Safe routes to school will include sidewalks, crosswalks –
Story and photo by Patricia Beech –
Keeping children safe as they travel to and from school is a concern shared by parents, schools, and the broader community.
The national Safe Routes to School program was created in 2008 to encourage and enable students in Kindergarten through eighth grade, including those with disabilities to safely walk or ride bicycles to school.
As part of the Safe Routes to School program, a $98,000 sidewalk construction project scheduled to begin on Tuesday, July 5 on State Route 41 in Peebles is now under way.
“This project was part of the Safeway to School Grant,” said Peebles Mayor, Victor Warfe. “It has taken two years for this part of the path to be constructed, and the Village Council and I are looking forward to the completion of the entire project soon.”
According to Warfe, Pat McCarty and Associates of Hillsboro, Ohio are the engineers for the project.
Officials at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) say crews from Sunesis Construction in West Chester are set to begin construction on the section of sidewalks located on South Main Street between Olive Street and Chautauqua Street.
The project commissioned by the Adams County Ohio Valley School District includes constructing sidewalks and repairing steps along the route heavily traveled by students going to and from school.
The Sunesis Construction Company was awarded a contract in June. ODOT officials say that the construction will have little to no impact for motorists, and all work at the construction area should be completed by the end of July.