Culver City residents in the neighborhoods surrounding Linwood E Howe Elementary School may have noticed the recent appearance of orange cones and markings on some roads and sidewalks, and may also be wondering what they are for.
It is thanks to the City applying for, and receiving, a grant from the Safe Routes to School Program. The $450,000 grant (which is matched with around $50,000 from City funds) will help improve the streets around Linwood E Howe Elementary School for students and residents.
In applying for the grant the
City Council had to identify the areas of risk and concern with traffic around
the school. Local residents, education
officials, the police department, and parents amongst others, attended a
workshop to identify some of the main safety areas. Direct field observation
was used, with the Safe Routes to School National consultant observing the
traffic and the student behavior around the school. They also reviewed
pedestrian related and bicycle related injuries data between the years 2002 and
2007 which identified some of the main junctions in which traffic related
injuries were sustained.
The grant has two main
purposes; firstly by changing the infrastructure on 13 main locations along the
most commonly identified walking and cycling routes to Linwood E Howe
Elementary School. Changes include adding bulb-outs and curb extensions to
intersections; providing perpendicular curb ramps making it safer for
wheelchairs and baby strollers to cross the road, and adding high visibility crosswalks
at crossings. A crossing island will also be added at the Lucerne/Ince
intersection. These improvements will make street crossings shorter; make
pedestrians more visible to motorists and vice versa, and will slow turning
vehicles. Crosswalk visibility will be increased and motorists will be slowed
on the approach to these crosswalks.
The second purpose of the
grant is to enforce, encourage and educate students and parents. The Police
Department will increase traffic enforcement around the school. Parent
volunteers have handed leaflets to parents dropping their children off at the
front of the school, informing them of the free remote parking opportunity at
City Hall, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion around the school. A committee was formed, consisting of
parents, City Council Staff, Linwood E Howe Principal, and local residents. The
committee was key in implementing a weekly walking school bus, the Hiking
Vikings. The Hiking Vikings meet at two separate points every Friday and walk to
school with the help of adult, parent volunteers. The majority of the 80+
students meet at Carlson Park and walk north along Braddock towards the school.
The other group of students meet at the corner of Ince/Carson and walk along
Ince, Lucerne and Van Buren to the school.
Students can also join onto the “bus” by meeting them along the way or
being dropped off by their parents. The students were encouraged to walk with
support from the Principal and staff within the school and also with the use of
incentives, and a weekly trophy for the class with the most students walking.
Anecdotal evidence showed that the children saw the Friday morning walk as a
“social” experience where they could walk and chat with their friends, and
parents reported their children being enthusiastic about walking on a Friday.
The Hiking Vikings shall continue their weekly walk in the new school year and
the committee will continue to work to educate students and promote pedestrian
and cyclist safety within the school and local community.
In June 2012 I was appointed
as new Chair of the Safe Routes to School Committee after being a member for
the previous school year. I moved to Culver City from Scotland two years ago
and as a family we made the conscious decision not to purchase or lease a car.
Why would we need to? My husband works within a ten-minute walk from our house,
and we also lived within walking distance to the school. Public transport enabled
us to explore and experience the diversity of Los Angeles (even more so with
the new Expo Line Metro) and if we wanted to go further afield – we hired a car
for the weekend. I was surprised however at the reactions of people we met when
we told them we did not have a car – from their reaction it is seemingly
unheard of in Los Angeles.
I became a member of the Safe
Routes to School Committee at Linwood E Howe as it is important to me to
promote the many, many benefits of getting our children to walk and bike to
school. The physical benefits to the children of course are paramount – children
lead such busy lives these days that any opportunity for physical exercise is
key. Also, walking or biking to school
allows them to spend time in a natural environment, learn basic safety skills (which
will be beneficial throughout their life) and also develop a sense of
independence. For me personally – I get to hear about my son’s day, and about
his thoughts on anything from world domination to his plans for making the
movie Star Wars 7. In addition the
benefits to the environment are multiple – walking to school reduces vehicle
emissions and will help make the streets safer by reducing the number of cars
travelling. Of course, I recognize that not everyone can walk to school due to
distance, work commitments etc – which is why I feel the Hiking Vikings is a
great way to promote walking and physical fitness – parents can drop their
children off at the starting point or along the way.
The work that has been
planned around Linwood E Howe and Downtown Culver City has been designed and
engineered with community input, and the support of the City Council. For me,
it not only makes it safer for my child – a student at Linwood E Howe
Elementary School- to walk to school. It makes it safer for us as a family; as
residents of Culver City; walk, cycle, scoot and explore our neighborhood.
For more information about
the grant and proposed work please visit:
For more information about
Safe Routes to School visit:
To show support for the proposed street changes visit;
Yvonne McLauchlan is chair of the Linwood E. Howe Safe Routes to School Committee
I don't understand the purpose of the petition, since it seems as though the city is already proceeding on this. Can you please clarify. Thanks.
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