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What’s your favorite example of a solution to reduce or eliminate cars idling in school pickup lines (that doesn’t involve eliminating the cars?)
I found the EPA has an Idle Free toolkit:
https://www.epa.gov/schools/idle-free-schools-toolkit-healthy-school-environment
There’s a nice intro video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l16s60FiXaE&feature=youtu.be
A school that tried it last year reduced idling by 38%.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141308.htm
@getalifemike The route to school here is down a busy road and crossing a busier road. It would need a re-design before a biking school bus would work well.
I’m curious about policies or signage about idling, as there are a lot of cars arriving that can’t easily be converted to other modes now.
@markstos cars making every other transpo option slow and unsafe. Sad but typical.
@getalifemike Yes. If the infra around the school was better, more people could bike and walk there. It’s on the edge of town and the near a gorge, so there’s not as much density and paths to it as a truly urban school.
@markstos @getalifemike technically that's a bike lane if anybody chooses to use it but maybe you need a police escort, I've never understood the part of traffic Engineering with the guns. 
@markstos #SchoolStreets, even just for 30 min before and after school. Not letting through traffic and triple parking fill every street around the school opens some space to people crossing, arriving by bike, playing in the street with friends before the bell... People who need to drive can drop their kids off one block farther away and know they won't encounter conflict with drivers because they have a car-free route to the door, more people who live close can just let their kid walk/bike.
@enobacon The school I have in mind has a 55 mph state road (stroad) in front that can’t be closed and is flanked by two cul-de-sac neighborhoods. That people can’t bike through to get there. No amount of programming would get rid of the car line anytime soon.
That’s why I’m asking about policies and signage about idling.
@markstos It would take some extreme tactical urbanism / field engineering, but at a glance you could make that a usable crosswalk with an island, protected shoulder space, something to safely cross the highway one lane at a time (I'm guessing there is a backup and not actually 55mph traffic at dropoff time.) For taming the pickup line, you probably need to park+walk some of the traffic, I would have to look at it in plan and in context of surrounding traffic to figure out how that could work.
@enobacon There is a new crosswalk with island about a block away. It even has a push button that activates a stop light to force cars to stop on command. But then there’s no sidewalk for the one block from Deckard Drive to the front of the school on Russell Road. This image shows property boundaries. Looks like the missing sidewalk would go in the state road RoW. To get to the school safely, you still need to go through a neighborhood to the back of the building.
@markstos that would need to be a jersey barrier protected sidewalk to be safe with the highway speeds and would be unpleasant anyway due to lack of separation distance. Plus it would need to be wide enough for kids to bike. I'm guessing not many kids within walking distance vs 2-3 miles. Is that route around too back much longer?
For park + walk, ideally you want drivers to turn right, park, and turn right to exit, with the kids able to walk from that curb to the school with no car conflicts
@enobacon I think there’s likely enough room for a 10 ft path plus a decent buffer. The route around the back is annoyingly longer if you are running late, considering cars have a direct route.
an anti-idling campaign would cost almost nothing to run, while adding that sidewalk may take a year or two and $500k if all parties cooperate and fund it.
@markstos to be clear, I don't think an anti-idling campaign would be effective without higher gas tax and real+constant threat of severe fine. Unless you have the social pressure, you really need to get people out of the car or not waiting. Does anyone park+walk on Tamarron? Seems like that counter-clockwise loop would have plenty of curb space to park and walk, albeit narrow sidewalks.
@enobacon Salt Lake City has an Idle Free ordinance: https://www.slc.gov/sustainability/air-quality/idle-free-ordinance/idle-free-ordinance/
There’s no mention of a gas tax. Fines are the same as parking fines.
@enobacon I usually take the long way through Tamarron to the back of the school.
@markstos Bulldoze this facility and repurpose houses in each neighborhood for smaller community schools within walking distance
@pleaseclap I appreciate all the practical solutions here.
@markstos You can then also regulate school district sizes so that you don't have people shopping for county homes 20 miles away from their high school of choice
See: the signs on random county roads in northern Indiana that tell you what school district you're entering, so that you can start looking for for sale signs
@markstos These are extremely practical solutions: the barriers to implementation are political, not functional
Maybe instead of "bulldoze" it's "use it for something else": either would eliminate cars idling there
@markstos Tough one. Signs may help a little, I don’t know any statistics on sign efficiency but judging by stop sign and speed limit adherence they’re not super effective. But maybe some of the drivers will stop which is better than nothing. After that a few options are 1. Enforcement (would need the school/local police to care and spend time enforcing), 2. Social pressure (bring it up in school meetings, online fora, get the media involved), 3. Signaling (show up in gas masks). Good luck!
@markstos Of course the enforcement option requires rules to be present or implemented in the first place… Are there any rules against idling in your area?
@CargoBikeLife I don’t think so, but my spouse was just elected to City Council…
@markstos Congratulations to you both!
@CargoBikeLife Teachers and schools are already asked to be in the middle of so much, now. I’d want to make sure whatever the proposal is, the school employees themselves would be on board.
@markstos I love this. You’re very thoughtful and considerate about the whole thing, which I think, perhaps unfortunately, is a key to success. Also love that it’s not just a random thought experiment (nothing wrong with those though) but instead seeking advice for actual action. I know there are groups out there that you can talk to that deals with this type of problem, basically how do you effectively engage local communities into positive change. People with experience who can give advice.
Could be worth looking into!