Lawrence leaders approve revised Safe Routes to School plan; it was updated to reflect closures of Pinckney, Broken Arrow elementaries
photo by: City of Lawrence
Lawrence leaders have adopted the updated version of the city’s plan for sidewalks and school routes related to the recent closures of Pinckney and Broken Arrow elementary schools.
As the Journal-World reported, the City of Lawrence began seeking feedback from parents to assist in updating the Safe Routes to School program back in early May. With Pinckney and Broken Arrow students being redistributed to six schools and other reshuffling occurring by extension, the plan needed to be updated to reflect the district’s new school boundaries.
The plan, which was approved as part of the Lawrence City Commission’s consent agenda at its Tuesday meeting, now includes a set of route revisions made to the affected schools: Cordley, Deerfield, Hillcrest, Langston Hughes, Quail Run, Schwegler, Sunflower, Sunset Hills and Woodlawn. In addition, the plan includes new infrastructure planning maps for future pedestrian and bicycle projects.
A summary of changes to the plan notes that the timeline for boundary decisions prevented city staff from soliciting crossing guard requests from the community for the 2023-24 school year. Instead, the Safe Routes to School work group proposed a pilot program placing crossing guards at seven locations for 30 to 60 days to evaluate their usage.
Those locations are as follows:
• Sixth Street and Folks Road — Quail Run Elementary
• Sixth Street and Stoneridge Drive — Langston Hughes Elementary
• Sixth Street and Michigan Street — Hillcrest Elementary
• Ninth Street and Emery Road — Hillcrest Elementary
• 23rd Street and Louisiana Street — Cordley Elementary
• Iowa Street and Clinton Parkway — Schwegler Elementary
• Iowa Street and 27th Street — Schwegler Elementary
The plan as approved removes three existing crossing guards — at Inverness Drive and Winged Foot Court, 19th Street and Harper Street, and 23rd Street and Harper Street — for the next school year. It adds crossing guards at Inverness Drive and Sunflower Park Place and Inverness Drive and 27th Street.
The summary also notes that changes in school start and end times could possibly affect the city’s ability to provide crossing guards. Final decisions on that front are set to be made following the City of Lawrence’s budget process, since adequate funding will be needed to cover any proposed crossing guards.