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Safe Routes to School

Walk Zones/Safe Routes to School

Students who live close to their school are in the walk zone. We have crossing guards and other supports for students to walk/bike/scooter safely.

Charlottesville City Schools walk zones (or “family responsibility zones”) are:

  • 0.75 miles for elementaries
  • 1.25 miles for Walker/Buford
  • 1.5 miles for CHS (in rare cases, up to 1.6 miles if the path is very walkable)

In some cases we have rounded up to get to the end of a cul-de-sac or natural neighborhood boundary. We have stayed within or close to our projected time estimates for the walk: a maximum 20-minute walk for elementary school students, and a maximum 30-minute walk for Walker, Buford, and CHS students. 

The City of Charlottesville’s Safe Routes to School program works to support safe walking and bike-riding. See below for walk/bike maps as well as the status of pedestrian infrastructure improvements across the city.

Specific students with special needs such as documented medical conditions are eligible for the bus regardless of distance from school.

If you have questions about why you are in a walk zone or don’t believe your child’s route is safe and can’t find a safe alternative, please call 434-245-2400.

Walking Maps

We encourage students to bike or walk to school. Students are responsible for their own safety.  Elementary students in grade 1 and younger should be escorted to school; older elementary students should have a family letter on file giving permission for the child to walk/bike unattended

We have created maps with commonly used walking routes to our elementary schools and middle school (based on distance, sidewalks, and crossing guards), but there may be other routes that your family prefers.

Click on the links below for printable PDFs or images of our maps:

Please consider the following:

  • On our maps, different colored lines show commonly used routes to school. Most routes have sidewalks, but areas with low neighborhood traffic (but no sidewalk) or areas where there is a brief stretch without a sidewalk may still be considered a good route.
  • On our maps, orange stars are locations where crossing guards are located.
  • Some routes may include walking across parking areas, and most routes cross driveways and entrances to homes and businesses. Point these out to your student as you are practicing the route to and from school.
  • We recommend that students walk in groups and/or with at least one responsible adult, and consider visibility when choosing your route.

Pedestrian Infrastructure Improvements

The City of Charlottesville supports our walk zones by making continuous improvements to pedestrian infrastructure along commonly used routes to school. 

See below for a spreadsheet of infrastructure improvements. 

  • “Completed” means that the project is complete
  • “Scheduled Improvement” means that the work is expected to be completed within 30 to 60 days
  • “Planned” means that the City has a plan for this work, and it will be scheduled when resources and/or funding is allocated
  • “Open” means that a staff member has not been assigned to this intersection

 

See this doc as a separate page.

Notice a Street or Sidewalk Issue that Needs to be Addressed? 

First, check out the list of upcoming improvements, above. If your issue is not already included, report your concern via the MyCville app. Or report a “close call” of a walking or biking accident using the form below.