Another source of funding for pedestrian safety is the County’s “Safe Routes to Schools” program – a joint initiative of the Arlington County Board and School Board. The program is based on three components: enforcement, engineering, and education.

• Enforcement: The Police Department is pledged to step up its enforcement efforts around schools, especially those near major arteries to communicate the serious intentions of the program.
• Engineering: County staff is making a number of changes in signage and signal timing. Some $1.09 million is programmed to be spent to improve sidewalks, streets and signals using Fiscal Year 2001 bond funds.
• Education: Teachers have been provided a safe routes resource package that will help them order instructional materials to send home to parents as well as to use for classroom instruction, and Info31 “County Line” viewers can expect to see a number of safety-related stories.

Parents of elementary and middle school students who walk to school received a detailed map of walk zones in the mail prior to school starting. The maps show all stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights, marked crosswalks and crossing guard locations so that parents can chart out the safest route for their children to travel to school. Bus stop maps are also being distributed. All of the maps are available on the Arlington County's Web site.

Nottingham Elementary School Sidewalk Completion Project: Nottingham Elementary is located in the middle of our Civic Association; Williamsburg Middle School is located just adjacent to us. To get to school, many children must cross two dangerous streets: Little Falls Road and Williamsburg Boulevard. For this reason, some of the pedestrian safety goals embodied in our Conservation Plan are eligible for sidewalk and street improvements. According to the FY 2002 Arlington budget, the following project is proposed for funding:

The Little Falls Road sidewalk project in the Williamsburg neighborhood, between John Marshall Drive and North Ohio Street, is estimated to cost ($80,000). This project will complete missing sidewalks to enhance pedestrian access to Nottingham Elementary School, Yorktown High School, and the Minor Hill Park facilities. More Information

The County's Department of Public Works is currently working on the design phase of this project. It will involve completion of the missing sidewalks in front of four homes in the block between Nottingham and John Marshall and in front of two homes on the block directly across from the school. We are now working with County Staff to ensure this project is implemented to avoid paving over green space. On 25 June, WCA approved a resolution urging the County to build the sidewalks out of existing roadway.

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