Thank You for Walking with Us
Walk to School Day and PTA Statement on Road Safety
Thank you for making Walk to School Day a success!
Thank you for joining us on Wednesday morning to celebrate national Walk to School Day. It was a wonderful way to come together as a community and recognize the benefits of walking to school, as well as the importance of creating safe conditions for walkable neighborhoods.
Ross PTA Statement on Road Safety
In response to recent, hazardous incidents on our neighborhood streets, the Ross PTA has drafted a Statement on Road Safety. We plan to share it with Councilmember Brooke Pinto, DDOT, the local ANC, and any other officials who are interested in this advocacy. Please feel free to download the statement below and share with local officials and others, as a member of the Ross PTA.
Ross Elementary PTA Statement on Road Safety
October 6, 2021
On September 24, the driver of an SUV hit Nathan Ballard-Means, a 4-year-old Ross Elementary School student in a crosswalk at the corner of New Hampshire Avenue and S Street NW. He was riding his bicycle alongside his mother; they had stopped and checked that the intersection was clear before entering it. Fortunately, the student was not seriously hurt, at least not physically. However, in a similar incident earlier this month, 5-year-old Allison Hart was killed in Northeast DC by a driver of a van, also on her bicycle in a crosswalk. We are also heartbroken to see the news that two children were hit in Ward 8 on their way to school on Walk to School Day.
No deaths or serious injuries of our children are acceptable, whether on our roadways, due to the gun violence plaguing many communities, or any other preventable reasons. Ross has many students who walk or bike to school. The Ross community calls on the District Department of Transportation to examine the intersection of S and New Hampshire, where the recent incident occurred, to identify any potential safety improvements, and to implement all of the recommendations of Ross's Safe Routes to School Plan as quickly as possible.
Further, we appreciate the recent traffic calming changes to 17th Street NW, which passes one block from our school. These are slowing down car and truck traffic and making the street safer to walk and bike on (while also making permanent the outdoor dining which many of our families have used to enjoy area restaurants and minimize COVID exposure risk).
As a small, neighborhood-focused elementary school, very high proportions of Ross students walk and/or bike to school. Safe streets are critical for the well-being of the Ross community and school communities all around the District.
About the Ross PTA
Email: PTApresident@rosselementary.org
Website: rosselementary.org
Location: 1730 R St NW, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: (202) 673-7200