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Grants Sought To Enhance Sidewalks, Crosswalks, Bolster School Safety
By Catherine Snipe
Students have a dangerous time walking to school on Chambersbridge Road, according to officials who point to areas along the busy roadway without any sidewalks for children to use.
Officials hope relief will come in the form of a state grant to pay for upgrades to the routes students use walking to and from school and their bus stops.
The township is seeking a total $192,766, the maximum grant the Safe Routes to School program will pay out. The council agreed to send an application for the grant at its meeting last week.
"We need to improve the safety for children on their way to school, particularly on Chambersbridge," said Councilman Anthony Matthews. The road, which links to Route 70 and Route 88, and has Garden State Parkway entrances and exits on it, is also the address of a township elementary and high school.
The grant is sought in conjunction with the township board of education, said township administrator Scott Pezzares. Two state agencies oversee the grant program: the Department of Transportation and the Division of Local Aid and Economic Development.
The township council is concerned with improving the safety of the routes students use. But the state also awards the grant to encourage walking and bicycling as an alternative to driving to school. The program combines federal, state and local efforts to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school - and to make walking and bicycling to school safe and appealing, according to the state.
The Department of Transportation reports that travel to school by walking and bicycling has declined dramatically over the past several decades. That decrease is increasing traffic congestion, pollution and childhood health issues to alarming rates, according to the DOT.
Though the township just applied for it, officials are already planning what to do with the money, if awarded.
Matthews discussed the need for sidewalks, but noted that the funds can also be used to make crosswalks safer.
The council will work with the board of education to get a list of spots that are high priority and most need for improvements.
With a dozen schools in the Brick district, officials have plenty of roads to choose from. Several of the schools are on Lanes Mills Road, Drum Point and Princeton roads, which also have residential and commercial properties near major thoroughfares.
Matthews said he hopes to keep discussion open with the board of education as the state looks over its applicants, who must provide detailed views of the problem routes, including pictures of the situation.
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