Madras receives $300K state ‘Safe Routes to School’ grant to replace sidewalk
(Update: More details on Madras project)
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Students across Oregon, including in Madras, will soon have safer ways to get to and from school, with Tuesday's approval of $28.3 million in Safe Routes to School investments.
The one project in Central Oregon is $300,000 to the city of Madras to add or replace sidewalks and ramps for students traveling to and from Madras Elementary School.
In its application, the city said the project, with a $75,000 city match, will replace a two-block section of sidewalk that is "unsafe for children to use on one of our busiest streets in town." It includes adding ADA ramps, new curbing and sidewalk, drainage and paving.
Madras Public Works Director Jeff Hurd said the project will replace and/or add sidewalks where needed along Seventh Street, from B to D streets, on both sides of the road.
He said the city was awarded a similar ODOT grant in 2018 that completed two blocks that tie into the project, on B Street from Fifth to Seventh streets.
The plan calls for completing the design next summer and fall and going to construction in the spring of 2022, Hurd said.
Other projects around the state range from adding sidewalks around two elementary schools in Ontario to improving an intersection near Eastwood Elementary in Hillsboro, from adding a pedestrian island in Falls City to improving school zone signage at Powers Elementary in Powers.
Altogether, 43 construction projects are receiving grants after the Oregon Transportation Commission approved the recommendations.
"Overall, there were 99 Safe Routes to School applications. and they all addressed barriers to students walking and biking with needed safety improvements," said LeeAnne Fergason, program manager. "The awarded funds will focus on Title I (low-income) schools and, of course, locations with the greatest safety needs."
ODOT staff created an online map that gives an overview of the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee recommended/OTC-approved projects.
In August, ODOT received 99 applications from across the state for the SRTS Competitive Construction Grant Program, totaling $73 million in needed safety improvements. Read more.
The Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee met on Oct. 20 and using approved criteria recommended a list of projects for the Safe Routes to School Construction Competitive Grant Program for the Oregon Transportation Commission’s consideration at its Tuesday meeting, when it approved the recommended list.
More information about the SRTS program is available on the website.
Funding for non-highway and multimodal projects is critical to maintaining a modern transportation system. Funds for this program come from Keep Oregon Moving, where newly funded programs like this one are supporting public transportation, making safety improvements and adding bicycle/pedestrian options all across the state.
