HB 26-1318

HB 26-1318, also known as the Traffic Safety Near Schools bill, aims to enhance safety around schools by defining school zones and setting speed limits. It allows local governments to create or adjust these zones within certain boundaries (at least 200 feet but up to more than 1,000 feet from a school) after holding public hearings. The bill also permits the closure of streets near schools during peak times and sets a maximum speed limit of 10 miles per hour on designated school streets. Since it has been signed into law, these measures are now in effect to protect students and improve traffic safety around educational institutions.

Official Summary

The bill defines school zones as all roadways within at least 1,000 feet of a school property boundary , except state highways without the written approval of the Colorado department of transportation. The bill allows a local government that has jurisdiction over a school zone to reduce the size of a school zone after first holding a public hearing but does not allow a school zone to be reduced to less than 200 feet from a school property boundary. Additionally, the bill allows local governments to expand school zones to beyond 1,000 feet from a school property boundary.     The bill limits requirements the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality must complete regarding placing and using an automated vehicle identification system along a safe route to school. The bill allows a local government to designate a portion of a roadway immediately adjacent to a school property boundary as a school street. The local government may close a school street to traffic. If there is traffic on the school street, the maximum speed limit is 10 miles per hour and vehicles shall yield the right-of-way to, and the local government may suspend additional traffic provisions on the school street that endanger, pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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