Bailey Gatzert Safe Routes to School
By Brie Gyncild, Merlin Rainwater and David Seater
Walking or biking to school can help kids arrive at school ready to learn and keep them healthier, physically and mentally. But hazardous streets make it unsafe for students to walk to school in some of Seattle’s neighborhoods, even when they live nearby.
Bailey Gatzert Elementary School is blessed with a vibrant, engaged community of staff, parents, and students. It’s one of Seattle’s most diverse schools; Gatzert families speak more than 20 languages. Most of Gatzert’s students live within half a mile of the school, but the route to school requires crossing busy and complex arterials with fast-moving cars and impatient or confused drivers. Years of nearly constant construction in the area further add to the chaos.
In 2016, Central Seattle Greenways worked with the school, other community groups, and SDOT to make changes for student safety, primarily related to the then-new streetcar and location of stop signs at 14th & Washington. But the greater challenges posed by Boren, 12th, Yesler, and 14th remained.
A walking school bus
To help students get to school safely, Central Seattle Greenways partnered with SDOT to help parent leaders organize a walking school bus. Like a standard school bus, a walking school bus follows a designated route, but there’s no vehicle involved. Instead, students walk with each other and adult leaders to negotiate street crossings safely.
The walking school bus officially started in March 2020, just two weeks before schools were shut down due to the pandemic. Students and their families were eager to get it going again now that they’re attending school in person again. Every morning, approximately 25 children join one of three walking school bus routes to get to Gatzert safely, on time, and have fun along the way. As students share their excitement about the walking school bus, Gatzert parents hope to create additional routes to extend the opportunity to more kids.
Check out this video!
Redesigning the streets
Of course, the underlying problems remain. Crossing guards have been hit by vehicles.
Dangerous arterials don’t just affect Gatzert students and their families; they make it difficult for elders, people with disabilities, and other community members to travel through the area. In fact, the Boren/Yesler/12th intersections are frustrating and unsafe for people traveling on foot, by bike, by transit, and by car.
Humans created the current streets, and humans can change them. But it’s essential that the communities that live, work, and play in that area shape any new designs. The relatively small focus area has a rich history and cultural importance for several communities that overlap, including Little Saigon, East African immigrants, the Black community, and Yesler Terrace.
Many of these communities have been adversely affected by transportation projects in the past. Historically, their needs have been neglected in order to benefit others traveling through their neighborhoods. So it makes sense that they might be wary of additional change.
Central Seattle Greenways has embarked upon a long-term project to engage the community in a collaborative process to re-imagine the area in a way that embraces its history and culture. The first step, before any designs are sketched, is to bring everyone to the table, identify shared values and priorities, and empower community members to envision a neighborhood where they and their families can get around safely and comfortably. CSG members have been talking with folks at public events, hosting community walks, inviting local residents to participate in an online survey (in eight different languages), and finding other creative ways to facilitate the conversation.
Credit: David Seater
When the community’s shared values and priorities are clear, potential designs can be explored, with meaningful opportunities for the local communities to help shape them. Eventually, when there is a design that the community embraces, the final step will be to advocate for funding and implementation.
It’s a long process, but one that will strengthen community relationships, empower people to shape their own environment, and ultimately result in a neighborhood where young students can safely walk to school.
As we head into the holidays, get-togethers and crazed shopping, let’s take a moment to pause and give thanks for all of the progress we’ve been able to make together. Our activism is raising awareness of critical needs on our streets and leading to changes that will keep our families and neighbors safe.
