Traffic Safety at Burton Street Elementary School

Oct. 29, 2024

Burton Street Elementary School students follow the acronym LAKER throughout the year, discovering a character trait from each letter. Early this school year, faculty and staff jumped to the letter A, which stands for always safe. 

"Safety is a top priority," said Burton Street Principal Cristina Knapp. "Even as leaders, we use this time to evaluate and improve safety protocols and procedures for the school."

Something new that visitors to the school will notice is that the school expanded its yellow safety line with a bright blue addition to increase students' distance from the curb to approximately one foot. This line helps create a wider distance from incoming vehicles and holds a "no-cross without an adult" warning to safeguard against unsafe crossings.

Burton Street staff also investigated the safety of students whom parents and caregivers pick up. In September, the school invited members of the police department to conduct a traffic study during drop-off and pick-up times. Officers reviewed the traffic around drivers and walkers and made suggestions for improvement.

 

New crosswalk and parking spaces are located in the back parking lot of Burton Street Elementary School.

"We are always looking for ways to listen to our community's concerns to offer the safest and most efficient pick-up and drop-off," said Knapp. “We have added 15 new parking spots, created a crosswalk area, and are also looking to update student pick-up."

The elementary school is looking to simplify the pick-up process by having the person(s) who are registered for pick up show their driver’s license. More information about the process will be sent directly to parents and guardians via ParentSquare and any questions can be answered by contacting the main office.

The school is continuing to work towards a more efficient morning drop-off system, and driver cooperation is a big part of the process, Knapp said. The elementary school's drop-off capacity is 10 cars. However, for it to work, parents and caregivers need to drive up as far forward as possible to offer the maximum number of cars the opportunity to unload.

"We were seeing drivers hesitate and stop at the wall, but there is space to move forward," said Knapp. "It is a learning process for anyone new to the school or process. Moreover, we are happy to see the safety and efficiency improve as we progress into the school year."