Safer sidewalks on the way for kids
Ella Sayre walks to school each day with her younger sister Lee. Ella, a fourth-grader at Waddell Elementary School, likes being able to walk with her sister and their friends, and Lee enjoys the exercise.
Their mother, Washington & Lee counselor Jennifer Sayre, is thrilled that her children can walk to school.
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| Lexington officials received a state grant to make school routes safer. They hope to encourage more students to walk to Waddell Elementary and Lylburn Downing Middle School as a result. (CHRISTINA MERCHANT/Rockbridge Report) |
“They like the independence, and it’s really convenient,” Sayre said.
If the city has its way, more and more children will be following in the Sayres children’s footsteps soon. In June, Lexington City schools received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation to make school routes safer for elementary and middle school students.
Sayre doesn’t see any safety issues on her children’s route to school, but she attributes that to the presence of a crossing guard nearby, and the fact that they live on a pedestrian-friendly route.
According to City Schools Superintendent Dan Lyons, more than half of Lexington’s middle and elementary school children walk or bike to school each day, since many live close to their schools and the city does not provide busing.
After receiving the grant, the city hired Andersen & Associates, an engineering firm based in Blacksburg, to walk the city and make suggestions for improvement. The firm made three suggestions for each of the city’s two schools: Waddell and Lylburn Downing Middle School.
The improvements for Waddell would comprise building sidewalks, painting new crosswalk markings and installing speed bumps and crosswalk signs.
For Lylburn Downing, the report suggested improving crosswalk markings and pedestrian signals and building a handrail on the sidewalk of Diamond Street, where there is a sharp dropoff from the curb.
City Manager Jon Ellestad believes that while the city may not follow all of the firm’s recommendations, he would like to take some of its suggestions a little further.
While the program started out as a “Safe Routes to Schools” initiative, Ellestad says it has developed into a long-term goal of “community-wide walkability.” The goal is to get people out of cars and on foot, he said.
“One thing we are emphasizing is expanding the sidewalks in the community,” Ellestad said.
Ellestad says some of the changes can be implemented as soon as City Council gives approval. But for some of the more complicated improvements, like sidewalk construction, it is unlikely that any changes will start until the next budget year.
The $10,000 VDOT grant will not be enough to cover all modifications the city wants to make, and requests for sidewalks will have to be presented in the yearly capital improvements plan, Ellestad said.
For now, the city will continue to promote walking and biking as much as possible.
In September, Lexington City Schools teamed up with the Police Department to sponsor a bike rodeo to encourage safe biking for kids. Fifteen helmets were given out, and there was also a drawing for a new bike.
Lyons hopes the bike rodeo and other initiatives such as a “walk to school month” and incentives such as prizes will increase Lexington’s walking population.
“It’s a great walking city, and we want to continue to improve that,” Lyons said.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pamela Luecke
Reporting Supervisors:
Prof. Doug Cumming
Prof. Indira Somani
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd