Construction of Safe Routes to School to begin
After more than four years, the Safe Routes to School project is not just being talked about but will soon be constructed.
The Town of Winamac, in partnership with the Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation, applied for and received a Safe Routes to School grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2011.
The federally funded Safe Routes to School program strives to make walking and biking to school safe and more appealing, as well as building connections between families, school and the community.
Safe Routes to School is using the railroad right-of-way that will be paved from Superior Street to the old depot at the corner of Main and Logan streets.
As plans for construction are underway, Winamac Town Manager Brad Zellers and clerk-treasurer Melanie Berger spent a few hours talking with Indiana Department of Transportation officials, engineers and contractors regarding the Safe Routes to School pathway on April 14.
“They walked the project to see where the trail will be placed and little things along the way that we need to take care of as far as notifying everyone along there that this is going to be happening,” Zellers said.
Residents along the route and those who use the railroad right-of-way to access their property will no longer be able to drive there. The property belongs to the town and is not considered an alley.
Zellers said further information regarding the closing of the property will be sent to residents.
As part of the Safe Routes project, sidewalks that are in poor condition along the west side of Riverside Drive from Pearl Street to Superior Street will be replaced. Intersections will also have Americans with Disabilities Act ramps installed.
Zellers said the sidewalks on the south side of Pearl Street from Riverside Drive to the Pulaski County Human Services building will be fixed.
“Everybody is on the same page with the way things are going to be,” Zellers said. “It will be really nice for us.”
Zellers anticipates in the next two weeks, the area being flagged and marked as to where the path will be laid. Construction will then begin.
“My understanding is that they will get the trail done first because the intersections with the roads, they will cut the pavement out and put concrete for the ADA approaches,” Zellers said. “They will block off the trail at the streets because the trail is not to be driven on.”
He said the project could be done by July, weather permitting.
The Safe Routes to School is one of three projects that also includes the Panhandle Parkway and Winamac Parkway.
The path of Safe Routes will connect with the Panhandle Pathway. The Winamac Parkway will landscape the path with shelters, park areas and picnic tables.
An additional grant of $50,000 will be used to pave from the old depot to SR 14 as a part of the Winamac Parkway project.