Earning praise for making crosswalks more pedestrian-friendly, Kirkland’s leaders and parents are trying to shift the spotlight on to local children and encourage them to walk to school — or in some cases, build better ways to get there.

Mayor Jim Lauinger declared this week “Walk to School Week,” as recognized by the Partnership for a Walkable America, to draw attention to the need and benefits of pedestrian safety at and around schools. International Walk to School Day is Oct. 8.

Throughout the week, Council members, police and fire department personnel plan on visiting Kirkland’s seven elementary schools. Police officers plan to visit classes and assemblies of students Wednesday to speak to students about bicycle and pedestrian safety and pass out toys and teaching aides that remind them of the same important safety tips.

First begun in 1997 and modeled after a similar effort in the United Kingdom, the safety intiative was authorized by Congress in 2005 under section 1404 of the SAFETEA-LU Act, which established a federal Safe Routes to School Program. The initiative’s sponsors hope that not only fewer children will be hurt on their way to school, but will actually lead healthier lives from the exercise of travelling to school, reducing the incidence of childhood obesity.

A.G. Bell Elementary School Principal Curtis Anderson said the city, parent teacher associations and community leaders have been great partners in the effort to keep the children healthy and safe. The school zones are established around a marked crosswalk, with a 300-foot buffer zone in either direction. The speed limit in a school zone is 20 m.p.h., and lights or flags indicating the enforcement period typically start 15 minutes before school begins and 15 after school is adjourned.

“It’s a great opportunity to reinforce suggested walk to school routes and reinforce the importance of safety to our students,” Anderson said.

Kirkland is tapping a variety of sources to help pay for sidewalk and bicycle lane improvements, including a request for $498,000 from the federal Safe Routes to School program. Recently, local efforts have spent $7 million on sidewalks leading to Kirkland’s elementary schools and a sidewalks bond in 2005 was also proposed. Led by Juanita Neighborhood Chairman Norm Storme, the plan involved building sidewalks to complete the school route system and also provide a continuous walkway on all arterials – including 132nd Ave NE, NE 80th and all along Market Street. But the $5 million price tag didn’t go over well with local residents.

“Basically, the people all wanted the sidewalks, but didn’t want to pay for them,” he said. “In some cases they felt it was the responsibility of the school district.”

“School Walk Routes are a prioritized program,” said City Transportation Engineering Manager David Godfrey. “The (current) criteria gives additional points to sidewalk proposals on identified School Walk Routes.”

Keeping watch, Kirkland Police Sgt. Mike Murray and his traffic patrol are monitoring the school zones for speeding or erratic motorists.

“Studies have shown that … the lower the speed, the less likelihood of injuries,” he said. “We enforce the zones pretty heavily. Zero tolerance.”

A school zone violation earns motorists double the base fine, which can result in a ticket ranging from $210 to $661, depending on how fast the driver was over the limit. Over the last two weeks, Kirkland police have issued over 40 citations for speeding in a school zone.