Eyes on the Street: South El Monte’s Safe Routes to School Improvements
Three years ago, South El Monte undertook a series of Safe Routes to School infrastructure improvements around the nine schools in the city.
The city was granted about $1.6 million in state funds (CA Active Transportation Program [ATP] Cycle 5) to rehab 44 crosswalks. Streetsblog recently checked in on them, and it seems the money was well used. See the complete set of intersection designs here (page 77).
Several of the schools in town sit along busy industrial corridors, and the facelifts for these crossings feel very necessary. Cogswell Elementary, for instance, is set back in a cul-de-sac from a rough part of Tyler Avenue where truckers might not be expecting children to emerge. Miramonte Elementary is on the regional arterial Santa Anita Avenue, and raised hurdles (strips akin to mini-speedbumps) prior to Schmidt Road are vital to getting drivers to slow down.
SBLA visited the improved crossings as two schools were letting out – New Temple Elementary and Miramonte Elementary – at 1pm and 2:35pm respectively, and a few other sites in between. Numerous crossing guards were stationed at the improved intersections by the school day’s end.
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