The Town of Culver may be looking to start construction on Safe Routes to School projects late next year.
It was learned during Tuesday night’s Culver Town Council meeting that administrators with the Town held a meeting with the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Town Manager Jonathan Leist says that meeting was designed to observe the areas where the sidewalks will be built.
“We walked through both sides of the street where the sidewalks are going in,” says Leist. “There were a few slight concerns, but we’ll have a more detailed report. The engineer was going to go back and review and see what could be done.”
Safe Routes to School is a state program, based on the federal program of the same name.
The goal is to improve student health, reduce traffic, and improve air quality. To do this, grant funds are distributed to provide adequate sidewalk space for students to physically walk to their school buildings. The daily exercise can not only limit and reduce obesity, but according to studies can also improve academic achievement through physical activity.
Questions about the promise of grant funds were brought up. Leist says they’ve asked the state about their rank in the list on several occasions.
“I don’t think they’re going to until we actually apply for the funding…they haven’t given us an answer as to where we are on that list,” says Leist.
Culver is anticipating construction on the Safe Routes to School project to start in late 2016, or at the beginning of 2017.
The routes would encompass Academy and College roads.
