In addition to U.S. Highway 10, there are two crossings of the railroad in Hawley, both north of Highway 10. One is the narrow underpass at Valley Street (Figure 51) that was observed to have relatively high-speed vehicle traffic. The other is the pedestrian / bike crossing that is non-ADA / PROWAG compliant. Neither option presents a particularly safe, comfortable place for students walking and biking to school to cross the tracks. In addition to the BNSF mainline, there is a short spur line that runs east-west between the BNSF mainline, to just west of 8th Street. This spur crosses 5th, 6th, and 8th Streets. All public street crossings of the spur are currently exempt, as there are no longer any businesses utilizing rail service west of 5th Street.
OBSERVATION DAY RESULTS To gain a better understanding of how students, parents, bus drivers, teachers and staff operate and interact during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal at the Hawley school campus, an observation day was held on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Members of the SRTS team, along with assistance from Hawley High School National Honor Society (NHS) students, conducted field observations of students’ travel behaviors, patterns and mode choices during morning arrival and afternoon departure (Figure 52). Team members and NHS students were strategically-positioned around the school and at select locations in Hawley. They were tasked with counting the number of student pedestrians and bicyclists traveling to and from school, and which routes the students took. They also observed whether students were using good techniques when crossing the street and how motorists behaved in relation to pedestrians and bicyclists on the streets and on school grounds.
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HAWLEY SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PLAN
