Sidewalks and crosswalks to be improved following signing of Transportation bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Safe Routes to School, a program that ensures safety and accessibility for students, is getting a boost in funding.
The transportation bill, signed by Governor Kate Brown this week, includes $10 million in annual statewide funding for the program through 2022, and then $15 million after that with no sunset.
"This is really the kind of project that's right for the funding," Laughton Elliott-DeAngelis said about a section of grass near Douglas Gardens Elementary School. "This is kind of the primary pick up drop off street because it is adjacent to the school and yet there's no sidewalks on either side."
Elliott-DeAngelis is the Coordinator of Safe Routes to School for Springfield Public Schools, and he says the lack of sidewalks is one of the things he'd like to fix.
With the new money from the state, it's a possibility.
"It's a really incredible funding source because it's built into this later infrastructure package, which is going to be investing in infrastructure across the state," Elliott-DeAngelis said.
The money is for crosswalks, sidewalks and other infrastructure improvements within one mile of schools.
"Everyone wants their kids to be able to go to school safely, so this is a significant investment in making sure children have safe paths to get to school," Governor Kate Brown said.
The program hasn't seen state funding like this in years, but past projects are proving successful, like a covered bike rack at Thurston Elementary School and a flashing crosswalk near Thurston High School.
"They're very effective. The strobing pattern really gets people's attention," Elliott-DeAngelis said. "We've got sort of this 'S' curve which really actually reduces visibility for cars coming around this corner, which is what makes this particularly important."
He says overall, the Safe Routes to School program has one goal: "making sure that every student has a safe way to get from their neighborhood to the school."
And that's what the money will be used for, but it's still unknown just how exactly the money will be divided among cities and projects throughout the state.
