Saratoga is taking steps to improve sidewalk and crosswalk visibility near schools in the city, part of a broader effort to make it safer for students to travel to and from campus.
Under the Safe Routes to School Master Plan, the city council voted unanimously at its Feb. 5 meeting to approve a contract with engineering consultants Fehr and Peers, who will design traffic safety improvements for seven intersections at five different schools in Saratoga. Mainini Cabute, the city’s environmental programs manager, said the firm will design the plans for the project in about three to four months with the goal of starting construction in 2025, preferably before the end of the summer.
The improvements will include high-visibility crosswalks, more signage, curb ramps and extensions according to the city.
The contract with the engineering consultants came in at $173,000, but the implementation of the entire plan – which includes other long-term improvements – will cost over $1 million, according to the city. Of that amount, $320,000 comes from the city’s general fund and $500,000 from grants from former U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo’s office.
The city approved the Safe Routes to School Master Plan in 2022 as part of an international movement that other Bay Area cities have gotten involved in, aiming to improve traffic safety near schools.
Saratoga Mayor Belal Aftab said the changes to improve visibility at intersections near schools will be especially crucial in the wintertime when days are shorter, especially given that Saratoga has fewer streetlights than other cities in the Bay Area.
“It’s going to make [it] materially safer to cross the street, which sounds like a simple thing, but it’s really important,” Aftab said.
Saratoga High School, located at the intersection of Herriman Avenue and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, will see traffic safety improvements under the plan. Herriman Avenue intersections at Camino Rico and Saratoga Vista Avenue will see curb improvements and flashing lights to indicate the presence of a crosswalk.
Saratoga High School principal Greg Louie said the changes will be especially helpful in improving safety around the school during peak pick-up and drop-off hours during the school year.
“That’s always nice to have to just help a little bit more in terms of people slowing down and not being distracted when they’re driving,” Louie told this publication.
