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<br />behavior such as being late for class. Violators of parking rules are given three notices before <br />additional measures such as locking tires and towing vehicles take place. Often these students <br />join students avoiding the parking fee, and park in Lion's park crossing School Street at the <br />pedestrian crosswalk. <br /> <br />Currently: an estimated 2000 students attend the High School, and 700 students parking on <br />school property. This number is expected to decrease to around 600 after the construction of <br />Rogers High School scheduled to open in 2003. <br /> <br />Improvements have been planned for construction this summer. The baseball diamond will be <br />converted to a bituminous parking lot consisting of approximately 275 additional student parking <br />spaces. The horseshoe located south of the school will be removed, and bus loading will be <br />moved north of the school to reduce bus/auto conflicts on School Street. <br /> <br />Evaluation Criteria <br /> <br />In order to evaluate the traffic operations and safety, as well as pedestrian issues surrounding Elk <br />River High School, the following criteria were developed: ' <br /> <br />· Reduction of Conflicts - By minimizing potential vehicle and pedestrian conflicts, traffic <br />and pedestrian safety is enhanced. Conflicts can be reduced by separating operations <br />(bus loading, parent pick-up, and student parking), limiting access points, and merging <br />pedestrian traffic to one logical location. <br />. Capacity Considerations - Consideration should be given to keeping vehicle flow <br />through the school area logical while minimizing conflicts. Vehicle conflicts, non-logical <br />flows and improper use of traffic control devices are all contributing factors to congestion <br />and potential safety problems. <br />· Proper Use of Traffic Control- Traffic signs and pavement markings should be <br />consistent with those recommended by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices so <br />driver's expectations are not violated. Special attention should be given to labeling <br />pedestrian crossings correctly. <br /> <br />Field Observation and Identification of Operational Deficiencies <br /> <br />A field review was completed during morning peak arrival in order to observe the onsite <br />operations. Deficiencies were developed by analyzing observations using the criteria <br />documented above. In addition, a meeting was held with school faculty and staff to determine any <br />additional areas of concern. Issues identified through this process are as follows: <br /> <br />· Limited gaps exist for buses entering and exiting the bus-loading zone located on the south <br />side of the school. <br />· The exit for the bus-loading zone also acts as an access for delivery and visitor traffic on the <br />west side of the school. Motorists seem confused as to which lane to exit from. While most <br />drivers are aware of the schools policy on no traffic entering that location before school, <br />conflicts may arise for people not familiar'with the system. . <br />· Drivers familiar with this route assumed all westbound A.M. traffic in the right lane was turning <br />right to access student parking. In addition, eastbound traffic in the left lane was assumed <br /> <br />Howard R. Green Company <br />Elk River High School Safety Study <br />O:\PROJ\814360j\Memo.doc <br /> <br />- 4- <br />