Safer Routes to School Action Plans

Walking, rolling, and riding the bus to school benefit children’s physical and social health, reduce traffic congestion and improve safety in and around schools.

Enrollment in the Lake Washington School District has increased over the last 10 years, and the trend is projected to continue. Due to regional growth, more traffic is converging on schools at drop-off and pick-up times. This leads to poor traffic circulation, congestion, inadequate parking, and often unsafe conditions.

To address these issues, the City Council asked for the development of a “Safer Routes to School Action Plan” for each neighborhood in Kirkland as a part of the City’s 2019-2020 Work Program. The City Manager directed staff to work in partnership with the Lake Washington School District, law enforcement, design professionals, students, parents, and neighborhoods to identify key steps to make walking, rolling, and riding the bus to school safer and more convenient.

View Map of SRTS Recommended Projects

Important Information

The City Council adopted the Safer Routes to School Action Plans(PDF, 8MB) on September 1, 2020. 

See the September 1, 2020 Safer Routes to School Action Plans Memo, Plan, and Resolution(PDF, 5MB). See the interactive map showing which projects are highest priority.

The Safer Routes to School Action Plans include the following elements. 

• Engagement. Engagement means listening to students, families, school administrators, and other community members throughout the decision-making process to ensure the public’s concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.
• Equity. Equity is about fair and equitable distribution of resources and ensuring safe, healthy, and fair outcomes for low-income students, students of color, and students with disabilities.
• Education. In cooperation with the Lake Washington School District, the education element improves safe walking and rolling skills for all students and community members.
• Encouragement. Encouragement strategies are about having fun and getting more students walking and rolling to and from school. Encouragement also embraces and promotes riding the bus and carpooling as simple, safe, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly options.
• Enforcement. Enforcement activities increase the safety of students walking and rolling to school by targeting unsafe driving behavior. Such behavior includes speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians and bicyclists, illegal parking, and illegal turns in school areas.
• Engineering. Engineering is the design and implementation of traffic control devices and physical improvements to making walking, rolling, and busing to school safer and more convenient and comfortable.
• Evaluation. Evaluation includes collecting information and tracking data over time to measure the effectiveness of methods and practices in the Safer Routes to School Action Plans.