Theses and Dissertations Collection

Many rural communities in Idaho have schools that are sited in the immediate vicinity of a high-volume, high-speed state highway. This roadway environment introduces a number of safety challenges for school-aged children, parents, the local community, and commuters, particularly during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal periods when pedestrian and vehicular traffic and pedestrian-vehicle interaction are at its highest. Throughout the state, over 180 communities have a population of less than 5,000, and identifying and evaluating the school safety practices currently in place is needed.

This research project performed a comprehensive safety analysis of school zones and the safety implications throughout Idaho along its two-way, two-lane highways. Existing practices related to speed zone implementation, signage, crosswalk installation, enforcement, and the use of technology to enhance the school zone environment were examined. Statewide accident information within these school zones was also analyzed. The tasks for this project included: conducting a literature review of current practices both statewide and regionally; administering a survey to all school principals who oversee a school located along a two-way, two-lane highway; completing a field inspection and review of case-study sites; establishing a statewide database of safety practices and treatments, and developing materials for Idaho schools so that the results of this research could be widely disseminated.