‘Safe Routes’ work starts next month
Initiative will benefit students who walk to four schools in city
A project that aims to make walking to schools in the city safer is likely to start by early November, a city official says.
The “Safe Routes to Schools” initiative is to begin with the installation of new sidewalk being installed on and near Burhans Boulevard, according to City Engineer Ralph Swenson.
A concrete sidewalk on Burhans, which is near Forsyth Park, will run 300 feet from Lucas Avenue to Alcazar Avenue; there also will be a 600-foot asphalt walkway connecting Alcazar to Merilina Avenue along the western edge of the park.
The two pedestrian strips will provide a safe, off-road walking route from Lucas Avenue to Harry L. Edson Elementary School and J. Watson Bailey Middle School.
Swenson said the $650,000 contract for the entire “Safe Routes” project has been awarded to SunUp Enterprises Inc. of Wappingers Falls. Most of the cost is being covered by federal money funneled through the state Department of Transportation.
The project is to include the installation of new sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian signals near the four elementary and middle
schools in the city.
Besides the new sidewalk and walkway in the Burhans Boulevard area, the project is to include:
• Improvements will be made to a Lucas Avenue pedestrian signal and crosswalk in the same area.
• Pedestrian signals will be installed at Washington
Avenue’s intersections with Lucas Avenue, Main Street, Pearl Street and Linderman Avenue. The area is home to children who attend George Washington Elementary School, as well as Edson and Bailey.
• A “traffic-calming” hump will be installed on Joy’s Lane, which is in the Edson-Bailey area, and curb cuts will be installed at all four corners at Murray Street and Delaware Avenue, as well as on Gross
Street. The latter project is for children who attend John F. Kennedy Elementary School. Also, a pedestrian signal at the intersection of Murray-Delaware intersection will be improved.
• The intersection of Quarry Street and Hurley Avenue, near J. Watson Bailey, will get a new crosswalk.
• Crosswalks at Wall and Franklin streets and at Fair and Henry streets, near George Washington, will be improved.