Safe Routes to APS

SAFE ROUTES to APS AUDUBON PARK K-8 A group of parents and community members who want our children to have safe routes to and from Audubon Park School. We are organizing a Safe Routes Team to bring awareness of current route conditions in our school zone to our local government agencies and leaders. The overall goal is to improve safety for students and people walking and biking. Safer routes increase opportunities for people to be physically active, make it easier for kids to get to and from school, and make streets safer for everyone, regardless of how they get around.

Our goals: • • • • • •

education engineering evaluation encouragement enforcement equity

Our concerns : • • • • • • • • • •

Missing sidewalks, missing ADA curb cuts Insufficient signage Lack of speeding enforcement Crossing guards not always on duty or on time Not enough crosswalks Poorly maintained sidewalks Potholes in crosswalks Sidewalks blocked by parked cars or waste receptacles Drivers using shortcuts to avoid Corrine Drive intersection Drivers using ‘cut-throughs’ and treating stop signs like yield signs

Audubon Park K-8 School is growing fast. We started the 2018-19 school year with 796 students and already have over 1000.

This map shows where the highest densities of students live.

There are enormous benefits for students who walk, bike, and get physical activity: they are better able to focus in class, have higher attendance rates, and form healthy habits that last a lifetime and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

In addition, the more walkers or bikers we have, the less cars there will be on the the road.

We seek to improve safety for students and make safe routes possible for everyone.

WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING: “A common issue I see in a lot of school zones is that there is no signage after a traffic light or after you turn onto a street that has a school zone. For example, Corrine Drive... if you turn onto Corrine from WP Road, there is zero signage that you are turning onto a road in a school zone. And, if you are already on Corrine, but stop at the light, there is no signage across the street reminding you that you are in a school zone. I see this DAILY at the Corrine / WP Road intersection and I used to see it daily at the General Reese/Glenridge intersection before my morning route changed. Reminders on the other side of intersections would be helpful! “-J.J.B. “Here are some things I note: No cross walks/markings on Finch at tanager/Chelsea/etc to get to raven road, just unmarked crossing the street Raven road has kids running from their parents parked cars without looking/blocked from looking by other cars Raven road cars going very fast Raven road cars running stop signs cutting through from Corrine After dropping off cars speeding off once out of Linda’s sight Speeding all through neighborhoods during school zone times I don’t feel safe at all letting my child walk/bike to school without supervision at her young age” -C.E. “How do we get City of WP to put in a pedestrian crosswalk closer to 7/11 but before Corrine.... the sidewalk once you hit ABC is basically parking lots from ABC to Big Daddy’s so there needs to be safe place for bikers/ walkers to cross to the other side of Winter Park Road preferably at the first street crossing. This is why my son stopped riding his bike to school.” -C.E. I frequently drive through Glenridge, Brookshire, and Lakemont school zones in the morning. There is ample school zone signage and the speed limit is 15 mph, not 25mph.

-J.C.

I notice many kids ride their bikes on the sidewalk along Corrine from Bumby to Winter Park Road. On Mondays and Thursdays (trash and recycling days), they have a hard time dodging light poles and trash cans.

-M.M. “We ride bikes to school and most of the time the people that are driving fast or texting while driving are other parents on the way to drop off. We take Ibis from Bennett and people fly down that street.”

T.W.F. “Isn’t the biggest issue that the road is jointly owned by WP, City of Orlando, and Orange County but none of them will pay for the improvements?

I got the impression that was the major holdup for even the minor fixes.”

-A.S. “I have refused to walk/ride bikes with our girls (4th & K) for several reasons: ZERO school zone signage on WP Road, very limited police enforcement of excessive speed on WP Road, and the majority of the sidewalk on the south bound side of WP Road is directly on the road - no grass median between the sidewalk & the street. I witness distracted drivers swerving between the yellow lines & the unprotected sidewalk daily. Not worth the risk.” J.L.C. “We’re missing sidewalks and ADA access. Some streets on the North side of Corrine Drive are completely cut off. You can’t bike or walk unless you go out into the street against traffic.” “ I park on the road by the church and walk the kids and every single day someone drives crazy fast down that road when all those kids are walking and getting out cars. Half the time it is other parents! I don’t understand it!” T.W.F

Walking distance and times.

Students who live within a 10-20 minute walk os APS are shown within the orange, yellow and green lines.

Students who attend Audubon Park School need to have safe access to the school from wherever they live.

Currently there are areas without safe walking or biking routes.

The Corrine Drive Study does not address our immediate needs.

Blocked sidewalks, missing sidewalks, sidewalks in need of repair:

Cars parked on sidewalk, Corrine Drive

Blocked path, incomplete sidewalk, Corrine Dr

Gap in sidewalk, Winter Park Road

Dangergous drop, sidewalk at 7-11, Winter Park Rd

Missing Sidewalk, Winter Park Rd and Corrine Drive

Sidewalk ends in ABC parking lot, Winter Park Rd

Waste receptacles blocking sidewalk, Corrine Drive

Asphalt Patch where sidewalk should be, Winter Park Rd in front of Stardust.

Non ADA compliance, missing curbcuts

Hammerlin and Corrine Drive

East End and Corrine Drive

Janice and Corrine Drive Pedestrain crosswalk requested

Obstructions in sidewalk and poor timing of light at Forest and Nebraska. This student waited 6 minutes for signal to cross. Note oncoming car turning left from Nebraska as she is crossing.

Three differnt entities in the district complicate progess.

As seen in map above:

Yellow = Orange County Blue = City of Winter Park Clear = City of Orlando

AREAS OF CONCERN:

A. Bumby Ave (City of Orlando)

1) A pedestrian activated red light at the intersection of Virginia and Bumby

2) An additional crosswalk on Bumby mid-route between Virginia Dr. and Illinois St.

B. Corrine Drive

(Orange County and City of Orlando)

1) Curb Cuts at Janice Dr and Corrine Drive

2) A new crosswalk at Janice Drive and Corrine Drive

3) A temporary bike lane between Palm Lane and Oak Lane

4) Curb cuts at East End Ave and Hammerlin Ave

5) Lighting improvements at intersection of Corrine and Winter Park Rd

6) Overhead school zone flashers should remain and rear facing

flashers should be added

E. East Winter Park Road (City of Winter Park, Orange County and City of Orlando)

1) A new crosswalk on Winter Park Rd at Parkland Drive or other

2) Fix sidewalk in front of Stardust and level shoulder along road

3) Address missing sidewalk on east side of Winter Park Rd between

ABC and Corrine Drive

Proposed Solutions At Marble/Janice CUT-THROUGH limit thru traffic. Can we slow down drivers who are taking the short cut using speed humps or other methods?

Can we increase pedestrian visibility at this crossing using signage and a painted crosswalk? ADA curb cuts are also missing here.

The light at Corrine backs up North Winter Park Rd which then causes drivers to take the Marble/Janice short cut. They speed and run the stop sign at Janice and Corrine Drive. There they are not looking right for pedestrians only left towards the intersections for oncoming cars. This is a major safety issue. Better signage is needed.

Can the light be re-timed in a way that relieves pressure- so that people don’t feel the need to take a short cut?

Sidewalk enhancements and repairs: Winter Park Rd in front of Starbucks and 7-11 need repair Corrine Drive – from Lake Sue to Palm lane are missing.

Actions We requested a walking audit with city and county members. Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla was present. The city of Orlando sent Traffic Operations Engineer Cade Braud and the Division Manager of Transportation Engineering, Christipher Cairns among others. Orange County was also represented by members of their Traffic Engineering Division. Orange County Public Schools sent a safety manager.

First hand observations helped bring into focus safety issues for those attending.

Safe Routes Principal Contacts: Erin Hearn erinehearn@gmail.com April Riehm april@kinzieriehm.com Ken Kinzie ken@kinzieriehm.com Jim Resta jimresta@gmail.com Beth Resta bethmresta@gmail.com