With a focus on children’s safety, the Safe Routes to Schools grant project, an initiative to improve 36,000 square feet of sidewalks in Frankfort near Suncrest, Green Meadows and Blue Ridge elementary schools is set to get underway in June.
The construction cost for the project is $673,996, with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) funding 80 percent of the cost and the City of Frankfort paying the remaining 20 percent of the work.
While the City offers a 50/50 sidewalk improvement program for Frankfort residents, according to Mayor Chris McBarnes, the Safe Routes to Schools program makes children’s safety a top priority.
“We know residents want new sidewalks and while we have an existing program, the SRTS program provides us an even more effective way to enhance the paths our youngsters walk every day. This initiative is a strong collaborative effort that has been years in the making, with our team working with Frankfort city councilors, school officials, parents and the Healthy Communities of Clinton County Coalition,” McBarnes said. “We are grateful to our Council members for approving the 20 percent local match for the construction cost necessary for us to work with INDOT and receive their 80 percent portion of the funding.”
The local work involved with the Safe Routes to Schools grant involves two phases: mapping the area where work will be done and the construction/implementation phase.
According to Street Superintendent Jason Forsythe, the work is scheduled to begin June 11 in the southwest quadrant of the City.
“Crews will begin on First Street south to White Street and then east on White crossing Jackson Street to Fairground Street ending at the stop sign at Alhambra Avenue. At that point, the work restarts on Clay Street and ends at Harvard Terrace.
“Workers will place ‘sidewalk closed’ signs in these areas and in the corridors and approaches near the scheduled work to raise pedestrians and motorists’ awareness of the sidewalk construction activity. To help ensure everyone’s safety, please know when work is happening in these areas, it will not be possible to walk through these locations,” Forsythe explained.
Progress meetings will be scheduled every two weeks throughout the duration of the project this summer.