Background information from San Diego Unified School District: In October 2025, our community was shaken when a student was killed and two siblings seriously injured while walking to school. In response, Superintendent Bagula surveyed all principals at San Diego Unified to identify safety concerns around their campuses.
This document provides a summary of the principal survey responses. What they shared was clear: too many students are navigating dangerous intersections, poorly marked crosswalks, fast-moving traffic, and inadequate lighting on their daily route to school. The City’s action at Jackson Drive and Lake Badin Avenue shows that change is possible. This moment calls on us to act proactively—so safety improvements happen before, not after, tragedy. Ensuring safe passage to school must be a shared and urgent responsibility.
In City Council District 6, ten schools submitted safety-related responses, reflecting a moderate-to-high level of reported concern. Common themes included speeding traffic, crosswalk visibility, parking and drop-off congestion, and inadequate lighting along student routes.
Several schools also cited sidewalk conditions and the need for coordinated enforcement to address unsafe driving behaviors. The school-specific safety requests submitted by principals serving Council District 6 can be found at: BUILDING SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL Principal Survey 2025 – 2026
References:
- SDUSD news release: San Diego Unified Urges Action to Improve City-Controlled Traffic Safety Around Schools
- SDUSD report: BUILDING SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL Principal Survey 2025 – 2026
- SDUT news report: Are San Diego’s streets safe for kids? Here’s what its biggest school district wants the city to fix. San Diego Unified School District prepared a 35-page analysis of needed improvements. Now it wants the city to act on it.
- San Diego Unified Classes begin Monday, August 10: https://www.sandiegounified.org/academics/academic_calendars
San Diego Union Tribune David Garrick | PUBLISHED: July 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM PDT | UPDATED: July 22, 2026 at 11:38 AM PDT
Local school leaders are pressing San Diego city officials to prioritize improving safety near campuses, including more than 100 requested upgrades such as speed bumps, crosswalks, lighting and stop signs.
City officials are praising a new 35-page analysis by the San Diego Unified School District that includes the requested upgrades, which are based on a comprehensive survey of principals at each school campus.
In the new San Diego Unified report, the top three priority areas identified by principals include the need for signage, school zones, crosswalks, parking and regulatory signs at 23.5%; speed control, speed bumps and slow-down signage at 19.3%; and pedestrian safety, flashing lights and signal upgrades at crosswalks at 19%.
That’s an excerpt of the San Diego Union Tribune report. Read the entire article courtesy of this Gift Share Link:
Are San Diego’s streets safe for kids? Here’s what its biggest school district wants the city to fix
