available in 2019-2020) will

mean that many of the engineering recommendations are funded and will become a part of the City of

Saint Paul and Ramsey County’s public works implementation plans. In addition, a renewed focus on

Safe Routes to School by both the City of Saint Paul and the Saint Paul Public Schools will mean robust

programming and support by school administration and local government departments.

This report should become an addendum to the Ramsey County Rice Street Safety Study, the District 6

Small Area Plan (and Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan), the Revitalize Rice & Larpenteur multijurisdictional

planning initiative, the Saint Paul Bicycle Plan and the Saint Paul Safe Routes to School plan library. It will

be up to the members of the planning committee and the broader public to continue to reference the

Washington Tech SRTS plan and encourage investment and adherence to recommendations as an

ongoing practice.

Images from Walk/Bike to School Day. May 10, 2017