LORAIN — An initial proposal to improve the safety of children travelling to and from Durling Middle and Vincent Elementary schools has been selected for funding by the Ohio Department of Transportation, according to Lorain County Engineer Ken Carney.

The county made the proposal through the Safe Route to School Program, which is funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

“The ultimate goal of the program is to receive funding for educational programs, signage and sidewalks,” Carney said. “The point is to develop safe routes for schools.”

The only sidewalks around Vincent Elementary are in the front, while students at Durling Middle School must either “walk on yards or in the street,” said Rick Buckosh, superintendent of Clearview Schools.

Buckosh was pleased with ODOT’s acceptance of the initial proposal, known as the School Travel Plan and is a required application component for the Safe Routes to School program, which promotes walking and riding bikes to school.

“I think we have a very good chance of moving forward with this,” Buckosh said.

But he is also cautious, saying it took a year to get a response and that nothing is settled yet.

“The initial phase has been approved, but it will take some time before we will see these things,” Buckosh said.

The schools must now wait for a final project evaluation, which will include price estimates and milestone dates. ODOT will hire consultants to engineer the plan development.

The amount of money the district will receive will not be determined until the application process is completed. As of Jan. 2, ODOT had awarded more than $4 million to develop safe routes to schools in communities throughout Ohio.

Contact Michael Mullaley at 329-7155 or metro@chroniclet.com.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---