Safety & Security

> Teaching Children To Walk Safely, National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS) 

We value our walking community and students, parents/guardians, teachers, and citizens share responsibility for the protection of our school children. Basic safety suggestions include:

• Parents/guardians should work with children to map the safest walking route to and from school.

• All pedestrians should obey the safety patrol and cross only at intersections.

•  Drivers must take extreme care when picking up or discharging children from cars at school by pulling to the sidewalk nearest the school.

• Children should go directly to the school and proceed directly home after school, unless previous plans were made. School staff members are not responsible for the supervision of students after dismissal.

Crossing Intersections

• When crossing Broad or Main Streets, only cross at intersections with a traffic light. Most traffic lights in Bexley have Pedestrian Buttons. Push the Pedestrian Button when you want to cross an intersection. The east Cassingham crosswalk at Main and the Cassingham crosswalks at Broad were designed with additional signage to remind drivers of pedestrians and to remind cyclists using the sidewalk to walk their bikes through the intersection.

• Watch the pedestrian signals, not the traffic signals, when possible. When it’s safe to walk, do so as quickly as possible so you are on the road for the least amount of time. When the pedestrian signal is activated, it provides enough time for you to cross a street safely, so pay attention when it begins.

• Cross in the crosswalk when you have a "Walk" sign or see an image of a person walking. Always cross at a corner. If the "Don’t Walk" or similar “Red Hand” signal sign is flashing, finish crossing if you are in the intersection. If you are on the sidewalk when the “Don’t Walk” or “Red Hand” begins to flash, then do not begin to cross. Wait for the next time the "Walk" sign appears.

• Don’t jaywalk. Not only is crossing in the middle of the street illegal, but it’s also dangerous and drivers won’t expect to see anyone in places outside of crosswalks.

• Look left, right, and left again before crossing. Make sure all drivers stop before crossing and look for vehicles turning right. Some drivers don’t yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, so pay close attention before stepping into the roadway. Continue watching as you cross the street.

• Don’t be distracted by your cell phone while crossing the street. Stop texting, talking on the phone, or listening to music. Use all of your senses to stay safe.

Because the Bexley City School District area is compact, most students often walk or ride a bicycle to their school. Knowing this, we ask all residents and drivers to use extreme caution when driving before and after school hours.

• Bexley’s three elementary schools – Cassingham, Maryland, and Montrose – begin the school day at 8:10 a.m. and end the school day at 3:00 p.m.

• Bexley Middle School and Bexley High School begin at 8:35 a.m. and end at 3:24 p.m.

Please be vigilant in watching for school children on sidewalks, streets, intersections, and in parking lots for up to an hour before and after school hours. In general, that includes as early as 7:30 a.m. and as late as 4:30 p.m. each school day.

School district administrators and Bexley Police officers will monitor the Broad Street/Cassingham Road and the Main Street/Cassingham Road intersections in person from 7:30–8:30 a.m. and 3:30–4:30 p.m. each school day through August 26. During that time, we will help reinforce safety tips with students. 

Additionally, all 6th-grade students will receive bicycle and pedestrian safety instruction during their orientation. Students in grades 7-12 will be provided similar information in regular communication as well.

If your child plans to walk to school or ride their bicycle to school, please review the following safety tips with them ahead of the first day of school. Conducting a “test run” of walking and/or bike-riding with your student(s) before school starts is a great way to further educate students about safely going to and from school.

Before pulling into a street or intersection, a bike rider should always:

• Stop, look left, look right, and look left again.

• Look back and yield to any traffic coming from behind.

• Bike riders should always watch for cars pulling out of driveways, parking spaces, or parking lots.

• Bikes should always be ridden in the direction of traffic, never against it. They also should be ridden on the right side of the road.

• Bike riders should understand and obey all street signs, traffic lights, and crossing signals.

• It is important that students who ride on the sidewalks always walk their bikes through crosswalks, especially at busy intersections. 

• A bike rider should always assume that drivers can’t see him or her unless the drivers make eye contact.