SitemapYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Public and private officials gathered
Tuesday morning near Taft Elementary School to celebrate the completion of federally
funded infrastructure improvements.
The improvements, funded through the Safe
Routes to School program, is one of a series planned for neighborhoods near
elementary schools within the city over the next few years, said Tom Hetrick,
planner with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. YNDC, the city of
Youngstown and the Youngstown City School District are partners in the project.
In 2015, Youngstown was awarded $200,000 toward funding $250,000 in
infrastructure improvements, among them replacing broken sidewalk squares,
installing new sidewalks and new signage, said Ian Beniston, executive director
of Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. The goal is to make it safer for
children to walk, ride their bicycles and otherwise get to school by other than
a car or bus, he said. YNDC, working with Youngstown and the school district,
wrote the grant application that secured the funding for the improvements. The
program has been in place since 2005, said Christine Surma, Safe Routes to
School program coordinator who worked with the Ohio Department of Development.
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