CP053 (School Cross Guard Criteria)CITY OF JANESVILLE Policy No. 53
Page 1 of 5
CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT
Date Issued 7/23/84
Revised 8/12/2019
General Subject: School Crossing Guards Effective Date 8/12/19
Specific Subject: Criteria and Procedure for Reviewing Cancellation Date
Sites Where School Crossing Guards May Supersedes No.
be Appropriate
Responsible Dept/Div: Engineering Division
PURPOSE
To clarify and record the Council’s policy regarding the factors to be considered and the procedures
to be followed in designating and locating school crossing guard sites for the benefit of elementary
(grades K-5) school children traveling to and from school.
STATEMENT OF POLICY
1. Requests for a study of a location relative to the need for a school crossing guard may be
made by City staff, school Principal, or Parent-Teacher Organizations. Such requests shall
be shared with the Transportation Committee, Police Department, and the Engineering
Division. The Engineering Division will make the necessary studies and evaluate the request
in accord with established criteria and submit same to the Transportation Committee in a
timely fashion.
2. School crossing hazard studies will be taken on "normal days" and not during inclement
weather. A normal day is considered one of moderate temperature for the time of year when
the study is to be conducted. Studies will be taken during peak times when the majority of
school children and traffic is present and in spring or autumn months. A minimum of three
studies or counts shall be conducted to determine the average daily pedestrian traffic and
vehicular traffic gap availability for a particular location.
3. Using the hazard rating as a guide, the Engineering Division shall prepare the study findings
and present same to the Transportation Committee along with a recommendation regarding
the use of any traffic control devices or other measures to alleviate or eliminate whatever
hazards may be identified. Upon review of the report and recommendation, the
Transportation Committee shall prepare a recommendation to the Common Council based
upon results of this study and established Council policy.
CITY OF JANESVILLE Policy No. 53
Page 2 of 5
CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT
Date Issued 7/23/84
Revised 8/12/2019
General Subject: School Crossing Guards Effective Date 8/12/19
Specific Subject: Criteria and Procedure for Reviewing Cancellation Date
Sites Where School Crossing Guards May Supersedes No.
be Appropriate
Responsible Dept/Div: Engineering Division
4. Elements of School Crossing Hazard
A. School Children Crossing: The criteria for this element shall be the number of
elementary school children crossing during the peak crossing period. At an
intersection having a major through street and a minor street or streets controlled by
"STOP" signs, the number of children crossing the major street approach shall be
used.
B. Vehicle Gap Availability: The criterion of this element shall be the percentage of
gaps between vehicles which are equal to or exceed the safe crossing time. The
safe crossing time shall be considered as the time necessary for an elementary
school child to cross from one refuge point to another, specifically from one curb to
another, at a walking speed of 3.0 feet per second.
C. Vehicle Speed: The criterion for this element shall be the 85 percentile speed
observed on the major approaches irrespective of traffic control devices.
D. Sight Distance: The criterion for this element shall be the ratio of the measured sight
distance of a vehicle driver observing a three (3) foot high object in the crosswalk to
the design stopping sight distances (SSD) as recommended by the American
Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO). The following chart lists the SSD
on level grade, See Exhibit 3-2 in AASHTO design guide, 2001 publication for SSD
on grades:
<=25 MPH 155 feet
26-30 MPH 200 feet
31-35 MPH 250 feet
36-40 MPH 305 feet
41-45 MPH 360 feet
E. Crash History: The main criterion for this element shall be the number of pedestrian
or bike related crashes occurring at the study location involving school children going
to or from school during the previous three (3) year period. In addition, a history of
other crash types that could conflict with pedestrian crossings will be considered,
especially if there is a history of crashes at times of day when elementary school
children generally need to cross. However, geometric or traffic control changes at the
crossing will also be considered.
CITY OF JANESVILLE Policy No. 53
Page 3 of 5
CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT
Date Issued 7/23/84
Revised 8/12/2019
General Subject: School Crossing Guards Effective Date 8/12/19
Specific Subject: Criteria and Procedure for Reviewing Cancellation Date
Sites Where School Crossing Guards May Supersedes No.
be Appropriate
Responsible Dept/Div: Engineering Division
F. Other Factors: Special factors may exist at certain locations which would tend to
increase or decrease the hazard at that location. Such factors shall include:
Complex intersection design
Complex signal design
3 or 4-lane roadways
Vehicle turning movements
Vehicle parking
Other vision obstruction
Age of children
Safer crossing points
5. Numerical Rating of School Crossing Hazard
The following point values shall be used in determining the degree of hazard caused by
each element. The sum of the points for all elements shall determine the relative hazard of
the crossing.
School Children Crossing Vehicle Gap Availability
Volume Points Range Points
0 - 9 1 Over 80% 0
10 - 19 4 70 - 79% 4
20 - 29 8 60 - 69% 8
30 - 39 12 55 - 59% 12
40 - 49 20 50 - 54% 16
50 - 75 30 40 - 49% 20
76 & over 35 30 - 39% 24
20 – 29% 28
10 – 19% 32
Less than 10% 36
Vehicular Speed Sight Distance
Speed (MPH) Points Ratio Points
0 – 20 0 Over 2.0 0
21 – 25 1 1.5 - 2.0 1
26 - 30 2 1.0 - 1.5 5
31 - 35 4 Less than 1.0 15
36 - 40 7
41 - 45 11
Over 45 15
CITY OF JANESVILLE Policy No. 53
Page 4 of 5
CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT
Date Issued 7/23/84
Revised 8/12/2019
General Subject: School Crossing Guards Effective Date 8/12/19
Specific Subject: Criteria and Procedure for Reviewing Cancellation Date
Sites Where School Crossing Guards May Supersedes No.
be Appropriate
Responsible Dept/Div: Engineering Division
Crash History
Crashes
a) School Crossing Types Points
0 0
1 8
Each additional 20
b) Other Types 0-5
Other Factors Points
Complex intersection design + 5
Complex signal design + 5
3 or 4-lane roadway with safe refuge + 5
3 or 4-lane roadway w/o safe refuge + 10
Vehicle turning movements (turning + 5
movements exceed 200 VPH across
crosswalk being used by school
children)
Vehicle parking to intersection on + 5
major through street
Other pedestrian vision obstruction + 5
Other vehicle driver vision obstruction + 5
Forty percent of students crossing in + 5
Grades K-3
Safer crossing one block out of way -10
Safer crossing two blocks out of way - 5
6. Interpretation of Hazard Ratings
Using the hazard rating as a guide, the Engineering Division shall make whatever
recommendations it deems appropriate to the Transportation Committee regarding the use
of any vehicle control device or other measure to alleviate or eliminate identified hazards.
7. Recommended Guide
The following measures are recommendations that may be used as a guide by the
Engineering Division, the Transportation Committee, and the Common Council in evaluating
hazardous situations:
A. Mark as a school crossing when the hazard rating is greater than 20 points at a
crossing used by at least 25 elementary school children during the peak crossing
CITY OF JANESVILLE Policy No. 53
Page 5 of 5
CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT
Date Issued 7/23/84
Revised 8/12/2019
General Subject: School Crossing Guards Effective Date 8/12/19
Specific Subject: Criteria and Procedure for Reviewing Cancellation Date
Sites Where School Crossing Guards May Supersedes No.
be Appropriate
Responsible Dept/Div: Engineering Division
time. The City Engineer, or their designee, is authorized to mark such crossing with
appropriate warning signs and special crosswalk markings.
B. Install pedestrian-activated Flashing Beacons or Rectangular Rapid Flashing
Beacons (RRFB) device if any one of the following conditions is met:
a. The 85th percentile speed is in excess of 40 mph, measured at existing
school crossing signs, which have been in place at least 30 days.
b. The ratio of sight distance to safe stopping distance is less than 1.5.
c. The hazard rating is greater than 30 at an unguarded location where at least
25 elementary students cross and the available safe crossing gaps are less
than 50%.
C. Recommend the assignment of an adult crossing guard when the hazard rating is
greater than 40 points at a crossing used by at least 25 elementary school children
during the peak crossing time.
D. Recommend the discontinuance of adult crossing guard protection at a crossing
where the hazard rating falls below 30 points or if the number of elementary school
children crossing during the peak crossing time is less than 15 students.
Adult School Crossing Guards are employed and supervised by the Janesville Police
Department. The decision to review an existing Adult School Crossing Guard
Assignment can be made based on changes in school attendance area boundaries
such that elementary school students no longer have to cross a particular street,
changes in school busing policies where students who used to walk to school are to
be bused to school instead, locations where the number of elementary school aged
students using the crossing has dropped below the threshold of 15, or changes in
traffic patterns such that the hazard rating at a location might have dropped below
the threshold of 30 points.
If the staff recommendation is to discontinue the Adult School Crossing Guard
assignment, it will be forwarded to the Transportation Committee for
recommendation at their May meeting, which would then be forwarded to Common
Council for final action. The School Principal, Parent Teacher Organization, and
current Adult Crossing Guard at that location will be notified as to when this item is
placed on the agenda for the Transportation Committee. If a change is approved by
Common Council, the school will be contacted and will then have adequate time to
plan for these changes over the summer months.