Last Friday, on Bike to School Day, families arriving at JSIS by bike or on foot had the opportunity to highlight potential hazards along their route to school, by placing stickers and adding comments to two large maps of the JSIS reference zone that were hung in the upper and lower playgrounds. PTSA volunteers Meg Chadsey, Raymond Serrano and Janel London were collecting this information as part of a process to improve pedestrian & biker safety around the school. Dozens of parents identified a number of concerns; here are some of the most frequently cited:

• The large cypress tree on the parking strip near the crosswalk at 42nd and Latona obscures the sightline between cars coming up the hill (which do not have a stop sign), and people entering the crosswalk.
• Visibility is also poor one block to the west, at the crosswalk at 42nd and Thackery, due to a vine growing up the telephone pole. This problem is compounded by the fact that Thackery is an arterial, and does not have stop signs. Southbound cars frequently enter this intersection at high speeds.
• Many families use the Burke Gilman Trail; there are several places where well-signed crosswalks are needed to cross safely to and from the trail. Most frequently cited was at the intersection of Latona and NE Pacific. 37th and NE Pacific was also identified. Drivers frequently ignore the crosswalks that do exist where 36th and 35th meet NE Pacific; better signage or flags are needed.
• 42nd & Eastern, at the top of 'Big Bend' is a dangerous intersection, and should be assessed.
• Signage is needed to alert drivers of pedestrian and bike traffic on 1st Ave.
• Traffic around the school on 4th & 5th Avenues is dangerous; make 4th & 5th one-way streets between 40th and 42nd.

The next step will be an email survey about hazards related to traffic around the school during drop-off and pick-up. All of this information will be presented to Brian Dougherty, of SDOT's 'Safe Routes to School' program this June. He will conduct a site visit to lay out options for improving pedestrian and biker safety around JSIS. If you have questions about this process, or would like to share your comments, please email Meg Chadsey at mchadsey@hotmail.com