Comment on DC’s Safe Routes to School plans for your community

June 2, 2026

“Walking near a D.C. school raises the chance of being hit by a car, data shows,” states an April 27, 2026 Washington Post headline. The Post’s analysis shows pedestrians near schools are 24% more likely to be hit than elsewhere in the city.

The Safe Routes to School program is one answer. DC’s SRTS team “conducts reviews of the built environment around schools, focusing on transportation infrastructure that provides traffic calming and safety improvements. These improvements include traffic pattern changes, identifying pick-up and drop-off curbside spaces, crosswalk and school zone signage upgrades, signal changes, pavement marking improvements, and speed hump installations.”

DDOT creates action plans based on these studies, incorporating community input. Twenty-five schools have been designated for 2026 action plan development. Visit the Action Plans page and click the 2026 tab for a list, or scroll down the page for a break-out by Ward.

If you’re part of a school’s community, use DDOT’s 2026 Safe Routes to School Survey to submit your comments on improvements that should be part of the school’s action plan.

We’ve heard from community members who are looking at Brookland Middle School, including the Turkey Thicket Rec Center area and the corner of Michigan Ave. and 10th St. NW, where Armando Ramirez was killed in 2021.
Regarding Janney Elementary School in Ward 3, one contact reports how difficult it is to cross River Road (especially near 43rd Pl where drivers don’t stop and at 42nd Street where drivers creep into crosswalks or block them altogether) as well as the lower intersection of the school (42nd St and Albermarle) where the crossing guard doesn’t help anyone trying to cross. Drivers speed on 42nd (in the school zone) or they routinely pull into the lower plaza where bikes go to turn around, blocking the entry for everyone on a bike. Another added that the area is completely under-resourced in terms of bike lanes (coupled with the rising cost of driving these days), particularly since the schools sit adjacent to Metro.
An Oyster Adams parent is hoping people will comment on the Adams campus plan. Of course bikeability is a top priority.

If you have insights to share concerning a plan in your community, please send them and we’ll incorporate them into a posted version of this message. The complete list of 2026 action-plan schools is:

Brightwood Elementary School • Ward 4 at 1300 NICHOLSON STREET NW

Paul PCS – International High School • Ward 4 at 5800 8TH STREET NW

Paul PCS – Middle School • Ward 4 at 5800 8TH STREET NW

Powell Elementary School • Ward 4 at 1350 UPSHUR STREET NW

Brookland Middle School • Ward 5 at 1150 MICHIGAN AVENUE NE

Burroughs Elementary School • Ward 5 at 1820 MONROE STREET NE

Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS • Ward 5 at 200 DOUGLAS STREET NE

Capitol Hill Montessori • Ward 6 at 215 G STREET NE

Two Rivers PCS at 4th Street • Ward 6 at 1227 4TH STREET NE

Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy • Ward 7 at 3701 HAYES STREET NE

DC Prep PCS – Benning Elementary • Ward 7 at 100 41ST STREET NE

DC Prep PCS – Benning Middle • Ward 7 at 100 41ST STREET NE

Kelly Miller Middle School • Ward 7 at 301 49TH STREET NE

Lorraine H. Whitlock Elementary School • Ward 7 at 533 48TH PLACE NE

Smothers Elementary School • Ward 7 at 4400 BROOKS STREET NE

Achievement Prep PCS – Wahler Place Elementary • Ward 8 at 908 WAHLER PLACE SE

Hart Middle School • Ward 8 at 601 MISSISSIPPI AVENUE SE

Ingenuity Prep PCS • Ward 8 at 4600 LIVINGSTON ROAD SE

KIPP DC – AIM Academy PCS • Ward 8 at 2600 DOUGLASS ROAD SE

Rocketship PCS – Rise Academy • Ward 8 at 2335 RAYNOLDS PLACE SE

Simon Elementary School • Ward 8 at 401 MISSISSIPPI AVENUE SE

Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys PCS • Ward 8 at 4600 LIVINGSTON ROAD SE

Please use DDOT’s 2026 Safe Routes to School Survey to submit your comments on improvements that should be part of the school’s action plan.

Thanks for sharing your insights into ways DDOT can boost safety in our communities.

More about The DC Low Stress Network

Bike lanes are most effective when they connects to other bike lanes, protected bike lanes, even more so.

WABA works with teams of grassroots volunteers across the District to demand a network of low-stress places to bike. A network where you, your kids, nephews, nieces, or grandkids, can all get where you need to go safely, easily, happily on bikes.

More about Complete Streets

Complete Streets are streets designed to accommodate all users, and that prioritize historically underinvested modes of transportation like transit, walking, and biking. An incomplete street might lack adequate sidewalks, low-stress bike infrastructure, or safe and comfortable access to transit.

Effective Complete Streets policies change the way a jurisdiction plans and builds transportation infrastructure—sidewalks, low stress bike infrastructure, and transit should be included in any new or rebuilt street by default, rather than as an add-on when there's space or demand.

While most regional jurisdictions have a Complete Streets policy of some sort, they lack teeth and permit transportation departments to continue to build streets that put cars first and squeeze other modes into the margins.

More about Advocacy

WABA fights for a region where biking, walking and transit are the best ways to get around.

We educate policymakers and organize grassroots advocates for to speak up for safer places to bike and walk; and for laws and policies that protect people who are walking and biking, reduce dangerous driving, and facilitate changes to the built environment.