Open Plans Releases School Street Demand List to Keep Kids Safer Next School Year

New York—Today, ahead of the end of the last day of classes, Open Plans released a list of 10 measures that New York City can and should implement over the summer in order to keep kids safe around schools next year and beyond. 

When class is in session, streets within 250 feet of schools see significantly higher rates of crashes and injuries than other New York City streets, particularly during pick-up and drop-off hours. The dangers are especially acute around schools that primarily serve low-income students of color, as they tend to be located in neighborhoods where streets are less friendly to pedestrians. With 2024 already on pace to be the deadliest year for traffic fatalities since the launch of Vision Zero a decade ago, New York City must do everything in its power to protect and enrich the lives of young New Yorkers throughout the school day.

Creating car-free streets is a simple, proven solution for schools contending with traffic congestion, chaotic pick-up and drop-off times, and limited room for outdoor recreation, learning, and other activities. By easing access to and enhancing the DOT’s Open Streets Full Closure: Schools program (also known as school streets), as well as taking other steps to reduce traffic, encourage micromobility, and pedestrianize areas around schools, New York City can ensure that students, educators, and parents can safely and efficiently travel to class and enjoy the benefits of expanded and enhanced space come September. 

“Every student, educator, and parent deserves a safe commute to school, yet shamefully, the streets around our schools remain some of the most dangerous places in the city when it comes to traffic deaths and injuries,” said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director of Open Plans. “This summer, the city must take action to make sure that by the start of the class in September, we’re on a path to safe, orderly, and enjoyable streets surrounding schools for everyone.”

1. Simplify the Process for Getting an Open Street for a School
   Currently, applying for a school street in New York City requires completing a lengthy online application and submitting several letters of support—a process that is far too onerous for already overburdened school administrators. Adopting a more straightforward system like that in Seattle, which only requires filling out a simple request form, would increase access and reduce inequity for a program that all schools should be able to enjoy. 

2. Leverage Passage of Sammy’s Law to Create Slow Zones Near Schools
   Passed in April, Sammy’s Law allows the city to reduce speed limits from 15 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour in designated “slow zones” located in residential areas. Establishing additional “slow zones”—which, along with lower speed limits, come with other traffic-calming infrastructure—would slow down cars and generally reduce traffic near schools. 

3. Proactively Designate Open Streets for Schools
   Establish Open Streets at a selection of schools throughout the city, rather than requiring them to request one, prioritizing communities that are especially in need of safer streets and public space.

4. Prioritize Semi-Permanent Swinging Gates for Open Streets for Schools 
   New York City currently uses metal barricades to manage cars around school streets. Semi-permanent swinging gates, standard on school streets in Paris, are safer and eliminate the need to set up and remove barricades every day. 

5. Install Convenient and Abundant Micromobility Storage Near School Entrances 
   Creating adequate storage for bikes, scooters, and other micromobility vehicles will provide students, parents, and educators with the infrastructure they need to efficiently travel to school and safely store their devices.

6. Pedestrianize Streets That Run Between Two or More Co-Located Schools or Two or More Buildings Within the Same School to Create Campus Plazas for Students This approach has already been successful at Baruch’s campus on 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue, and could be replicated at many other multi-building or co-located schools.

7. Amend the Department of Education’s Citywide Wellness Policy to More Effectively Leverage the Open Streets for Schools Program
   Car-free streets should be used to create new opportunities for outdoor learning, outdoor activity, arts and culture, and active transportation to school; the DOE should provide the resources to support these initiatives on Open Streets for schools.

8. Prioritize Safe Routes To and From Schools 
   Proactively install micromobility lanes on the streets that students and educators use to get to school, and enhance those lanes with traffic safety improvements, such as daylighting and traffic calming measures, for pedestrians. 

9. Commit to Full-Scale Reform of the School Parking Placard System 
   The DOE parking placard program currently provides teachers, administrators, and other school employees with free permits for on-street parking, incentivizing driving to work and, in turn, traffic directly around schools.

10. Provide Teachers, Administrators, and Other School Employees with Public Transit Discounts Comparable to Those Provided to Students
    Providing educators with discounts will encourage the use of public transit to commute.