Paths To Ravenswood District Schools Need Work, Say Parents

The Ravenswood City School District is studying ways to make traveling to school safer for children who want to get there via bikes or on foot, after parents told city officials there are a few rough spots along the main routes. 

About 39 percent of students walk to according to a report published by Alta Planning & Design that details the ways children get to and from all the schools in the district.

43 percent of them are transported to school in a vehicle, because of safety concerns, according to parents who attended a community meeting in the Belle Haven neighborhood.

Belle Haven Elementary School is enclosed by four streets: Hamilton Avenue, Chilco Street, Ivy Drive and Almanor Avenue. On the corner of Hamilton and Almanor, parents have observed people smoking and drinking, which creates an uncomfortable situation for the kids they said under condition of anonymity.  

In addition to this, the signage on the streets needs an upgrade, according to Alta’s planners.

“Although the City has already taken advantage of the School Zone Speed Limit reduction to 20 mph, there are currently no School Zone speed limit signs anywhere in the school’s vicinity,” reads the report.  The planners recommended that the district pursue installation of School Zone signs on Hamilton and Ivy, so drivers are aware that children might be walking or biking nearby. 

Another intersection that requires signage improvements, according to the planners, is where Ivy Drive, Henderson Avenue, and Chilco street meet. 

Parents say it is a danger zone for pedestrians, because Henderson Avenue has a yield sign instead of a stop sign. Parents say they’ve seen cars in that location almost hit pedestrians.   

While the school has deployed a crossing guard to the intersection to guide students through safely, the guard’s shift starts at 8 a.m., which is not early enough, according to parents.

Children start arriving at school between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m. according to Ravenswood City School District administrative staff.  About 540 students are enrolled at Belle Haven Elementary, according to the latest data from the California Department of Education. The district educates about 4,300 students.

Only 1 % of the 144 students who returned a survey about the way they get to school said that they use their bikes to ride to class.

This might be related to a lack of bike storage. A recent walk through of the campus by an ad hoc committee formed of Patch employees documented only one bike rack on the campus. 

A lot of the kids keep their bikes in the classrooms or in front of the office, said Alejandro Vilches, family services manager for the City of Menlo Park.  His office is located on the Belle Haven campus. It might also indicate a generational change in transportation preference among the youth. 

“You see a lot of the fourth and fifth graders skateboarding to school,” Vilches said.

Rene Baile, transportation project manager for the City of Menlo Park, said most of the things parents identified are feasible projects.

"Most of those items are not big money items," Baile said. "Those are things that could potentially be done in conjunction with our street signing and striping maintenance budget, but I think we still need to look into it a little more closely," Baile said. 

Baile will be working with the school district to develop the routes.  

Do you want your child walking or biking to school?  Do you agree that the city should focus on improving these routes to school? Scroll down and tell us in the comments.


Also on Patch: 

Educator Says Superintendent Created Hostile Work Environment

School District Analyzing Family-School Relationships

Oak Knoll Elementary Students Carpool To Stop Climate Change

Ravenswood CSD May Get Boost From Gov. Brown’s Proposed Budget

Schools in Menlo Park and Atherton Increasing Security After Massacre in Connecticut

Keep up with the latest news from Menlo Park and Atherton - follow Patch!

Sign up for Menlo Park-Atherton Patch’s daily newsletter
"Like” us on Facebook
"Follow” us on Twitter

Want to share your opinions with the communities of Menlo Park and Atherton? Start your own blog here.