Addressing Pedestrian Safety and Rising Transportation Costs Simultaneously

With over twenty years of experience as a principal and teacher before accepting the position as Director of Transportation for the Auburn School District ten years ago, Jim Denton has worked to develop safer routes to school for the district’s 14,000 students.

Given the Herculean task of decreasing the district’s soaring transportation costs, Denton employed an innovative strategy; he decided to create walk route maps for each of the district’s 19 schools. By placing an emphasis on safe walking, Denton hoped to reduce the number of children being bussed.

In just one year, building administrators across the district were trained to evaluate and analyze the safety of the streets around their school. Each building administrator then created a map marked with the safest routes for students.

Along with creating walk route maps, schools were required to put together a Safe Routes Committee made up of parents, staff, and other invested members of the community such as police officers. Each committee was given the responsibility of making recommendations concerning the school’s walk route map and addressing any safety concerns expressed by parents.

In order to address such concerns at a broader level, Denton also created a District Safety Committee which enforces schools’ safety recommendations. He invited parent and staff representatives from each of the 19 schools to participate along with members of the Auburn Police Department, King County Safety Officers, the cities of Algona and Pacific, and the Auburn Public Works Department.

Denton believes that the professional diversity of the committee increases the safety of the communities it serves. “We have experts on the committee who know how to deal with any pedestrian safety concern, who know how to do research, and give recommendations on how to proceed. Partnerships have been key to our success.”

The creation of the walk route maps and safety committees have increased the number of students walking. “We probably increased the number of kids walking by 20%,” says Denton. “That’s a budget savings because those kids are no longer riding the bus.” However, saving money is not the bottom line for Denton or the Auburn School District. “Some students need to be bussed, but many kids can walk to school safely. The safety of our students is our very first priority.”

Sign up to learn more about creating safe walk route maps for your community.

OR: Contact Jim Denton directly at: JDenton@auburn.wednet.edu