Getting your children to and from school safely is an important priority for your family, for Burr School, and for the City of Newton. The Burr Safe Routes to School website provides all the information you need to ensure a safe trip for all Burr students and families. You can view and download the Burr Blue Zone Guide and School Zone Map, and get all the latest news and updates. Please check in regularly, even if you’ve been at Burr “forever” - you may learn something new!
Recent Announcements
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Burr Traffic Safety Update - Increased Enforcement
Posted Feb 10, 2012 10:47 AM by Tricia Amend BombaraA Newton police officer has been present at Burr most mornings and afternoons for the past week to enforce parking and traffic regulations (with actual parking tickets and moving violations instead of the friendly "reminder" tickets many have become accustomed to.) As a result, there has been much greater compliance with existing regulations, providing a clear demonstration of how much better and safer drop-off and pick-up can be when everyone is patient and follows the rules. This enforcement will continue indefinitely, on a periodic basis, to help ensure the safety of our children. If you have any questions, please email BurrSafeRoutes@gmail.com or contact Ms. Johal.
Very Important! In just 3 days last week, at least 5 drivers were issued tickets for passing the school bus while students were getting on or off the bus. If a school bus (or any school pupil transport vehicle) has its lights flashing and a stop sign extended, you must stop. It is the law. It does not matter which side of the road you are traveling on. Remain stopped until the lights stop flashing and the stop sign folds back. A first violation of this law is a $250 fine and points on your license, and can cause a license suspension. (Even if a police officer is not present, a violation can be issued based on a bus driver's report, and the police have instructed drivers to alert them to any violations.) -
Traffic Council Update
Posted Feb 3, 2012 11:36 AM by Tricia Amend BombaraLast Thursday the Traffic Council of the Board of Aldermen heard the item that was docketed by our Ward 4 Aldermen requesting a review of traffic safety around the Burr School. A number of parents and neighbors attended, along with Ms. Johal and Alderman Jay Harney. A city Traffic Engineer displayed slides showing maps and photos of the area, along with the current parking restrictions and some "action" shots from morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal. After a lengthy discussion of the issues, it was clear that while Burr has done a good job encouraging more families to walk to school whenever possible and educating families about Blue Zone and traffic regulations, with our growing population more help is needed to keep everyone safe. Based on the feedback we received from the Traffic Council on these issues and the possible solutions that were raised, our Aldermen will now begin the process of working with our school community and the neighborhood to reach some consensus on specific action items that we can then bring back to Traffic Council for their consideration.
One important development from the meeting is the increased enforcement that we will be seeing from the Newton Police Department during arrival and dismissal. Sergeant Jay Babcock from the Newton Police/Traffic Bureau, a member of the Traffic Council, will send directed patrols to Burr frequently in the coming weeks to help put an end to illegal and unsafe practices such as double-parking, letting kids out of cars while stopped in traffic, jaywalking, reversing direction in the school zone, "waiting" in no parking areas, blocking neighbors' driveways, etc. Please remember that the police are here to help keep our children safe, and this enforcement is a direct result of our failure to stop these practices on our own. -
Traffic Safety Reminders
Posted Jan 26, 2012 6:40 PM by Tricia Amend BombaraHang Up Before You Pick Up (or Drop Off) - No cell phones in the School Zone – they are a dangerous distraction.
Stay in Your Car in the Blue Zone - Children should be able to enter or exit the car from the sidewalk on their own. Arrange car seats so your Burr child can use the sidewalk side of the car, and disable the child safety locks on that door. If this isn’t possible, you will need to park (legally) so you can assist your child. Give all your hugs and kisses at home, and make sure the kids have their belongings within reach so they can get out of the car quickly. Your child does not need you to put their backpack on for them – they do it themselves every day at dismissal.
Pull All the Way Up in the Blue Zone – Don’t let your children out in the bottom half of the large Blue Zone, because the cars ahead of you will invariably begin to move just as your child opens the door and has one foot out of the car. Now you can’t pull forward into the empty Blue Zone in front of you, and the drivers behind you get frustrated and try to pull around you, creating gridlock with oncoming traffic. So you tell the kids to hurry, and they start to rush and get a little frantic, which generally leads to backpacks, lunches, and musical instruments being forgotten in the back seat of the car, and the whole process takes longer. Wait until you get past the mid-way point (about where the tree is), and pull forward as far as possible before letting kids out.
Do Not Drop or Pick Up While Double-Parked - A number of parents have asked us to call attention to the problem of children getting into and out of double-parked cars (usually cars that are waiting for the small Blue Zone.) We know that it can be tempting, especially in the morning, to let the kids out while you are stopped in traffic, but it’s very dangerous to have children rushing around idling vehicles and darting between parked cars. Do not let children out of the car until you are at the curb in the Blue Zone or in a legal parking space. Children are not allowed to get into a double-parked car at pickup, and there is no waiting for the small Blue Zone - go around the block or join the end of the line for the large Blue Zone.
