Plain Elementary School

The following are a simple list of advantages, disadvantages, and recommendations based on a community assessment. It is not intended to be a list of complete recommendations and is in no way exhaustive. No set of recommendations can absolutely prevent accidents, injuries or even death from occurring, but we believe that the list of recommendations will help create a safer place for children while going to and from school. Please be sure to consult with SC Department of Transportation, school transportation officials, city, county, council of government, and/ or other municipal transportation staff regarding the transportation issues and recommendations outlined below.

Safety AssessmentTuesday, October 21, 20141:30pm-3:30pm

Participants:Name Title Organization EmailDeborah Mihalic Principal Plain Elementary dmihalic@greenville.k12.sc.usRyan Streetman Assistant Principal Plain Elementary rstreetm@greenville.k12.sc.usJaime Benton Director of Facilities Greenville County Schools jabenton@greenville.k12.sc.usAyesha Ahmad Pedestrian Safety Coordinator Safe Kids Upstate aahmad@ghs.orgPenny Bostain Bicycle Safety Coordinator Safe Kids Upstate pbostain@ghs.orgJay Daniels HSCI Coordinator DHEC danielje@dhec.sc.govNeal Martin Division of Injury and Violence Prevention DHEC martinco@dhec.sc.govLaura Long Community Systems Team DHEC longlb@dhec.sc.govRodney Oldham State SRTS Coordinator SCDOT OldhamR@scdot.orgMark Faulk School Operations Coordinator SCDOT faulkkm@scdot.orgNicole McAden School Outreach Coordinator SC SRTS Resource Center nicole@scsaferoutes.org

School Goals and Objectives:Plain Elementary requested this safety assessment for the following reasons:

- Student safety is a top priority for the school. They are open to suggestions that may increase the level of safety regarding all modes of student transportation.

- Accessibility by all modes is also important. The school would like to see more walkers and bike riders, but wants a safe and comfortable environment to promote these activities.

- Parent behaviors and parent education is important in order to increase safety and reinforce school policies and procedures.

Existing SRTS Involvement and Potential: Plain Elementary is a Silver SRTS Partner and participates in SC Walk to School Day and

International Walk to School Day by planning Walk AT School events. The school has planned many bicycle and pedestrian safety education efforts through an on-

going partnership with Safe Kids Upstate. There are already a moderate number of walkers and bike riders, with some parents also

utilizing a Park and Walk system. Plain Elementary would like to achieve the SRTS Gold Partner status and is interested in

creating a SRTS 5 E Plan to establish a sustainable program.

Existing Procedures and Behavior:

Plain Elementary currently has approximately 890 students. The school serves students in 5K-5th grades.

Arrival Procedureso 7:00am – Students begin arriving at the school. o 7:15am – Students are allowed to enter the building.

7 buses transport students to/from Plain Elementary. Bus riders access the school via the southern entrance off Neely Ferry Road. This loop is supervised by the Principal and Safety Patrols.

Car riders arrive in a single line from the northern entrance off Neely Ferry Road. At 7:30am cars are no longer allowed to turn right out of the parent loop and onto Neely Ferry Road. Cars using this drop-off loop are restricted to right-turn entrances, and left-turn and straight exits. Right turn exits are prohibited by signage, and a cone is placed at the driveway exit in order to block right-turns. This loop is supervised by the Assistant Principal and Safety Patrols.

Approximately 27 students and parents were observed walking and bicycling to school (14 student walkers, 5 parent walkers, and 8 student bike riders). All students access the campus via the crosswalk across Neely Ferry Road. This crosswalk is monitored by a crossing guard employed by the Sheriff’s Department. The crossing guard is on site from 7am-8am. She also helps stop thru traffic to assist parents turning left out of the campus onto Neely Ferry Road.

o 7:20am – Safety Patrols arrive to their stations.o 7:30am – Bus loop transitions into a second parent drop-off loop.

By 7:30am, buses have finished drop-off and the bus loop transitions into a parent drop-off loop. The groundskeeper, Mr. Chad, monitors this entrance to prohibit parents’ access until after all buses have completed drop-off. This loop is utilized by parents turning left off of Neely Ferry Road and turning right back onto Neely Ferry Road. Right-turn entrances and left-turn exits are prohibited.

o 7:45am – Students are instructed that they should be in their classrooms.o 8:00am – The school’s groundskeeper shuts the gates to the bus loop and parent

loop. This forces parents to access campus via the parking lot and parents are required to park and escort their students into the office.

o 8:00am – School begins.

Dismissal Procedureso 2:00pm – Gate into the northern loop (parent loop) is opened, allowing parents to

stack in the campus loop. Parents double-stack in the queuing space between the gate and the first crosswalk, and then merge into single-file for loading.

o 2:20pm – Announcements begino 2:25pm – Dismissal movement begins. The students whose parents are in the front of

the line are called over the intercom system to get lined up for dismissal and ready to load.

o 2:30pm – Dismissal bell rings.

Students wait inside the building’s atrium until their rides have arrived. The parking lot is utilized as a pick-up loop for day care vans. This is why

double-stacking doesn’t start until after the cars pass through the gate, the inside lane of traffic needs to be clear for parking lot access by these vans.

At 2:30pm cars are no longer allowed to turn right out of the parent loop and onto Neely Ferry Road. Cars using this drop-off loop are restricted to right-turn entrances, and left-turn and straight exits. Right turn exits are prohibited by signage, and a cone is placed at the driveway exit in order to block right-turns. This loop is supervised by the Principal, multiple staff members and Safety Patrols.

Approximately 46 students were observed walking and bicycling home from school. All students exit the campus via the crosswalk across Neely Ferry Road. This crosswalk is monitored by a crossing guard employed by the Sheriff’s Department. The crossing guard is on site from 2pm-3pm. She also helps stop thru traffic to assist parents turning left out of the campus onto Neely Ferry Road. Numerous parents were observed parking along Seminole Drive and walking to pick up their students. Walkers are dismissed last in order to discourage this procedure.

o 2:35pm – Cars wishing to access the school campus by turning left off of Neely Ferry Road can utilize the bus loop after all the buses have left.

The school has an Extended Day Program (EDP) every day until 6pm. Approximately 125 students attend this after school care program. On Tuesdays, Good News Club takes place after school until 3:45pm. Approximately 120 students participate with this afterschool activity.

o 2:35pm – Cars wishing to access the school campus by turning left off of Neely Ferry Road can utilize the bus loop after the buses have left.

In order to minimize the possibilities of blocking through traffic traveling on Neely Ferry Road, these parents are instructed to wait at the Beth Haven Baptist Church until they see the buses drive by, and therefore notifying them that the bus loop is now open for parent traffic. On the afternoon of October 21st, 23 parents were observed stacking at the church prior to dismissal and one parent used this parking lot as a “Park and Walk” site to pick up two students and walk back to the car.

This loop is utilized by parents turning left off of Neely Ferry Road and turning right back onto Neely Ferry Road. Right-turn entrances and left-turn exits are prohibited. This loop is supervised by the Assistant Principal, multiple staff members and Safety Patrols.

o 2:53pm – Dismissal is finished and the school is cleared.

Occupant Restraint Observation Results:

The team conducted an observation at the Parent Loops on the afternoon of October 21, 2014, observing the use of occupant restraints and child safety seats. The results included:

134 drivers picking-up students were observed wearing their seat belt 27 drivers picking-up students were observed not wearing their seat belt

41 students were observed wearing their seatbelt, while sitting in the front seat, when leaving the pick-up loop

37 students were observed not wearing their seatbelt, while sitting in the front seat, when leaving the pick-up loop

43 students were observed wearing their seatbelt, while sitting in the back seat, when leaving the pick-up loop

83 students were observed not wearing their seat belt, while sitting in the back seat, when leaving the pick-up loop

14 child safety seats were observed being used in the parent drop-off loop

100 students were observed leaving school property completely unrestrained

Important statistics:The passenger side air bag deploys at over 200 mphChildren under 13 should ride in the back seatBest practices indicate that children under 4'9" and 80 pounds should ride in a booster seatAn average traffic ticket for improper child safety restraints are around $330

Existing Infrastructure:

A. The Word of Life Ministries Church property backs up to the back of the school grounds. There is currently a pathway that connects the school to this church that is only reserved for emergency evacuations.

B. There is a high-visibility, ADA compliant crosswalk leading from the parking lot to the main entrance of the school. In the morning this crosswalk is monitored by the Assistant Principal who stops traffic in order to cross faculty and students from the parking lot. Along the perimeter of both the bus loop and parent loop there are painted paw prints that designate Safety Patrol stations.

C. There is a bike rack on campus near the crosswalk on Neely Ferry Road. All bike riders were observed walking their bikes across the crosswalk, which is the correct safe behavior. Only one student was observed wearing a helmet.

D. There is a crosswalk across Neely Ferry Road at the northern parent loop entrance/exit; however it’s not a high-visibility crosswalk. It is recommended that this crosswalk have high-visibility “ladder-style” pavement markings. There is also a light at the crosswalk; however the light does

not work. It is recommended that this light be fixed in order to provide adequate lighting for students crossing the street during non-daylight hours in the morning. There are two high-visibility school crossing signs, one facing each direction of traffic, with downward pointing arrows at the crosswalk.

E. From 7:30am-8:30am and 2pm-3pm, Seminole Drive turns into a one-way only street for west-bound traffic. There are signs informing drivers about this traffic pattern at the campus loop exit, the intersection of Seminole and Neely Ferry, the intersection of Seminole with Cherokee and Blackhawk, and the intersection of Seminole and Cheyenne Drive. There is also a sign at the campus exit prohibiting right turns onto Neely Ferry Road from 7:30am-8am and 2:30pm-3pm. There are also “No Parking” signs along the north-side of Seminole Drive.

F. There is a sidewalk along the east-side of Neely Ferry Road down to the intersection of Capewood Road. The sidewalk is in fairly good condition, but there are a few sections that are deteriorating, not meeting ADA compliance, and areas where the trees could be trimmed back. There is a fairly wide shoulder separating the sidewalk from the automobiles, which increases the level of comfort for pedestrians. There is also a high-visibility school ahead sign for north-bound traffic.

G. Parents stack at the Beth Haven Baptist Church while waiting for the bus loop to clear in the afternoons and transition into a parent pick-up loop. It was also observed that one parent was using this church as a Park and Walk location.

H. The speed limit on Capewood Road is 30mph. There is a school zone speed limit sign and school crossing sign on Capewood Road for west-bound traffic (heading towards Neely Ferry Road). There is also a sign indicating the end of the school zone for east-bound traffic on Capewood Road. However, there are not any signs indicating the beginning or ending of the school zone in any other direction.

I. A crossing guard employed by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department is stationed at the intersection of Neely Ferry Road and Capewood Road. This intersection is a 3-way stop, although the stop bars are faded, and there is a high-visibility crosswalk across Capewood. The crossing guard indicated that there are three students that cross at this crosswalk regularly. The crosswalk extends from the existing sidewalk on Neely Ferry Road, but just ends into the grass on the south-side of Capewood Road.

J. For east-bound traffic on Neely Ferry Road (heading towards the Neely Ferry and Capewood intersection) there are signs alerting drivers that they’re approaching a stop and approaching a pedestrian crossing.

Opportunities:Some recommendations for safety improvements, and bicycle and pedestrian connectivity improvements, that were discussed within the group included:

1. Provide passenger safety education and encourage proper seat belt usage, the school may:a. Implement the following school policies for dismissal:

i. As students are waiting to load into their cars, repeat that they should have their back-packs OFF and ready to stow. Explain that wearing their backpack while getting into the car will make it more difficult to get their seatbelt on quickly.

ii. Staff should remind students to buckle-up before leaving school campus. Get students to create colorful signs to post in the pick-up loops, or have Safety Patrol members hold the signs while stationed at the front loop.

iii. Remind staff members and Safety Patrols, and make it a school policy, to always open the back door and provide education to students as to why they should not be riding in the front seat.

b. Contact the Safe Kids Upstate and/or SC DHEC (Injury and Violence Prevention Division) to provide presentations to students and parents about seatbelt and booster seat usage or schedule a safety seat check.

i. Provide a presentation at a PTA meeting. ii. Measure the height and weight of each student. Send home to parents with

booster seat best practices.iii. Schedule a follow-up observation to survey child passenger safety usage once

some education efforts have been implemented. Compare results to see if child passenger safety has improved.

c. Install a “Buckle Up – It’s State Law” signs at campus exit points.2. Provide staff working in the drop-off/pick-up loop with reflective, tear-away safety vests

and stop/slow paddles. 3. Consider establishing the Beth Haven Baptist Church as a “Park and Walk” site and

implement Walking School Buses for parents and students to walk to school together.

4. Contact the Word of Life Ministries Church regarding the possibility of parents using their parking lot as a “Park and Walk” site for Walking School Buses. The school district would need to coordinate with the church concerning the days and times when the parents would be allowed to use the parking lot. Also, the construction of a pathway with lighting and gated access through the back of the school campus to the Word of Life Ministries Church would be needed. After implementation, encourage parents to utilize this as a “Park and Walk” site for Walking School Buses.

5. Contact Safe Kids Upstate to provide bike safety education and bike helmets to the current bike riders.

6. Contact SCDOT to review existing school zone signage along Neely Ferry Road. Since the speed limit on Neely Ferry Road is already 25mph, consider affixing “School” plaques to the top of the existing speed limit signs.

7. Consider installing a speed table, or raised crosswalk, at the location of the existing crosswalk across the parent loop from the parking lot. This will help raise pedestrians so that they’re more visible to car drivers and will also help slow speeds in the parent loop.

8. Contact SCDOT about updating the existing crosswalk across Neely Ferry Road to have high-visibility ladder style markings applied.

9. Contact the power company to replace the bulb and fix the light post at the crosswalk. Below is a picture of the utility box affixed to the post.

10. Contact the School District to increase the size of the no-right turn policy signage onto Neely Ferry Road out of the parent loop.

11. Contact Greenville County Engineering (Kurt Walters) to request a re-striping of the crosswalk and stop bars at the intersection of Capewood and Neely Ferry Road.

12. Seek opportunities with Greenville County to install a sidewalk on the south-side of Neely Ferry Road to connect the crosswalk to Agewood Drive. As a long-term goal, this sidewalk may extend to connect the new 52-home development that is in the works on Neely Ferry Road.

13. Passing over the double-yellow line on Neely Ferry Road was observed taking place when thru traffic was being blocked by cars waiting to turn into the school campus loop. Options to address this issue may include:

a. Cars turning right into the parent loop off of Neely Ferry Road could be moved off of Neely Ferry Road by either 1) start double-stacking cars as soon as they enter the school loop rather than waiting until they pass the gate; or 2) work with the School District and SCDOT to look into the possibility of constructing a right-turn lane.

b. Cars turning left into the bus loop off of Neely Ferry Road could be moved off of Neely Ferry Road by staging in the Beth Haven Church parking lot until receiving notification that the loop is clear and there’s room for more cars to load. This notification could be given via volunteers with radios.

14. Consider requiring the larger afterschool day care vans to pick up in the bus loop instead of the parking lot.

15. Contact the School District to fix the curb cut and crosswalk issue in the parent loop (at the first crosswalk where parents begin merging into the single lane from double-stacking). It’s not ADA compliant and it doesn’t connect to the parking lot.