Post by Marc LeVine on Feb 9, 2007 10:50:34 GMT -5
Grant would help assure children's safe passage
Walkers, bike riders are primary concern in Freehold Borough
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD - School district administrators want to be part of a federal program that will focus on making the route to school safer for children who walk or ride a bicycle to school.
Many of the children who attend the borough's schools use those means to get to and from school every day.
New Jersey's Safe Route to School (SRTS) program is part of a nationwide effort to encourage safe walking and bicycling to school. New Jersey will receive $15 million in federal funds for this program, according to school district administrators.
According to Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth O'Connell, the $110,000 grant that Freehold Borough has applied for would help to upgrade walkways leading to the Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Intermediate School, which are both on Park Avenue. Plans for new bicycle racks and a bicycle safety education program are also part of the grant application. She said some funds could be used to buy bicycle helmets for children who do not have one.
State law requires children to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.
"Protecting our children on the way to school and on the way home from school is the goal," O'Connell said.
The grant application was prepared with the assistance of John Jennings, of Freehold Township, a professional planner with T&M Associates, Middletown. Jennings said he approached O'Connell because he believed the Freehold Borough school district would fit the funding criteria and because it would benefit from the safe route program.
The safe route program would focus on operational and physical improvements around the schools to reduce speed and pedestrian/vehicle conflicts. It may also include the improvement of sidewalks, walkways, bikeways, trails and bicycle parking facilities.
The program will also require a partnership with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that traffic laws, especially speeding and yielding to pedestrians, are obeyed near the schools.
The borough school district has a total of 836 students attending the Park Avenue Elementary School-Freehold Intermediate School complex. These two schools have children walking, biking and being driven to school. The district also includes the Freehold Learning Center elementary school on Dutch Lane Road. The learning center is not included in the application.
There is a traffic signal in front of the Park Avenue complex and a crossing guard at this site during pupil arrival and departure times. There are several other intersections staffed by crossing guards to help pupils cross the intersections. According to the grant application, the crossing guards are a significant municipal expense and there are locations that need a crossing guard but do not have them.
According to the grant application, some parents decide it is better and safer to drive their children to school. With the number of vehicles arriving and departing the Park Avenue complex in the morning and afternoon, motor vehicle traffic could be lessened if a comprehensive safe route to school plan were developed and implemented, administrators said.
The application refers to the risks associated with walking or riding a bicycle to school, including exposure to significant motor vehicle traffic at many intersections. Improved crosswalks, crossing guards, in-street pedestrian signs, school flashers and possible traffic calming measures are all means to change safety at these locations.
Administrators had to state the commitment they have already demonstrated to providing safe routes to school and how they have informed students and parents of the means to ensure the safety of children going to and from schools.
According to the application, school district administrators, in conjunction with the Freehold Borough Police Department and the PTA, will develop preferred safe routes to school with an eye toward minimizing the children's exposure to streets without crossing guards.
The proposal also states that slowing traffic at certain locations will allow the children's safe passage to and from school to be improved. The speed of traffic and a lack of crossing guards has often been cited as two reasons why many parents prefer to drive their children to school.
The proposal also includes a partnership and public outreach component which states that the district's PTO, the YMCA of Western Monmouth County and the Borough Council are all to be contacted to aid in the safe route to school project.
Walkers, bike riders are primary concern in Freehold Borough
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD - School district administrators want to be part of a federal program that will focus on making the route to school safer for children who walk or ride a bicycle to school.
Many of the children who attend the borough's schools use those means to get to and from school every day.
New Jersey's Safe Route to School (SRTS) program is part of a nationwide effort to encourage safe walking and bicycling to school. New Jersey will receive $15 million in federal funds for this program, according to school district administrators.
According to Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth O'Connell, the $110,000 grant that Freehold Borough has applied for would help to upgrade walkways leading to the Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Intermediate School, which are both on Park Avenue. Plans for new bicycle racks and a bicycle safety education program are also part of the grant application. She said some funds could be used to buy bicycle helmets for children who do not have one.
State law requires children to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.
"Protecting our children on the way to school and on the way home from school is the goal," O'Connell said.
The grant application was prepared with the assistance of John Jennings, of Freehold Township, a professional planner with T&M Associates, Middletown. Jennings said he approached O'Connell because he believed the Freehold Borough school district would fit the funding criteria and because it would benefit from the safe route program.
The safe route program would focus on operational and physical improvements around the schools to reduce speed and pedestrian/vehicle conflicts. It may also include the improvement of sidewalks, walkways, bikeways, trails and bicycle parking facilities.
The program will also require a partnership with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that traffic laws, especially speeding and yielding to pedestrians, are obeyed near the schools.
The borough school district has a total of 836 students attending the Park Avenue Elementary School-Freehold Intermediate School complex. These two schools have children walking, biking and being driven to school. The district also includes the Freehold Learning Center elementary school on Dutch Lane Road. The learning center is not included in the application.
There is a traffic signal in front of the Park Avenue complex and a crossing guard at this site during pupil arrival and departure times. There are several other intersections staffed by crossing guards to help pupils cross the intersections. According to the grant application, the crossing guards are a significant municipal expense and there are locations that need a crossing guard but do not have them.
According to the grant application, some parents decide it is better and safer to drive their children to school. With the number of vehicles arriving and departing the Park Avenue complex in the morning and afternoon, motor vehicle traffic could be lessened if a comprehensive safe route to school plan were developed and implemented, administrators said.
The application refers to the risks associated with walking or riding a bicycle to school, including exposure to significant motor vehicle traffic at many intersections. Improved crosswalks, crossing guards, in-street pedestrian signs, school flashers and possible traffic calming measures are all means to change safety at these locations.
Administrators had to state the commitment they have already demonstrated to providing safe routes to school and how they have informed students and parents of the means to ensure the safety of children going to and from schools.
According to the application, school district administrators, in conjunction with the Freehold Borough Police Department and the PTA, will develop preferred safe routes to school with an eye toward minimizing the children's exposure to streets without crossing guards.
The proposal also states that slowing traffic at certain locations will allow the children's safe passage to and from school to be improved. The speed of traffic and a lack of crossing guards has often been cited as two reasons why many parents prefer to drive their children to school.
The proposal also includes a partnership and public outreach component which states that the district's PTO, the YMCA of Western Monmouth County and the Borough Council are all to be contacted to aid in the safe route to school project.