Latest SRTS News

One of six "walking school buses" during Walk to School Day on Oct. 5th (image: Towson Patch)

Rodgers Forge Elementary Celebrates Walk to School Day! 
Thanks to everyone who participated in Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 5th. The event was widely seen as a great success and we have received a lot of positive feedback. Over 40 schools in the Baltimore region participated, but most media attention, including coverage in the Towson Patch,  WBAL-TV, and the Towson Times, was focused on Rodgers Forge because of the high level of organization and participation.  


The event was a collaborative partnership between the Rodgers Forge Community Association SRTS Committee, RFES staff, parent volunteers, the PTA, Baltimore County Police, and AAA. After the walk to school, the school day began with all students attending a fun and informative walking safety assembly in the school cafetorium which was led by a AAA representative and BCPD officer.


There is significant interest in formalizing the "walking school buses" on a regular basis. The committee will be reaching out to volunteers and parents in December who have expressed interest to determine how to best move forward.

Rodgers Forge Wins SRTS Grant
The RFCA SRTS committee recently applied for and just learned that it won a $1,000 "mini-grant" from the National Center for Safe Routes To School. The grant will be used to buy a new bike rack for RFES as well as  educational materials. Our grant application was one of only 26 out of over 250 applications to be selected nationwide. We hope this will be the first of several grants we will win which will go toward other SRTS improvements.


Baltimore County Police Expanding Support of Rodgers Forge SRTS

Parked vehicles blocking a crosswalk endangers
the safety of children and other pedestrians.

Baltimore County Police will soon expand their support of our SRTS efforts in the important areas of "Enforcement" and "Education". Enforcement efforts will start immediately, and will focus on improving pedestrian safety by ticketing drivers who create unsafe conditions for children walking to and from school. Special attention will be paid to the following: 

• The persistent problem of drivers illegally blocking crosswalks by parking on the corner of Dumbarton Road at Glen Argyle Road and Regester Avenue in front of the school, particularly during afternoon pick-up
• General speeding through the neighborhood
• Failure to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks
• Failure to obey stop signs

Enforcement will happen on a regular basis throughout the school year and may occur anywhere in Rodgers Forge along routes where children walk to school.
The Education component will include a pedestrian and bicycle safety course for RFES students, tentatively slated for April. This will include a school-wide assembly followed by a weekend "bike rodeo." More details to follow as they become known early in the new year.




SRTS Survey Results Tallied
The committee has completed data entry of the SRTS survey, which was sent home to all RFES households shortly after the beginning of the school year. We received responses back from over 90% of households, which is a phenomenal response rate. A big "Thank You" to all who took the time to fill out the survey and return it! We are currently summarizing the data which will be shared in January via the SRTS blog. The results will help the committee better understand issues and identify opportunities and challenges as it continues its work.


Developing a Complete SRTS Plan for Rodgers Forge
Using the results of the survey and other observations, the committee is developing a list of prioritized recommendations about SRTS improvements which could improve safety and encourage more walking and biking to/from school. We will be sharing this as a draft with the community sometime after the new year via the blog with the purpose of soliciting feedback before finalizing our recommendations.