Council Set to Review Mandate Requiring Safety Upgrades Before School Route Changes

Lakewood City Council will consider a new citizen-initiated ordinance on November 2, 2026. The proposal seeks to legally bind the city’s existing transportation and safety plans to specific triggers. The goal is to ensure safety improvements are installed before major changes alter how children travel through the city.

The initiative, filed by five residents, requires more than 1,600 signatures to appear on the agenda. It addresses a specific gap in current city rules. Presently, no regulation mandates that existing safety plans be applied when an outside entity, such as a school district or developer, changes a route used by children.

The driving force behind the proposal is the Lakewood City School District’s recent decision to restructure elementary attendance. On September 28, the Board of Education approved the closure of Lincoln Elementary as an elementary school. The board also voted to consolidate all pre-K students into a single location and redraw attendance boundaries for grades K-5.

According to an analysis of district data provided by residents, 830 children, representing 43 percent of the pre-K through fifth-grade population, will attend a different school beginning in fall 2027. The analysis indicates that the average walk for the 242 children currently in Lincoln’s zone would increase from 0.39 to 0.80 miles. Traffic volume on specific corridors would also rise. The number of K-5 students crossing Detroit Avenue would jump 45 percent, from 181 to 263. Daily railroad crossings would increase from 229 to 333.

The city has maintained a Vision Zero policy since 2019, which targets the elimination of traffic deaths and serious injuries. The Active Transportation Plan, Safety Action Plan, Climate Action Plan, and ADA Transition Plan identify high-risk streets and list specific fixes. These include crosswalks, signals, traffic calming measures, and accessible curb ramps. The Safety Action Plan found that 62 percent of fatal and serious-injury crashes occur at intersections. Additionally, two-thirds of fatal and serious-injury pedestrian crashes happen within a quarter mile of a school.

Dr. Matthew Badgett, an internal medicine and pediatric physician and one of the petitioners, stated that residents chose Lakewood for its walkability. He noted that city leaders had already identified problem spots and recommended fixes. The initiative aims to ensure those plans are executed before major changes undermine them, rather than after. He emphasized that the proposal relies on existing work rather than starting new planning processes from scratch.

The proposed ordinance establishes three specific triggers that would require a formal review. A review is mandated if 50 or more children newly walk along or cross a high-risk street. It is also required if 50 or more children walk at least a quarter mile farther than before. Finally, it applies if 100 or more children are reassigned to different schools.

Upon triggering a review, the City Engineer would map the affected routes and publish the required improvements, including costs and funding sources. The finance director would have 15 days to ask the Council to fund the work. The ordinance requires that these improvements, or an approved alternative, be in place before the first day children use the new routes. Crossing guards and police traffic support would be mandatory from that date. The city could not issue certain permits or funding for the change until the routes are certified. The Council could waive requirements by a two-thirds vote after a public hearing, but it would still be required to fund the waived improvements and set completion dates.

The ordinance applies to public bodies and private developers seeking city approval. It specifies that it governs only city decisions and does not limit the school board’s authority over boundaries or buildings. Council members will discuss the proposal through the standard legislative process. If the Council does not pass the ordinance as submitted, it will go before Lakewood voters.