Facilities Division and Safety and Risk Management staff are requesting that the Board acknowledge the efforts of the Hillsborough County Public Works Department to create safer schools.

Public Works has been working with District staff on the School Safety Circulation and Access Program (SSCAP). SSCAP is funded with approximately seven million dollars from the Community Investment Tax. The purpose of the program is to identify traffic circulation issues associated with existing schools and construct improvements that provide safer conditions.

Public Works staff prepared a list of schools requiring traffic improvements and enlisted the services of King Engineering and CH2MHILL. The project required field visits to over 40 existing schools in order to prepare a prioritized list of traffic improvements based on a predetermined ranking system. The list includes not only improvements to the adjacent rights-of-way, but also on-campus improvements where they are warranted. In the coming months, Public Works will prepare design/build bid packages for each improvement project with the goal of completing the procurement process and constructing the improvements over the next two years.

SSCAP is only the latest example of successful cooperation between the School District and the Hillsborough County Public Works Department. Hillsborough County Public Schools is very grateful to have the highly valued assistance of the Public Works Department and their dedicated and professional staff, and look forward to many more successful cooperative projects in the future.