NEWS RELEASE

*Similar news releases for 39 agencies were disseminated regionally.

City of Tacoma Awarded Grant-
School Zone Safety Equipment

June 28, 2007

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) today announced that a $22,500 grant has been awarded to the City of Tacoma to purchase flashing beacon/lighting systems for local Tacoma School District elementary school zones to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in those areas.

Statewide, the WTSC approved and granted $1.3 million dollars to 39 agencies. This year’s grants will provide safety equipment to nearly 200 elementary schools.

“According to medical research, if a child is struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 MPH, he or she has an 85 to 90 percent chance of surviving,” said Lowell Porter, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “But increase the speed to 28 MPH and the survival rates are very low. This flashing beacon and lighting system project gives us a really good chance at saving lives.”

A 1999 study completed by the WTSC identified flashing yellow beacons/lighting as one of the most effective ways to reduce speeds of vehicles in school zones. On average, drivers traveled five to seven miles per hour (MPH) slower when the flashing school zone lights were present—a small but crucial safety difference.

The speed limit in school zones is 20 MPH, and effective July 22 citation fines for speeding in school zones will range between $189 (1-5 MPH over the 20 MPH limit) and $784 (35 MPH or more over the 20 MPH limit). School zone citation fines may not be waived, reduced, or suspended.

Only elementary schools were eligible for this project because studies show children under the age of 13 have limited depth perception and could be unable to judge the distance and time of an approaching vehicle.

“In the last 10 or 12 years, the number of elementary school age children in Washington has increased by nearly 20,000, so the need for school safety projects is in great demand,” Porter said.

A flashing yellow beacon/lighting system includes:

• Yellow lighted beacons as defined by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) for school zone use
• 20 MPH speed limit signage mounted to approved poles and powered by solar or electrical energy
• Software to control the system
• Additional signage required by the MUTCD to ensure proper marking of a designated school zone
  

The WTSC earlier this year issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting Governmental agencies and political subdivisions within Washington to participate in grant-funded projects to purchase the flashing yellow beacon/lighting systems. The proposals were due May 14 and projects were selected on June 15, 2007.

Projects were selected based on individual school zone data including average vehicle speeds, vehicle traffic volumes, collision data for the past five years, roadway design, and the number of students who walk or ride bicycles to school in relation to the number of students who attend the school.

The program has entered its second phase of a potential 10-year project. It is part of the School Zone Safety Act, which was passed by the 1996 Washington Legislature. The law directed the WTSC to develop and implement programs to improve safety in school zones. One half of the fine for speeding in a school zone is deposited into a school zone account used only by the WTSC to fund projects in local communities to improve school zone and/or student transportation safety.