The City of Athens and local school officials have succeeded in obtaining $119,500 to improve the health of their students by making school travel routes safer for students to walk or bike to school.
The intent of the (Safe Routes to School) program is to fight childhood obesity by making it safer for children for grades K through eight to walk or bike to school
said Andy Stone, director of engineering and public works.
Although the city had to apply to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the money actually comes from the Federal Highway Administration, Stone said.
Childhood obesity has risen in the last 30 years and the number of students walking or biking to school has decreased Stone said.
Students have expressed interest in riding their bikes to school, but they cannot because West Elementary does not have a bike rack, Principal Joan Linscott said.
We live in a community that walking and biking to school is possible. In a larger urban area it would be more difficult
said Rebecca Miller, former president of West Elementary Parent Teacher Organization.
The $119,500 will be used to install flashing speed limit signs near schools and a bike rack at Athens Middle School, Stone said.
Eight thousand dollars will go to improve the crosswalk pavement markings at all schools, according to the award letter from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The Safe Routes to School Team in Athens did not respond favorably to Morrison Elementary because of its location, Principal John Gordon said.
Those in charge of the program in Athens voted against installing a paved walking track around the playground, Gordon said.
Gordon signed off on the plan submitted to ODOT, but only for the benefit of the whole district, he said.
I certainly would not want any child walking or biking on Route 56
but we didn't get anything from this deal
he added.
Miller's two daughters, who attend West Elementary, sometimes walk to school, but only with an adult.
Right now there is no sidewalk on my street (Rardin Drive)
and we have to actually walk in the street
she said. I would feel much more comfortable for (my daughters) to walk on their own if they had a sidewalk
Miller added.
Although there has been a lot of parent involvement with the Safe Routes to School Plan, there is a lot of concern about safety, Linscott said. Parents are much more cautious than they used to be
she added.
Miller lives only a tenth of a mile from West Elementary, but says the traffic is very intense.
A lot of people use it as a cut-through on their way to work
but they need to know that a lot of families live in the area
