To cut down on the complications of morning and afternoon school traffic, one solution should involve reducing the amount of cars in the area by encouraging walking, transportation consultant Ryan Snyder said.
The idea had such an impact on the group that it inspired one of the six teams of school representatives at the meeting to suggest a park-and-walk solution to congestion around White Elementary School.
The school has obtained permission from a nearby Vons to allow parents to park there and walk two blocks with their children to get to White, Principal Suzanne Risse said. Educators have been denied that same option from Whole Foods, which is closer to the school, but that could change, Risse said.
Risse had not been looking forward to the workshop, which she expected to be a discussion of regulations, but the focus on alternative solutions sparked her excitement about addressing traffic problems, she said.
“I was surprised to be swayed by the idea of encouraging the walking,” Risse said. “It wasn’t something I was thinking as part of the solution.”
City officials organized the workshop through a state program called Safe Routes to Schools.
Snyder will visit and provide suggestions for each of the six schools selected by the city as part of the first in what it hopes will be a series of state and federally funded analyses, said Dick Sheehan, Glendale Unified’s assistant superintendent of educational services.
The greatest value of the workshop was that it focused on a diverse approach to improving traffic safety by involving participants with varied professions, expertise and perceptions related to the problem, Sheehan said.
