Kentfield School District

Safe Routes to School Taskforce

January 27 2016

Meeting Notes

Attended: Marnie Ganong- Neighborhood Captain, Carey Lando-Marin County DPW, Heather McPhail-Sridharan-Neighborhood Captain, Paul Miller- Director of Maintenance- School District, Glenn Newcomer- CHP, Ashley Tam-Parisi Assoc., Nancy Vernon-Aide to Supervisor Katie Rice, Jenny Walsh- VP Kent Middle School, Teola Partain- Neighborhood Captain, Patricia Median- Neighborhood Captain, Celeste Perez-Neighborhood Captain, Robert Betts- Marin Transit, Wendi Kallins- Safe Routes to Schools, Peggy Clark- Safe Routes to Schools

School Updates

Results from bus survey- Marin Transit- Link to Maps and Survey Results

The School District and Marin Transit distributed a Yellow Bus Survey to Kentfield District families. The response rate was very good with approximately 600 families responding. The questions with the highest level of response were discussed at the meeting: What school(s) do you attend? What grade? Would you be interested in a Yellow Bus program? What time of day AM, PM, both? Would you be willing to pay?

The survey results indicated 70% would be interested in a bus program. A deeper review of the results indicated how many families would be willing pay. “Heat maps’ were presented indicating where people live that would be willing to pay. Next week there will be a feasibility study meeting to explore, routes, bus stop locations and pricing. Marin Transit’s biggest challenge is finding available bus service companies. There is an industry wide reduction in the number of available bus drivers too. Marin Transit will continue to consider ways to supplement school district bus service with field trips and other bus uses. Without subsidy funds a pass could cost up to a $1,000 per rider. Each bus needs about $50,000 in subsided funding to make the program a realistic option for families; taking it down to $500.00 or less per family.

In the future there could be a County tax for yellow bus service included in a transportation tax. Years ago, yellow bus programs were state funded and families did not have to pay for the service. The Kentfield School District is in an un-incorporated area of the County; therefore they cannot ask cities and towns to contribute funding for a Yellow Bus program. The more seats sold, will reduce the cost to families. The School District will need to manage the program with support from Marin Transit. School administrators will need to be assigned specific tasks including supervising the loading and unloading of students. Marin Transit does have an on-line payment site the school district can use for purchasing passes.

There are several school districts that manage their own fleet of buses and bus drivers. There are many federal and state Ed Codes that are mandated for bus companies and drivers that include extensive driver safety and vehicle training. Smaller buses tend to cost more and do not meet the school bus regulations.

The scale of the program does not make it cost less. The more students that participate in the program will help. Riders using the buses in the AM & PM, along with considering school bell schedules and the travel time must be factored in. In some cases families with students at two different schools could travel to one school and then the bus would move onto the second school.

A important next step will be to discuss the scale of the pilot bus program. It will need to start off small yet service the school community first and reduce traffic near schools. In time it would grow and the extended communities would experience a reduction in traffic. Marin Transit will continue to offer the public bus service to students. A 10 month pass costs $60.00 a month for AM/PM service to students. There are almost 500 students in Ross Valley that use this service.

Update from County on SFD and other construction projects

There have been two public meeting addressing conditions and possible solutions and two recent “Walk Abouts”. It has been very valuable to view the issues pedestrians, cyclists and drivers experience firsthand. There will be another community meeting on March 17 at 7:00pm at Kent Middle School. Refined ideas, cost estimates and alternatives will be presented. This could be the last meeting and then a prioritised will list will be set. This is the best time for the school community to contribute.

The County needs help getting the word out to invite community members. It would be very helpful for all the Neighborhood Captains to attend. It is important to have a representation of all community members that can consider alternative modes of transportation to reduce congestion attend this meeting. The Next Door communications before and after the meetings do help.

The County wants equal input from all community members; it is important for the entire community to see the materials being presented and provide comments. Members of the SR2S Task Force commented that 7:00pm is a challenging time for parents. It was recommend the County offer an Open House from 4 to 7:00pm when more of the school community could review the materials and provide comment at that time or on-line. The County will consider this suggestion.

The County is capturing everything that is an issue in the Drake Study. There are not enough funds for all of the listed improvement; however, the projects will be designed so that when additional funding comes the improvements will fit in. This project is a spring board to apply for grants in the future.

Marnie attended the last meeting; below are 4 issues she identified as needing additional review. Her attendance at the meetings has been very valuable for the SR2S Task Force.

●  The bike lane that will be used by students on Bon Air Road. What is the big plan for this once past the school area, will Marin General be involved in the future plans?

●  The multi-use path on the north side will be nice and wide. Families are questioning what type of barrier will be most effective for safety when on the path from vehicles. The word “barrier” needs to be more specifically defined.

●  The new crosswalk at the front of Bacich School will require increased awareness to drivers when students are present. A crossing guard will be needed and now is the time to put the request in for a funded crossing guard for the next school year

●  The right turn lane into the campus will be a “no turn on red” This will help prevent vehicles from backing up into campus; however it will contribute to a number of additional issues that will have a broader impact. This is an important issue that needs to have more parent comment.

McAllister Update

Nancy reported McAllister will be repaved this summer. The focus of the committee is to learn if there are any other feasible improvements that could be added. If issues are presented at the next meeting in February and they cannot be addressed this summer, there could be future funding from Safe Pathway Grants.

The new signs have been posted. Letters to residents to trim vegetation have been sent and some work has been done. Speed humps could be included with the paving; once the new Fire Chief has had time to get updated on the project. The improvements on Drake will be beneficial and increase safety on the west end of McAllister.

The CHP acknowledge that new signs have impacted the illegal parking of vehicles, along with the cones placed by the school entrance and vegetation being cut back. Safety on McAllister for all road users is improving. This is a great example of a community coming together! CHP will invite the CHP Bus Program Manager to the next meeting to contribute to the proposed Yellow Bus Program.

Next Meeting- May 17 at 9:00 School District Office