A June 29 meeting of the campus routes subcommittee of the Safe Routes to School Task Force identified a temporary plan for improving pedestrian access to the Haines School.

Safe Routes to School is a state and federal program aimed at improving student fitness by facilitating walking and bicycling routes for children.

Major changes in the plan include eliminating most vehicle parking near the entrance of the school, and moving students traveling west on the Old Haines Highway off the shoulder and up on to the high school track.

The long sides of the track would serve as arterials, funneling students from Third Avenue at its intersection with Old Haines Highway and from a spot behind the public library. An existing, partially wooded trail from Main Street to near the school pool also would be widened and improved, said Safe Routes coordinator Debra Schnabel.

The trail and track sides would direct traffic on a crosswalk across the school parking lot, leading along the school’s south side to its entrance.

A staff parking lot near the school entrance would become a drop-off spot and parking for visitors. An informal line of parking paralleling the Old Haines Highway would be eliminated to increase safety in an area shared by cars and pedestrians.

Key to the plan is purchase of a snowblower that could quickly cut a five-foot corridor. “There’s no safe routes in Haines in the winter unless you’re willing to deal with snow,” Schnabel said.

The new snowblower, which may cost up to $40,000, also could be used around other borough buildings and facilities, she said.

The plan’s other expenses – including culverts and fill to cross ditches around the track, and striping paint for the parking lot – would likely amount to less than $10,000, Schnabel said.

“In a lot of ways, this is a temporary fix. It seems like the most reasonable thing to do now,” Schnabel said.

Flashing yellow lights located on Main Street will be moved to Old Haines Highway soon, Schnabel said.

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