🚸 KEEP BOWDITCH KIDS SAFE
We need timed traffic signals at Tarpon Street and Swordfish Street during Bowditch Middle School crossing times.
Every school day, children walking and biking to and from Bowditch Middle School cross streets in the surrounding neighborhood. During these periods, there can be significant vehicle and pedestrian activity at Tarpon Street and Swordfish Street.

We are asking the City of Foster City, Foster City Public Works, Foster City Police Department, and San Mateo-Foster City School District to work together to install or establish timed traffic signals at the Tarpon Street and Swordfish Street crossings that operate during designated school arrival and dismissal periods.

🚦 What we are asking for
We are specifically requesting traffic signals that are timed to operate during the periods when children are walking and biking to and from school.

The goal is simple:

When children are crossing, vehicles should be required to stop.

Outside of the designated school crossing periods, the signals could operate according to an appropriate traffic-control plan determined by traffic engineers.

👟 Why this matters
Middle-school students are walking, biking, and using crosswalks in this area every day.

Children should not have to judge whether a driver approaching an uncontrolled crossing is going to see them, slow down, or stop.

A timed traffic signal would create a predictable crossing period for students and a clear instruction for drivers.

🛑 We are asking Foster City to study and address:
Tarpon Street
Swordfish Street
The surrounding Bowditch Middle School pedestrian and bicycle routes
Morning school arrival
Afternoon school dismissal
After-school student activity
Vehicle speeds and traffic volumes during those periods
Pedestrian and bicycle crossing patterns
🔐 Public safety and potential funding
We also ask the City and Police Department to evaluate whether existing or appropriately authorized public-safety technology in the surrounding area could help address documented criminal activity, including burglary, theft, drug-related investigations, and other crimes.

Any cameras or license-plate-reader technology should be used only in accordance with applicable California law, privacy requirements, and established City policies.

If such technology can serve legitimate public-safety purposes while also helping the City understand traffic patterns and improve student safety, we ask officials to consider whether grants, transportation-safety funding, public-safety funding, or other appropriate funding sources could help pay for the requested improvements.

❤️ Our goal is simple.
We are not asking for unnecessary changes throughout Foster City.

We are asking for a specific safety improvement at Tarpon Street and Swordfish Street during the times when Bowditch students are crossing.

When children are walking and biking to school, they deserve a controlled crossing where vehicles are required to stop.

We respectfully ask Foster City officials to evaluate this request, conduct the necessary traffic study, identify an appropriate signal design and operating schedule, and provide the community with information about the timeline and potential funding sources.

✍️ PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE
If you are a Bowditch parent, student, teacher, staff member, Foster City resident, cyclist, pedestrian, or simply someone who believes children deserve safer routes to school, please sign this petition.

🚸 TIMED LIGHTS AT TARPON & SWORDFISH
Protect our kids. Give them a predictable, controlled crossing during school hours.

#KeepBowditchKidsSafe #SafeRoutesToSchool #FosterCity #BowditchMiddleSchool #TarponStreet #SwordfishStreet #PedestrianSafety