Flashing beacons coming to 10 Tacoma schools to prevent speeding. Is your school on the list?
Flashing school zone beacons are coming to 10 schools across Tacoma this year.
A city bid proposal released this month outlines the installation of the beacons for an estimated cost of $441,495.
Construction is expected to begin in late August with an estimated completion date sometime in November.
The schools listed include:
Annie Wright
Browns Point Elementary
Bryant Montessori K-8
Crescent Heights Elementary
Faith Lutheran (Elementary)
First Creek Middle School
Mann Elementary
Sherman Elementary
Stanley Elementary
Stewart Middle School
Flashing beacons are meant to alert drivers to lower their speeds when they’re entering a school zone and are part of the city’s Safe Routes to School program.
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a partnership between the city of Tacoma, Tacoma Public Schools and community organizations to support and encourage students and families to safely walk and bike to school.
To support Safe Routes to School, Tacoma City Council allocated $1,070,000 in the 2017-2018 Capital Budget to fund the purchase and installation of school zone flashing beacons.
Other SRTS efforts have been implemented, including a pilot pedestrian safety curriculum meant to teach kids how to safely navigate the streets of Tacoma.
Between 2010 and 2014, 153 youth were hit by cars while walking and 69 youth were hit by cars while biking in Tacoma, according to the Puyallup Watershed Initiative. Students at low-income schools are four times more likely to walk to school, but lower-income communities tend to have less access to safe places to walk, bike and skate.
