Safe Routes to School Is Engineered for Hempstead

2013 looks to be the year that the Hempstead schools which piloted the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program will finally see much needed physical improvements performed on their campuses. The Village of Hempstead was awarded grants in 2010 to execute contracts at Jackson Main and Fulton Elementary, and also at ABGS Middle school. Since that time, the Village of Hempstead Community Development Agency (CDA) collaborated with the Hempstead Public Schools, Carolyn Harding Music, Hempstead P.A.L., Hempstead Police Dept. and others to promote healthy habits and safe practices among the students while they walk to and from school.

In an effort to engage and excite the students about the Safe Routes to School program, the SRTS team has held informational seminars and interactive assemblies at the three schools including “A Summer Sendoff” assembly held at the end of the each school year encouraging students to use “Safe Routes” during the summer. The in-school assemblies and in-class sessions fulfilled a vital component of the program—Education. The Hempstead Police Dept. and its traffic safety division actively enforce our safety standards helping to ensure our children’s safety going to and from school. But, these components are only 2 of 5 aspects of the program; them being: Evaluation, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Engineering.

The SRTS program would not fulfill its mission without there being some visible changes which respond to the issues that concern pedestrian safety. After working through a preliminary design report created together by the CDA and the RBA Group of Engineers, the projects are ready to move forward with construction, pending approval from the New York State Department of Transportation. We anticipate Jackson Main School to be the first to have improvements made on its campus during the summer break and completed by the start of the next school year. 

Below is a  presentation the RBA Group of Engineers composed to highlight proposed physical improvements to be made to the 3 schools campuses.