Stowsentry.com - Stow continues on path of 'Safe Routes to School'

by Mike Lesko

Associate Editor

Stow -- A "Safe Routes to School" funding program took another step closer to becoming a reality June 24 when Stow Council approved a resolution of support for the grant application.

"It was important to add that [resolution of support] to our application packet to show the support the city is putting behind the application process," Stow City Council Vice President Sara Drew said following the June 21 Stow Planning Committee meeting.

The program's intent is to increase physical activity through walking or bicycling to school.

Safe Routes to School is a national program. The project, if approved, would be funded 100 percent through the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Some suggested upgrades -- including sidewalk/path improvements, crosswalks and signalization -- were included in a report prepared by TranSystem, the traffic consultant retained by ODOT to complete a traffic report, according to Rob Kurtz, Stow's assistant planning director.

Kurtz said although precise figures have not been determined, Stow could be in line to receive between $250,000 and $500,000 in grant money, which is what previous funding totals for similar grants have been.

Kurtz said after a school travel plan is completed, city officials will determine this summer or fall what improvements and programs to apply for. He said he hopes to learn the results of the grant request in 2011.

Kurtz said a school travel plan would consist of:

An analysis of the location and condition of walking/biking routes; an analysis of barriers to safe travel; solutions on how to improve safe routes [infrastructure]; mapping of solutions; and an action plan that lists strategies including infrastructure projects or other programs [education, enforcement] that will improve safe routes for children walking and bicycling to school.

"If we can complete the projects outlined in our school travel plan," Drew said, "it will potentially benefit hundreds of students citywide and will go a long way toward helping Stow be a more pedestrian friendly community -- something residents have identified in numerous surveys as important."

The project has been ongoing for more than two years. Committee members include Drew, Kurtz, Stow-Munroe Falls Schools Supt. Dr. Russ Jones and Stow firefighter Sandy Ray.

The program is for four Stow elementary schools -- Echo Hills, Highland, Fishcreek and Indian Trail -- plus Lakeview Intermediate School.

Kurtz said the plan did not include Woodland Elementary. He said according to ODOT, the maximum number of schools for the grant was four.

"Since Highland and Lakeview are on the same campus, they were considered as one school for the purpose of the grant," Kurtz said. "We applied for a planning grant for Woodland in 2009, but we were not approved. We could try again."

Drew said no one would ever require a child to walk or bike to school.

"That is a decision each family needs to make," Drew said, adding that if the project is approved, "more families might make the choice to have their students walk or ride to school."

E-mail: mlesko@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3917