The Ohio Department of Transportation Approves The City of Youngstown's Safe Routes to School Travel Plan

Friday, March 4, 2016

On February 24, 2016, the Ohio Department of Transportation approved the City of Youngstown's Safe Routes to School travel plan, which will allow the City to apply for funding from ODOT to address safety issues around elementary and middle schools.

The plan was created by YNDC with input from students, parents, principals, and city officials. The goal of the plan is to document issues affecting students who walk and bicycle to school and to provide countermeasures that address those issues. A previous travel plan had been created for Taft Elementary School on the South Side, which has the highest percentage of students who walk to school in the district. The plan allowed the City to receive $200,000 in 2015 for infrastructure improvements around the school. Improvements are planned for the next two years around Taft and Harding Elementary Schools. On March 4, 2016, the City of Youngstown submitted two grant applications to ODOT: 1) $315,000 to fund infrastructure improvements around McGuffey and Williamson Elementary Schools; and 2) $30,000 to fund a part-time Safe Routes to School coordinator for two years. The coordinator would facilitate educational and encouragement activities at the schools, such as pedestrian and bicycle safety demonstrations, helmet giveaways, and walking school buses.