Fall 2009 » Research Briefs » Researcher Suggests School Safety Strategies

Researcher Suggests School Safety Strategies

March, 2009

Traffic botttlenecks and snarls around many public schools in the United States are causing accidents and creating a hazard for children. Researcher Jim Gattis is working to change that through improvements in school traffic design. Gattis, associate professor of civil engineering, was invited to write the section on traffic control for school areas in the Traffic Control Devices Handbook, a supplement to the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

"It is ironic that schools are a place that we are supposed to learn," said Gattis. "But when it comes to designing traffic patterns for schools, we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again that have been made for decades."

The issues surrounding school traffic safety are broad and, according to Gattis, "emotionally and politically charged." Although Gattis addresses specific traffic control devices, he stresses that school traffic safety involves more than putting up a few signs and painting some pavement lines. School building design, school property layout, and the tract itself can all impact safety for both drivers and pedestrians.

School traffic safety is complicated by peak volumes of traffic and a client population-school children-with limited abilities to detect, judge and respond to traffic situations. In addition, the numerous groups involved complicate school traffic concerns and decisions-from school boards and local police to traffic engineers and parent organizations.

"Because traffic control devices such as signs are relatively inexpensive and can be installed in a relatively short time, they may be more attractive to a council or board for addressing a particular concern, even where a traffic control device doesn't really solve the problem," Gattis explained. "Local agencies can install a sign in response to an emotionally charged traffic concern, adopting the mindset that if the complaints have gone away, then the problem has been solved. But solving the political problem doesn't mean that the school traffic safety problem has been really solved."