Bullis Charter School

Traffic Safety Handbook for BCS

Updated 5/27/16

Table of Contents:

1. Introductions
2. The Rules

1. General Traffic/Parking Lot Rules
2. Drop-Offs
3. Pick-Ups
4. Parking
5. Pedestrians
6. Alternative Parking Locations
7. Alternative Routes
8. Violations

3. Volunteers

1. Introductions
2. Training Guide
3.  Positions & Duties

4. Appendix & Maps

1. Map of the BCS North Site Parking Lot
2. Map of the BCS South Site Parking Lot
3. Cheat Sheet for Volunteer Positions & Duties

1. Introductions:

This handbook was created in an effort to make the traffic and parking lot more safe for everyone in and around Bullis Charter School and to help mitigate traffic around our community.  Feedback is welcome.  Please email:  aschwartzbaum@bullischarterschool.com at the south campus and janderson@bullischarterschool.com at the north campus.

2. The Rules

1. Intro/General information:

1. Be a role model for our children: be courteous to fellow parents, drivers, pedestrians, and parking lot safety volunteers.
2. Drive slowly, (5 mph) cautiously, and courteously through the parking lot.
3. Always enter through the entrance and leave through the exit.
4. Do not drive the wrong direction through the parking lot.
5. Do not stop in the middle of a lane. Pull forward, park, or circle.
6. Allow every other car to merge when people are trying to enter/exit the parking lot.
7. Do your best to walk, ride a bike, or carpool to school to alleviate traffic.
8. No U-turns allowed on Portola Ave.

2. Drop-off (7:15am-8:45am):

1. Students are to be dropped-off / picked-up at curbside only, after the Handicap Parking zone.
2. Students may NOT be dropped off  in the middle of the parking lot, in the thruway, in front of Egan gym (north site)/Blach MPR (south site), or on Portola Avenue (north site)/Covington Road (south site) or other nearby streets.
3. Wait in line for your turn to drop-off or pick-up, even if you see there are empty spaces by the curb.
4. Curbside drop-off: Follow the yellow curb to the very end, past the Kindergarten buildings.  Continue to pull forward when there are no cars in front of you.
5. Drop children off on the school side/curbside of the street.
6. Drivers, stay in your vehicle while students are unloading in the drop-off lane.
7. Pull forward and wait for the “valet” (school staff, parent volunteer or school safety patroller) to help open passenger doors and unload students and their belongings. Students should remove their own items from the car.
8. Once students unload, pull completely out of the drop-off lane.
9. Try to arrive up to 15 minutes prior to beginning of classroom instruction to help reduce the number of vehicles arriving at one time.

3. Pick-up (3:00pm - 4:30pm):

1. Curbside Pick-Up: Follow the yellow curb until the cross walk.
2. Do NOT pick students in the middle of the parking lot, in the thruway, in front of Egan gym (north site)/Blach MPR (south site), or on Portola Avenue (north site)/Covington Road (south site) or other nearby streets.
3. At the north site, the area north of the main crosswalk is designated for vanpool.  Fill this space ONLY after the vans exit the lot.
4. Stay in your car and be prepared to pull forward at all times.
5. Wait in line for your turn to drop-off or pick-up, even if there are empty spaces by the curb.
6. Do not leave cars unattended for any reason while in the yellow curb pick- up / drop-off zone, even for one minute.
7. Do not leave your car to look for your child.
8. To help expedite pick-up, instruct your child/ren to be ready to enter your car when they see you pull up curbside. For safety reasons/security reasons, students are to wait along the yellow curb on the BCS side of the parking lot between the handicapped parking spaces and the kindergarten classrooms.
9. Arrive no more than five minutes prior to the end of classroom instruction to help reduce the number of long-standing vehicle queues along the student pick-up lane.

4. Parking:

1. Park cars in designated parking spaces only.
2. For safety reasons, use the crosswalk at all times when crossing to/from the parking lot.
3. Do not drop off students in the parking lot or leave them unattended in the parking lot.
4. If you park, escort your child through the parking lot into school.
5. Respect the parking spaces that are reserved.  This includes the spaces reserved for the principal, marked handicapped, or reserved for auction winners.
6. If the parking lot is full due to a special event, the lot may be closed to additional drivers.
7. Follow directional arrows in the lot; do not go down a lane the wrong way.
8. Be courteous when parking on neighborhood streets. Do not block driveways.
9. At the south site, utilize the Blach parking lot for overflow parking. Do not park in spaces marked “Blach.”

5. Field Trips & Buses

1. Busses need to pull up and park in front of the kindergarten buildings.
2. Students will load onto buses for a field trip before or during drop-off or pick-up.

6. Pedestrians:

1. Use the crosswalk when walking from the parking lot to the curbside and back to the parking lot. When a parking lot volunteer or crossing guard is on duty, please wait for them to stop traffic and signal that it is safe to cross.
2. Obey traffic rules in the neighborhood surrounding BCS.  Do not jaywalk in front of the school.  At the north site, walk down to the intersection of West Portola Avenue and San Antonio Road and cross at the crosswalk or cross at the crosswalk closer to Egan Junior High School.  At the south site, use the crosswalks on Covington Road.
3. The curbside at school is a sidewalk.  Do not let children play tag, dribble a ball or roughhouse on the sidewalk.  
4. Walk (or push your bike, scooter or stroller) on the right side of the sidewalk to ease the flow of foot traffic.
5. During drop-off and pick-up, pedestrians must wait for the crossing guard before crossing the lot or the street.
6. Teach children to cross at crosswalks, obey traffic lights, look all ways (left, right, behind and ahead), and then walk cautiously when crossing a street, and to respect the crossing guards and parent volunteers. Parents and children must follow safety personnel’s their directions.  

7. Alternative Parking Locations

1. The Church of Latter Day Saints on Jordan Avenue has graciously offered their parking lot for our use during pick-up and drop-off times (but not all-day parking).  We highly encourage parents to park here and enjoy the short walk (or use scooter) to the BCS campus. See map below:

2. Pleasant Way and Del Monte Ave (3 minute walk)
3. Chester Circle (5 minute walk)
4. At the south campus, use the Blach parking lot. The Blach lot is for parking only. Please park and walk your child to the BCS Campus; no curbside drop-off or pick-up.
5. It is ok to park in the neighborhood, around both BCS campuses, but please respect our neighbors.  PLEASE: Don’t park in front of any school neighbors driveway, including the California Water Service Company parking.
6. Friday is garbage day in North Los Altos. There are less spaces available along the streets. Please plan accordingly.
7. Consider walking, biking, scooting or carpooling to school - contact our Walk or Wheel (WOW) Representative for more information.   

8. Alternative Routes (South Site)

1. BCS families and staff are encouraged to use Grant Road during to reduce the number of vehicle trips through the Miramonte Avenue/Covington Road intersection during the a.m. peak hour.

9. Violations:

1. Warning citation
2. Meeting with the principal
3. Lose the privilege of driving into and using the parking lot

3. Volunteers/Staff Supervision

1. Introductions

Thank you for volunteering!  Volunteers are needed in order to keep everyone safe and keep traffic flowing. Ideally, 4 volunteers in the morning and 4 in the afternoon are required. The stars on the map below indicate where volunteers are located.

2. Training Guide

1. General volunteer guidelines:

• For morning drop off please plan to be at the school from 8:10 am to 8:40 am; for afternoon pick up please plan to be at school from 3:10 pm to 3:40 pm.
• Sign in as a volunteer at the office.
• Pick up a vest from the drawer and wear it.
• The first volunteer(s) to arrive should put the different signs in the designated areas: stanchions/cones in the “do not  pick up/drop off area”; “‘pull forward’ signs”; “‘van only’ signs”; other signs/cones if necessary.
• Pick up a ‘Stop’ sign if you are working as a crosswalk volunteer (position #1 or #4 on the map).
• For Field Trips & Buses - Busses need to pull up and park in front of the kindergarten buildings.  Students will be loading onto buses for a field trip before or during dropoff or pickup.

2. Tips for a successful day:

• Communicate the rules clearly and respectfully to violators. Don’t take negative responses personally. It will help preempt negativity if you are over-the-top with the positivity. Examples of things you can say:

• “Kids’ safety is our utmost priority” (no one can disagree with you!)
• “Thank you for your cooperation” (being kind reminds others to be kind)
• “We’re all in this together”
• “Great job getting yourself and your stuff out of the car on your own” (to a student who independently unloads)
• “Thank you for staying in your car and pulling all the way forward!”

• If you notice someone who is repeatedly being rude or breaking the rules, please try to remember who they are and bring it up to a school administrator. They will directly contact repeat offenders.
• Please remind pedestrians that they should use the crosswalk at all times.

3. Positions & Duties

1. Crossing Guard (see map #1 and #4):

• These volunteers hold a stop sign and stops traffic to allow people to cross the parking lot.
• If cars are backed up, then pedestrians should be held to allow for the cars to pass. Pedestrians do not always have the right of way.
• #4 is also called the Runner. This volunteer can approach vehicles and ask them to follow the parking lot rules if violation is observed, and can help with traffic in the parking lot intersections.

2. Cheerleader/Valet/Greeter (see map #2 and #3):

• Stands in front of 5th grade classrooms (40-44) (or the Kinder classrooms during morning drop off) and makes sure that cars are moving forward and kids are getting dropped off on the curb.
• Assists with backpacks, closing doors and trunks. Ideally we’d like to use a “valet” at drop-off: Cars pull up and a “valet” (school staff or parent volunteer) opens the door to help with drop-off. Drivers are not permitted to leave their vehicles and must move on after the door is shut.
• Ensures that kids are being dropped in the drop off zone only. Hand citation/educational pamphlet with map to anyone who does not comply or to drivers who look confused.

3. Cheerleader/Runner (see map #4)

•  If a extra volunteer is available, then they can stand on the other side of the crosswalk to make sure people are crossing safely and drivers are (1) not stopping in the aisles to (2) picking up kids in the aisle or (3) parking in designated spots or no parking zones. If this volunteer is not available, then the described duties will be handled by the other volunteers as time permits.
• #4 is also called the Runner. This volunteer can approach vehicles and ask them to follow the parking lot rules if violation is observed, and can help with traffic in the parking lot intersections.

4. Appendix & Maps:

Appendix A:  

Map of BCS’s Parking Lot at the North Site

Appendix B:

Map of BCS’s Parking Lot at the South Site

Appendix C:  

Cheat Sheet for Volunteer Positions and Duties

1. Crossing Guard:

• Stands at the entrance to the crosswalk from the school to the parking lot.
• Watches traffic coming through the red and yellow zones.
• Walks into the crosswalk and uses the stop sign to allow pedestrian traffic to cross.
• Takes turns allowing car traffic and pedestrian traffic.

2. Valet/Greeter: 

• Stands in yellow zone and assists children getting out of cars.
• Helps with lunchboxes, Zucas, etc.
• Closes door so parents do not need to exit their cars.
• Waives cars forward as cars ahead move through the lot.
• Encourages constant flow of traffic.

3. Traffic Cheerleader: 

• Stands in the red zone waiving all cars forward.
• Discourages cars from stopping to drop off or pick up children.
• Also asks cars to move all the way forward and discourages large gaps between cars.

4. Runner:

• Stands between all of the crosswalks and watches traffic in the middle lane plus in the zones.
• Assists with helping pedestrians cross through the second cross walk.
• Also waives cars through the middle lane.
• Asks cars to keep moving if they stop.
• May also waive cars into empty parking spaces that they cannot see