Back-to-school season shows how much communities rely on safe, reliable routes every day. During drop-off and pick-up, streets near campuses become the place where walking, biking, bussing, and driving all come together. Most schools were not designed with today’s mix of cars, buses, bikes, and pedestrians in mind.
Reducing conflicts means rethinking circulation so each mode has a clear and safe path. With innovative planning, schools can create routes that cut down on congestion and improve safety for everyone. Quick-build improvements like high-visibility crosswalks, protected cycle tracks, and organized drop-off areas can deliver immediate results, while larger projects strengthen networks, expand access, and provide lasting solutions.
Each step, big or small, is an investment in safety, mobility, and independence. BKF helps communities move from vision to reality through planning, grant funding, design, and implementation.
The Case for Safer Routes
The data above highlights the opportunities community leaders have for increasing safety within the school transportation network. Safer routes not only reduce collisions but also support healthier, more connected ways for students to get to school.
Safety comes first at BKF.
Explore how BKF has helped agencies transform high-traffic areas into connective and reliable routes for travelers during peak school traffic times.
BKF partnered with the City of Oakland to transform the 14th Street corridor into a safer route for students and families traveling between West Oakland and Lake Merritt. Supported by an Active Transportation Program (ATP) Safe Routes to School grant, the project delivered Class IV raised bike lanes, protected intersections and bike lanes, raised bus islands, new curb ramps, and necklace lighting. These improvements provide safer, more reliable access for students walking and biking to nearby schools.
BKF is partnering with the City of Lafayette to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety around local schools and downtown. The project will create permanent walking and biking paths, improve student access to Stanley Middle School and Lafayette Elementary, and strengthen connections to the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail. Planned improvements include new pathways, landscaping, and a redesigned loading zone to improve access and circulation.
BKF led design services for a 3.6-mile stretch of the Ohlone Greenway Trail as part of the seismic retrofit of the BART Richmond Line aerial guideways. The trail, a key walking and biking corridor for students in Berkeley, Albany, and El Cerrito, received ADA-compliant upgrades, curb ramp restoration, realigned paths, and improved bike connections. Additional work addressed grading, drainage, and landscaping, ensuring the Greenway remains a safe, accessible route for students and the community.
BKF is supporting the City of Tracy on the Holly Drive Roadway Improvements project, which spans 23 City blocks between 11th Street and Clover Road. The project includes pavement rehabilitation, bike route signage and striping, curb ramps, accessibility upgrades, and new sidewalks near North Elementary School. Working with City staff, BKF is also focusing on addressing barriers and improving connections to create safer routes for students and the surrounding community.
BKF supported the Town of Ross in designing a 1,600-foot pedestrian pathway along Laurel Grove to improve safety and provide a continuous route to schools and community destinations. The project included widening and repaving the roadway, constructing retaining walls, improving drainage, and adding signage—creating the only pedestrian connection between neighborhood residences and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
BKF supported the City of Lake Forest in delivering intersection upgrades at Los Alisos and Muirlands boulevards, a heavily traveled arterial near schools and parks. The project added dual left-turn lanes on all legs while modifying the existing Muirlands Boulevard Bridge to meet safety standards. To maintain pedestrian and bicycle access, two new pedestrian bridges were built on either side of the roadway, creating safe connections to Los Alisos Intermediate School and El Toro Park.
HOW WILL YOU TRAVEL?
Partner with BKF to create safer routes to school.
Please reach out to Dan Schaefer to see how
BKF can support your next project.
Dan Schaefer
Business Sector Leader - Transportation / Principal
BKF Engineers, 2100 Franklin St, 4C, Oakland, CA 94612, United States, 5108997300
