Safe Routes To Schools

Safe Routes to School programs across the United States enable community leaders, schools and parents to improve general safety, with the goal of encouraging more children to walk and bicycle to school. Benefits of the program include reducing traffic congestion, improving health and the environment, and making communities more livable for everyone.
 
The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson traces the origins of its Safe Routes to School program to November 2014, when it adopted a Complete Streets Policy and began implementing the recommendations outlined in the policy. Progress on these efforts is recorded in the Complete Streets Policy - Appendix A.
 
Since 2014, the Village has initiated multiple pedestrian and bike-friendly traffic-calming measures that benefit students walking and biking to school, as well as other pedestrians and bikers living in the community.  Below are examples of some actions taken in the Village as part of our Safe Routes to School program:
  • In 2016, the Village adopted a resolution supporting Phase 1 of the Route 9 Corridor project, which focused on bike and pedestrian safety along Broadway, and in 2019 the Village adopted a second resolution in support of Phase 2 of this project (for more on the Route 9 project see HERE).
  • Starting in 2018, the Village has ramped up its efforts to improve sidewalks, add crosswalks and bike lines, and improve signage and other traffic calming measures along routes where students frequently travel.
  • In 2018, the Village adopted a local law restricting the speed limit to 15 MPH in school zones to alert drivers to exercise caution as they near the Village schools.
  • In 2021, the Village adopted a local law prohibiting left turns on certain streets in the “Southern Corridor” to improve child pedestrian safety. New crosswalks were also installed as part of this effort.
  • In 2022 the Hastings Police created a PSA on Bike Safety Tips.
  • Several engineering studies have been commissioned to analyze and improve pedestrian safety.
 
The Hastings PTSA has also put in place measures to improve the safety of students walking and biking to school, including the successful Pace Car Driver Pledge Initiative.
 
The Hastings-on-Hudson Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Committee today is comprised of a cross section of community leaders including Village officials, school administrators, PTSA members, and interested Village residents.  They are:
  • Marisa Gonzales Silverstein, PTSA Traffic Safety Committee Lead
  • Sarah Birkedal, PTSA Traffic Safety Committee Member
  • Rhiannon Platt, PTSA Traffic Safety Committee Member
  • Maureen Caraballo, Treasurer, Hastings School District
  • Emily Wardwell, SRTS Committee Member
  • Kai McMahon, Climate Smart Communities Task Force Member & SRTS Liaison
  • Mary Beth Murphy, Village Manager, Hastings-on-Hudson
  • Georgia Lindahl Lopez, Trustee, Hastings-on-Hudson Board of Trustees
SRTS Committee members work together to ensure that all 6 Es of a successful SRTS program are addressed: Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, Equity and Evaluation.  They reference the Village's Complete Streets Policy, as well as other resources listed below:
 
For more information on how to get involved with the program, or if you have any questions about Hastings SRTS, please email: saferoutes@hastingsgov.org
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