Safe Routes funding

Saturday, May 26, 2012

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The Fort Scott City Commission lent its support Friday to a local and nationwide initiative geared toward encouraging children to walk or bicycle to school and increasing the health and safety of youngsters and the community.

During a special meeting Friday morning, the commission unanimously approved an application and resolution for a $250,000 Safe Routes to School Phase II federal grant, administered through the Kansas Department of Transportation. The grant does not require any matching funds from the city, Assistant City Manager Susan Brown said.

"It's (Safe Routes to School) purpose is to establish safe travel patterns for children walking or biking to school," Brown said.

Brown said parents and students were surveyed to determine why students were not walking or riding bikes to school rather than traveling in cars. The results indicated that safety and distance were major concerns. Other program goals include decreasing traffic congestion and pollution around schools and funding the construction of safe pathways to school.

If the city receives the grant, funds could be used for things such as paying the salary of a crossing guard, sidewalk infrastructure and purchasing bike racks and signage, Brown said.

Some cities have used funds to construct overpasses and walking trails, she said.

The Safe Routes to School program has five "E's" that grant recipients must incorporate into their plans: Education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation.

Brown said the city already has a map designed that includes improvements to sidewalks around local elementary schools and Fort Scott Middle School. Fort Scott is partnering with USD 234 in the project and plans to continue getting information out to the public.

Phase I of the program, including design and engineering, is already complete. The city received a separate $15,000 grant last year for that.

Money from that grant was also used to provide educational material to parents about safe routes for children to take to school.

The city applied for the Phase II grant last year, but was denied. This time, officials enlisted the help of a grant writer with the Southeast Kansas Education Center at Greenbush, Brown said. "They said we needed to focus more on the educational side of the project," she said. "We got a grant writer involved this time."

Brown said the grant application must be submitted by May 31 and funding will be announced this fall.

Outgoing USD 234 Superintendent Rick Werling said the district's only responsibilities will be to conduct a survey of students and parents and to implement a bicycle safety program.

"It's about encouraging natural exercise, like biking and walking, and it's about making neighborhoods safer," Werling said. "I think it's a great thing. I hope the city gets the grant."

The Safe Routes to Schools program addresses parents' safety concerns by educating children and the public, partnering with traffic law enforcement and developing plans to create safer streets, www.saferoutestoschools.org states.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: