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Published on 06/23/1999 All articles from this issue

LASD surveys school commutes to gauge traffic

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

She said the district planned to give a copy of the survey to the Los Altos Traffic Advisory Committee. She said the district could use the survey as a guideline to help determine where to draw new boundary lines.

School traffic and safety have been hot issues at recent city and school board meetings as the Los Altos School District gears up for internal boundary changes and renovations at each of its nine campuses.

Residents say the district's plan to temporarily divert elementary children to Blach and Egan junior high schools while their schools are under construction could increase traffic congestion. Parents object to boundary changes that could send their children to schools farther from their homes, making biking and walking unsafe.

In response to these concerns, district officials surveyed students at each of the district's six elementary schools May 26 to determine how they get to school. Seventy-eight percent of approximately 2,850 students surveyed said they come to school by car; 18 percent said they walk or bike to school; and 4 percent said they come to school by other modes of transportation, including child-care buses, according to the survey.

Bullis-Purissima School in Los Altos Hills has the greatest percentage - 93 percent - of students who commute to school by car, according to survey results. Almond School in Los Altos reported the lowest percentage - 71 percent - of students who commute to school by car.

Springer School reported the highest percentage - 24 percent - of students who walk or ride to school. Bullis-Purissima reported the lowest percentage with only 5 percent of its student body walking or riding to school.

Superintendent Marge Gratiot said prior to the survey, the district had no data on the number of students who walk, bike or ride to school.

"We got a great response. Children are very honest," she said. "It's apparent that even those who live near school aren't walking or biking. I was surprised. When I was a principal at both Loyola and Santa Rita, before I became superintendent, I know that a much higher percentage walked and biked."

Gratiot said the district hopes to encourage more students to walk or bike to school by improving bike routes. Gratiot said she believes few students currently walk because of increased traffic and safety concerns.