City of Lincoln receives national award for Youth Pedestrian Safety Project at Saratoga Elementary
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The City of Lincoln received the U.S. Vision Zero for Youth Leadership Award for school zone safety improvements at Saratoga Elementary School Tuesday.
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott accepted the award, presented by Nancy Pullen-Seufert, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School at the University of North Carolina, on the City’s behalf. The award is presented to communities that excel in youth pedestrian and cycling safety, and Lincoln is the fifth city in the country to receive the award.
“Making sure Lincoln’s littlest residents can safely walk, bike, or ride to school is a priority we all share,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. “As a community, we work together to deliver on this priority, knowing that, as adults, we have a special responsibility to help safeguard our children’s lives as they grow.”
Pullen-Seufert highlighted three significant elements the award committee looked at in the Saratoga project, they were community engagement, infrastructure changes and creation of school zone standards that can benefit other communities.
“We are honored to recognize the accomplishments of the City of Lincoln and hope the impact of the city and its partners’ efforts on behalf of children’s pedestrian safety will continue to grow in the years ahead,” Pullen-Seufert said.
Roberto Partida, LTU Transportation Planner; Melissa Ramos-Lammli, LTU Senior Traffic Technician; Marci Imel, Saratoga Elementary School Principal; and Elisha Mackling, School Neighborhood Advisory Committee member and parent of three Saratoga students, joined Mayor Gaylor Baird at the event.
Ramos-Lammli said safety improvements in the Saratoga project include:
- Installation of curb ramps and an additional crosswalk
- Reduced speed limits in certain areas
- New traffic control devices, signage, and pavement markings to keep vehicles in their designated lane, out of the bike lane, and aware of lower speeds
- Shortened pedestrian crossing distance to minimize the amount of time students are in the street
- Addition of a school zone flasher to alert vehicles they are entering a school zone
- Extension of a bike lane to the school
Partida said LTU worked with Lincoln Public Schools staff to engage the community in a variety of ways during development of the street safety project:
- Communication with school representatives, parents, guardians, and neighborhood advocates to register their experiences traveling the area
- Identification of potential barriers preventing students from walking or biking to and from school through a survey of parents and guardians
- Incorporation of survey results into the school zone evaluation which helped create the plan to improve traffic safety in the area
- Presentation of the improvement plan at a SNAC meeting to ensure safety concerns were being addressed
After school zone safety improvements at Saratoga Elementary were completed, the Safe Kids Lincoln-Lancaster and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department incorporated education into the Saratoga project by teaching Saratoga students how to navigate crosswalks as they walk or bike to and from school.
According to Saratoga Principal Imel, community members also volunteered to address child pedestrain safety as traffic increased near the school. “The School Neighborhood Advisory Committee worked together to elevate concerns and provide solutions,” Imel said. “This committee brought together families, staff, neighbors, businesses, city leaders, and agencies to have difficult conversations – keeping the focus on student safety and inspire action to make much needed changes.”
Since 2020, school zone improvement projects have been completed at:
- Belmont Elementary
- Clinton Elementary
- Culler Middle
- Dawes Middle
- Fredstrom Elementary
- Holmes Elementary
- Humann Elementary
- Kahoa Elementary
- Lakeview Elementary
- Lefler Middle
- Lux Middle
- McPhee Elementary
- Morley Elementary
- Park Middle
- Pound Middle
- Robinson Elementary
- Rousseau Elementary
- Saratoga Elementary
- St. Patrick Catholic
- St. Peter Catholic
- St. Teresa Catholic
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