Safe Routes to School – August 20

The Public Works Department, as part of our continuing dialogue with the community in the vicinity of Farragut Elementary, the Middle School, and the High School, as well as with the community in the vicinity of La Ballona Elementary School, will host a community meeting on Saturday, August 20th, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers.

The purpose of the meeting is to obtain input on what physical improvements that encourage students and parents to walk and bicycle to and from school and that address existing traffic and parking needs in the vicinity of the schools would be supported by the community. The process of obtaining this feedback may require several meetings.

At a subsequent meeting, a draft plan that reflects the input received will be presented for review and further feedback. As the end result, Public Works seeks to come up with a plan that has been developed with the input of all stakeholders and is supported by the majority. The plan will become the contents of a Safe Routes to School grant application at a yet undetermined future opportunity, contingent upon City Council approval of submission.

Additionally, Public Works will ask if any of the meeting attendees are interested in being part of a Citywide Safe Routes to School Committee. This Public Works committee would be a recommending body to the Public Works Director/City Engineer in regards to future Safe Routes to School grant applications and the vision for implementation of the school-specific Safe Routes to School programs.

In order to encourage attendance, the Public Works Department has sent invitations to all who have signed up for our Safe Routes to School e-mail list. Additionally, we have announced the meeting on the City’s web site, cable programming, and will publish an invitation in the local paper. Everyone is invited to attend.

If you have any questions regarding this invitation, please contact Gabe Garcia, Traffic Engineering Manager, by phone or e-mail at (310) 253-5633 or [email protected].