The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2014-03-06-STAS-min Ad Hoc School Transportation and Safety Study Committee March 6, 2014 at 9am Conference Room, Central Administration Building Meeting Minutes 1 Attending. Judy Crocker, Elaine Celi (LPS Transportation), MaryEllen Dunn (Assistant Superintendent), Manny Ferro (LPD), Sharon Kendall, Craig Weeks Guests Bonnie Brown, Shannon Maloney 2 Meeting minutes were not ready to be reviewed. 3 Proposed LPS School Traffic Safety and Mitigation Policy Ms. Dunn is near the end of receiving feedback from parents and the community on the drafted document. The Committee is still awaiting a set of dates for the draft policy's public readings 4 Estabrook Update The interim traffic plan experienced anticipated heavy volume during its first week of implementation. Ms Dunn, Mr Goddard, Ms Trach, Captain Ferro, and John Fleck are in the process of scheduling a meeting regarding the final traffic plan. 5 Safe Routes To School Update Ms. Kendall attended the February PTA President's Meeting and inquired about the possibility of moving the SRTS program out of the Sidewalk Committee and into something more closely linked to LPS Comments included the following • The PTA's need to be connected with someone -who do you call if the sidewalk is not plowed? • Need to prove significance of role before it would become in-house. • Perhaps a volunteer would take on the role if the job responsibilities were reduced. • Need a more in-depth proposal, including job responsibilities, cost,before the PPC could take a straw vote on this. Questions included • If head of SRTS becomes municipal will it lessen the PTA voice? • Could another volunteer take over?What/who does Judy recommend? • Is this something that Ms Dunn and the SC would be willing to fund? • How much money would it cost? • When does the decision need to be made? 6 Educational Campaign for proposed LPS Traffic Policy • ES Ride After program. Ms Celi reported that there will be a spring meeting of the participating programs in order to provide updates and to target these program participants during bus registration. She will also set-up a meeting for Munroe participants only She and Ms Maloney reported that the most common problem is a student getting on the wrong bus It is felt that parents need to take more ownership of this issue Mr Weeks would like to have the Minuteman article cover this program as a resource to parents. • Minuteman articles The discussion was had for the need of a global article covering traffic engineering initiatives and timeline per school and the physical changes necessary to occur before enforcement can happen. Some issues can be anticipated but it is difficult to name them without specifics in place An incremental approach per school should involve education then enforcement. Themes must be consistent school-to-school but specificity will take time. The important message is that policy is global. For added transparency, Ms. Dunn is making policy and document links available via the LPS website To this end,the results of the Clarke Beta meetings will be posted. In addition, other Town and school construction projects will also be placed on the website, namely Robinson Rd (Estabrook) and the Hancock rotary (Diamond) The proposed timeline is as follows 3/17 - Minuteman article on the proposed policy 3/24- LPS/LPD letter 3/31 -bus registration mailing with specifics for Estabrook 4/7-5/16 -bus registration period and related Minuteman articles. The latter should include how STS has addressed parents concerns of why their students don't take the bus • LPS/LPD joint educational campaign With the proposed LPS Traffic policy set to be effective for September, new level of expectations for the community must be made The LPD will work in concert with the LPS to communicate what will be expected of school traffic beginning in September The distribution of this joint letter will occur during the school bus registration period. In addition, Captain Ferro will reach out to the Estabrook community and Principal Trach. At the final PTA Presidents Council, Ms. Crocker will emphasize that the PTA's have the safety greater kits at their disposal. Captain Ferro made the point that the PTA/PTO's need to notify the LPD whenever they are hosting a significant event that will draw a large number of vehicles, as defined as a school event with over 100 participants. This is a communication issue. It was recommended that each school secretary send the LPD its school calendar each September This calendar contains both school and PTA- related events. 7 Draft Committee Exit Report The elements of the final Power point presentation were reviewed. Members placed particular emphasis on the Work In Progress and Recommendations slides These additions will be made and the draft presentation will go to all members for further comments. Points included • Policy- school departments must reinforce ownership of its property and its resultant management. • GIS mapping should not be confused with codification of signage using MUTCD regulations thru policy • School zones should be referred to as municipal. Recommendations and further work considered • It is the belief of the Committee that some items were considered but fell outside the Committee charge but still need to be addressed. For example, parents need a clear understanding of school hours. • Ongoing prioritized work among schools, public safety, Facilities, and DPW must be addressed in a continuing collaborative and sustainable manner Suggest quarterly meetings • Don't want to lose what we have gained. Our final meeting will be April 3, 2013 at 9am in the Conference Room at Central Administration. Respectively submitted, Judy Crocker