Southwest School Corp ready to move forward with walking/biking paths to school
HUNTINGBURG – The Southwest School Corporation could have “walking school buses” as early as October if the first of two grants is awarded for the Safe Routes to School Program from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Assistant Superintendent Chad Schenck updated the Southwest School Board at last night’s regular meeting on the progress of the first grant application for a Safe Routes to School grant.
The school corporation and the City of Huntingburg have teamed up to apply for the grants to be used to plan and construct a walking or multi-use biking/walking path to the Huntingburg Elementary School from the city. Due to the lack of safe pathways to the Huntingburg Elementary School, walkers are not allowed.
About 55 students from the middle and high school walk to school regularly now and the school corporation expects those numbers to rise if their plans come to fruition.
Schenck stated they should hear back on the first $70,000 grant by mid-October and if it is awarded, Commonwealth Engineers will immediately begin preparing a comprehensive plan for the paths to the elementary school from the town.
The plan includes adding a crosswalk at First Street and U.S. 231 to connect a planned walking path to Chestnut Street where students can walk or bike south to the schools. The plan also includes adding sidewalks to areas on E. First Street where none exist at this time.
A catching point on the project and grant process has been the walkway in front of the Fairmount Cemetery along U.S. 231. Due to the red tape involved in working on that corridor, the city has stated they would conduct the work there to forgo the process involved in the grant procedure, therefore it will not be included in the grant proposal.
In addition to the proposal being prepared by Commonwealth Engineering, the school will also begin providing “walking school buses”. Walking school buses are supervised groups of students that will meet at designated “bus” stops on the proposed walkway and walk to school with adult volunteers.
Some of the $70,000 grant will be used to purchase reflective vests, t-shirts and other materials to start the walking school bus program. Currently the Southwest School District has not spent any money on the grant procedure.
Added Sept. 23: This is the first of two grants. After using the 70,000 to complete a comprehensive plan for the paths, Commonwealth Engineers, the City of Huntingburg, and the Southwest School Corp will present their findings, including potential usage statistics, to INDOT to hopefully be awarded the second grant of up to $200,000 for the completion of the project.
Schenck stated the paths to school program was important for the issue of overcrowding on school buses and fit into the kid’s wellness plan for the schools. In addition the plans call for connecting Huntingburg’s park areas by a safe walking path. This has Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner excited as he moves forward with revising the city’s comprehensive plan.
Wow – maybe this just isn't being explained very well. Seriously, I'm not a naysayer but something doesn't add up and we seem to be in an awful hurry. There are many unanswered questions about this. Who will maintain these walking paths, particularly during winter with ice and snow, and where is the money coming from beyond any that remains from the grants? Our school system is already sucking the taxpayers dry and the city may be doing the same. What is the need v. the want for these walking paths and "walking school buses" other than a reason to obtain grant money and politically correct folley to think we can return to yesteryear when students walked to school out of genuine need during a different time.
Using info from a different source, plans call for the initial grant amount of $70,000 to pay for safety consultants and speakers, plus to purchase lanyards, t-shirts and other marketing items along with the the vests, tools, and all for crossing guards. To begin with, that's a lot of vests, tools, marketing materials and speakers fees when the studies won't be complete to indicate how many and where crossing guards will be needed.
Moreover, the stats provided indicate 55 of 1750 students (3 percent) currently walk – but only because of a lack of sidewalks for the elementary students. I think not, and I don't believe the numbers will increase much in this day and age, with other safety concerns, weather concerns, autonomy and convenience of parents and others with cars, etc. It's not the 1950s any more. What will happen when crossing guards are off sick or the weather shows an alert, etc, etc, and who is going to walk across 231 on 1st St, all the way to Chestnut, just to go south from there – way out of the way – to walk to school? Answer: few if any (none), and certainly not enough to justify a daily crossing guard at this and other locations. What of the bus system? Will this reduce the overcrowding issues enough to eliminate bus routes and compensate or offset the cost for maintaining the new walking routes? Will students within a certain distance and/or along certain new sidewalks be required to walk and not use the bus? Maybe these issues ought to be considered before jumping on the money and trying to satisfy the use for it in order to simply get it.
This all sounds good but the plans explained thus far just don't add up to good management and planning for what this will ultimately cost v. the yield and justification for it. Sounds like we are moving way too fast and there needs to be more input and research. And sometimes, we just need to say, "no" (a word not used or understood much anymore). There will be other opportunities for grants.
As a reply to my own post, the more I think about this the more I like the idea of having commitments in place to pay for this sort of thing, and more research and planning is sorely needed before a fast-moving, point-of-no-return grant is obtained. Maybe eliminating bus routes should indeed be mandatory. Maybe there should indeed be commitments from parents for their students to walk, and those students cannot ride the bus, enough (by eliminating bus routes) to offset the maintenance and other costs to the school district and to reimburse the city, who will ultimately be involved somewhere, in some way, so as not to add to the tax burden any further. Here again, the school district and the city need to do their collective homework and have a genuine need and plan in place, then apply for grants as they come available.
This is the first of two grants. After using the $70,000 to complete a comprehensive plan for the paths, Commonwealth Engineers, the City of Huntingburg, and the Southwest School Corp will present their findings, including potential usage statistics, to INDOT to hopefully be awarded the second grant of up to $200,000 for the completion of the project.