The Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT), through its Safe Routes to School Program, will partner with Safe Kids Fulton County to educate students at Hope Hill Elementary School.
Safe Kids Fulton County is a national movement aiming to make it safer for students to walk and bike to school. SRTS programs are designed to make school zones and streets safer within the vicinity of schools safer for youth and most vulnerable road users. Safety Town Georgia is an interactive small-scale town where young children learn how to safely walk on sidewalks, bike, scoot, and skate. Students are also taught how to cross the street using traffic signals and crosswalks.
LaJoyce Lewis, representative from the Fulton County Board of Health, said they have an opportunity to partner with the City of Atlanta to bring safety education, pedestrian, and bike safety education to children who attend Hope Hill Elementary School.
“We’re doing that because there’s a high rate of incidents of traffic situations or incidents in this community,” she said. “We want the kids to learn how to be safe in their community while they walk and ride their bikes throughout the community.”
Lewis also says they instruct students about the importance of helmets and the proper fitting of them.
“It’s important they wear a helmet each and every time they ride a bike, or scooter, or skate through the community,” Lewis said.
Nicole Hollis, representative from ATLDOT, said the interactive activity gives students a chance to learn about the rules of the road in a safe environment.
“Like LaJoyce said, there are high numbers of traffic fatalities and injuries near the school campus, particularly along Boulevard and Irwin Street,” she said. “Our department has identified a list of high-priority schools in our program where we’re focused on making sure that kids are educated properly on how to do things like cross streets properly.”
Hollis says if students choose to bike to school, they ensure kids understand how to use their bikes, whether traveling along paths that aren’t safe, and working with their department to build out infrastructure that makes it as safe as possible.
Safety Town, Hollis says, is an initiative through Safe Kids Fulton County and their department has a top 25 list of high-priority schools where they are focused on doing safety action plans to find infrastructure safety improvements. There are currently five other schools this year they are working with and hoping to bring Safety Town to bring awareness to traffic and education, especially for those younger kids in kindergarten through third grade.
Additionally, Lewis said Safety Town has been in operation through Fulton County Board of Health three going on four years, and the program is the leading agency for the Safe Kids Fulton County Coalition.
“We partner with organizations, schools, faith-based communities, Parks and Recreation throughout Fulton County, and we’re mobile so we can take our resources to them,” she said.
Often, she says, the kids they service live in marginalized communities that lack resources and aren’t able to receive the same benefits as other kids who might otherwise have access.
“This is an opportunity for them to not just hear about the rules of the road, but actually be able to implement some of the safety measures we’re teaching them in order to keep them safe,” she said.
Their programs are held both inside and outside as well.
Furthermore, Lewis said to the Atlanta Voice readers to watch their website for Safe Kids Fulton County because they are always looking for volunteers.
“Under the Fulton County Board of Health website, we’re always looking for volunteers to join the coalition where we can talk about community safety, countless ways to keep kids safe, both bicycle and home safety, and to help parents learn about other safety discussions like car seat safety,” she said. “We have an opportunity to teach parents about the importance of having their kids properly restrained in car seats that have not expired or been damaged.”
Also, Hollis said she’d like to thank Hope Hill Elementary for partnering with them on the interactive activity.
“We know there are a lot of students that walk to school and bike as well, so reinforcing that education with the students, especially as we approach the end of the school year and kids are out more moving around, this gives them a chance to understand the importance of having these types of skills on hand when they’re navigating roads day-to-day.”
For more information, visit https://atldot.atlantaga.gov/programs/safe-routes-to-school.
