Taking the Safe Route

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November 17, 2009

Two Meridian schools awarded funds for improvements of infrastructure

Anonymous The Meridian Star Tue Nov 17, 2009, 10:04 PM CST

from staff reports

Walking to and from school will be a lot safer for students of two Meridian Public School District schools.

Harris Elementary and Carver Middle School will benefit from an $800,000 grant awarded to the city of Meridian by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) through the Safe Routes to Schools grant. Funds will be used to improve the infrastructure around the two schools.

Every year, about 25,000 child pedestrians are injured by motor vehicles. Reducing the risk of injury includes teaching children pedestrian and bicycle skills and offering safer and more appealing transportation alternatives. It also means reminding drivers to watch for others using the road.

The purpose of Safe Routes to School program is to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school safely. The program brings awareness of the safety issues children and their families face when trying to walk/bike to school. Encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age is vitally important, according to Cookie Leffler, Safe Routes to School coordinator.

“It also facilitates the planning, development and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of primary and middle schools (grades K-8),” Leffler said.

Harris and Carver are located in dense neighborhoods and in the vicinity of subsidized/rent-controlled housing, with a few hundred walkers to the schools. The project was initiated by the school district, which quickly got the Meridian Police Department and the mayor’s office on board. Together, they planned the projects, which will include: sidewalk construction, a pedestrian bridge over Gallagher Creek, signage, an enforcement program to modify traffic behavior, safety education for students and drivers, and some encouragement activities.

Funds were awarded in March. Once completed, this project is expected to have a major impact on the two schools.

"The Safe Routes to School grant funds will help provide safe pathways for students to walk to and from school. The approach in implementing a sidewalk improvement plan is to start at schools, and work outward into neighborhoods to encourage walking to schools," said Judy Crowson, MPSD wellness coordinator.

"Although sidewalks are needed throughout the city, we had to select the schools with the most need to begin the project," Crowson said. "When more funding is available, we hope to reapply and add infrastructure at other schools."

Meridian received the largest amount of $3 million in grants awarded in Mississippi; a total of 14 grants starting at $10,000 were awarded.

A large part of the program will include educational activities on bike and pedestrian safety at Carver and Harris.

Funds from the grant will be used for more law enforcement visibility at the busy intersections near the schools, both at the beginning and end of the school day. Money is also allocated for electronic speed signs at the busy places where children cross the street.

For more information about Mississippi's Safe Routes to School Program, contact Cookie Leffler, MDOT SRTS coordinator at (601) 359-1454 or e-mail her at cleffler@mdot.state.ms.us

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Two Meridian schools awarded funds for improvements of infrastructure

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