2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 38 - Educational Institutions › Chapter 31 - Traffic Control in School Zones › § 38–3110. Safe Streets for Students Master Plan

§ 38–3110. Safe Streets for Students Master Plan.
(a)(1) No later than 12 months after the applicability date of the Safe Streets for Students Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 2nd reading on December 20, 2022 (enrolled version of Bill 24-66), and every 5 years thereafter, the Mayor shall prepare and submit to the Council for its review and approval a comprehensive 5-year Safe Streets for Students Master Plan ("Master Plan"). If approved by the Council, the Master Plan shall take effect on the first day of the succeeding fiscal year.
(2) The Council committee with jurisdiction shall conduct at least one public hearing on the proposed Master Plan before approval.
(3) If, subsequent to Council's approval of the 5-year Master Plan, material changes to the Master Plan become necessary, the Mayor may modify the Master Plan; provided, that any modification shall be submitted promptly to the Council for review and approval.
(4) Where the Council disapproves of the proposed Master Plan, the Mayor shall revise the Master Plan based on any comments adopted by the Council and resubmit it to the Council for its review and approval within 180 days after the effective date of the disapproval resolution.
(b) The Master Plan shall include:
(1) To be produced by DDOT:
(A) An ordered list of all public schools for which DDOT plans to produce and implement an Action Plan during the 5-year period covered by the Master Plan, ordered in accordance with the rubric described in subsection (c) of this section.
(B) A listing of all schools, ordered by the date that DDOT last produced and implemented an Action Plan for the school, and including the date of the Action Plan; and
(C) A list of the types of traffic safety infrastructure DDOT will consider for implementation at a school facility as part of Action Plan and the thresholds or standards that DDOT will utilize to determine whether implementation of that infrastructure is appropriate; except, that DDOT shall adopt standards in the Master Plan to require the installation of the following traffic safety infrastructure for a school as part of an Action Plan unless the agency determines and explains in writing how such installation would not, based on data collected by DDOT, materially increase safety or would be in conflict with other enumerated engineering requirements:
(i) High-visibility crosswalks at all intersections and crossings;
(ii) Speed bumps, speed humps, speed tables, or speed cushions on roadways adjacent to any public school entrances;
(iii) All-way stops or, where considered appropriate by DDOT, traffic signals at all intersections;
(iv) Raised crosswalks and curb extensions at intersections adjacent to public school campuses;
(v) Flashing school zone beacons on approaches within a school zone; and
(vi) Mid-block crossing protections such as pylons or flashing pedestrian signs.
(2) Not Funded.
(3) Not Funded.
(c)(1)(A) No later than 12 months after [October 1, 2023], and every 5 years thereafter, DDOT shall submit to the Council for its review and approval the rubric that DDOT shall use in the upcoming Master Plan to determine the order that school facilities will receive an Action Plan pursuant to this chapter.
(B) The proposed rubric shall be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed rubric, in whole or in part, by resolution within this 45-day review period, the proposed rubric shall be deemed approved.
(C) Prior to the submission of the rubric to the Council, DDOT shall post the rubric online in a location accessible to the public.
(2)(A) The rubric required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall, for each public school facility in the District, assign the facility a prioritization score from one to 10 based on data obtained by DDOT for the school facility.
(B) In developing the rubric required under paragraph (1) of this subsection, DDOT shall consider inclusion of:
(i) The number of reported traffic injury crashes that occurred within 1/4 of a mile of the school in the preceding 5 years;
(ii) Whether the school is within 1/4 of a mile of one of the District's top 15 crash intersections;
(iii) Whether the school zone includes a principal arterial, interstate, freeway, or expressway;
(iv) The date of implementation of the last Safe Routes to School Action Plan for the school;
(v) The number of schools within 1/2 of mile of the school facility; and
(vi) The number of at-risk students enrolled in the school based on the current school year enrollment projection.
(d) In addition to a facility's prioritization score required by subsection (c)(2), when determining the prioritization and inclusion of school traffic safety projects in the annual budget and Capital Improvements Plan, DDOT may consider:
(1) The scope and sequence of projects due to other projects focused on traffic safety within the walk and bike shed of the school undertaken in the preceding 5 years or planned in the most recent enacted Capital Improvements Plan; and
(2) Immediate life and safety concerns.
(e)(1) DME and DDOT shall be the agencies responsible for development of the Master Plan:.
(2) The following agencies shall provide support, as requested by the Mayor, for the development of the Master Plan:
(A) DCPS;
(B) The Public Charter School Board;
(C) Public charter local education agencies;
(D) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA") and WMATA Metro Transit Police;
(E) The Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice;
(F) The Department of Public Works;
(G) The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement; and
(H) The Office of Planning.
(f)(1) At least 90 days before the submission of the Master Plan to the Council, DDOT shall post the draft Master Plan online and conduct at least 3 public meetings on the draft Master Plan.
(2) Within 7 days after the submission of a Master Plan to Council, DDOT shall transmit to the Council and make the data available on the agency website in a location accessible to the public the raw data used to produce the prioritization scores for each school facility in the Master Plan.
(g) DCPS, PCSB, and individual private schools shall notify DDOT of a new school no later than 90 days before the first day on which students will begin classes at the school.
(May 23, 2000, D.C. Law 13-111, § 2i; as added Mar. 10, 2023, D.C. Law 24-285, § 2(b), 70 DCR 998.)
Applicability
Section 6123 of D.C. Law 25-50 amended section 4 of D.C. Law 24-285 retaining the applicability provision impacting paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) of this section. Therefore the creations of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) of this section by section 2(b) of Law 24-285 have not been implemented.
Applicability of D.C. Law 24-285: § 4 of D.C. Law 24-285 provided that the creation of this section by § 2(b) of D.C. Law 24-285 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.