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Southland schools evaluated to improve
walking, bicycling
By Margo O'Hara
To reach Central Park School in Midlothian, students must cross
147th Street, a road where 20,000 cars travel daily. But the only
sign that signals a crossing is hidden by trees.
Students who live 500 feet from Crete Sixth Grade Center must be
carried by bus across Exchange Street to the school because there
are no sidewalks or crosswalks.
In Dolton, a poorly designed crosswalk at a staggered intersection
on Dorchester Avenue creates unnecessarily long crossing times for
students walking to Diekman Elementary.
Walking and biking to school can prove difficult in the Southland.
But through a federal grant, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
is identifying these barriers and working to fix them at eight Southland
schools – from Midlothian to Lansing to Crete. Appraisal,
route planning and 80 percent of any new infrastructure are covered
by $975,000 in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds.
"These schools are going to be a pilot for Illinois,"
said Leslie Phemister, the Southland coordinator for Safe Routes
to School at the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation.
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| Community members from Midlothian School District
143 discuss street design and possible routes for students to
walk and bike to Springfield Elementary. |
Phemister said introducing the Southland students
to bicycling and walking will have a great impact on them, and on
the area.
"Kids get to discover things about their neighborhood that
they wouldn't be able to in a bus or a car," she said. "Plus,
this can improve their health and the Southland's air quality."
Five of the schools have completed Phase I, which focused primarily
on the design and engineering of the area around the school.
Diekman Principal April Isabelle worked with the Safe Routes to
School team to identify barriers around her school. She said she
is looking forward to the second phase of the project.
"I feel like it's a very positive thing. It's showing the community
that we are trying to do something to provide children the opportunity
to walk and ride their bikes to school safely," she said.
A 10-block survey of the area around Diekman identified the need
for clearer signage, speed bumps and widening of the sidewalk.
"Kids like the idea of riding their bikes to school,"
she said.
Phase II kicks off with International Walk and Bike to School Day
on Oct. 3.
Phemister will then launch education and encouragement programs
aimed at increasing the number of students who regularly bicycle
and walk to school. By 2009, she said, the schools will have taken
over the programs and they will be self-sustaining.
"Many of the schools are excited about the infrastructure —
the sidewalks and the signs," Phemister said. "I am really
looking forward to getting into the schools and showing the students
how to use those facilities."
Robinson Engineering, of South Holland, is heading up the design
evaluation. The grant will pay for 80 percent of the cost, and the
schools or towns are responsible for the remaining 20 percent.
"In Phase I, we're finding out what's wrong and in Phase II
we are fixing those problems," Phemister said.
Starting next year, Springfield Elementary students in Midlothian
could see new sidewalks on Claire Boulevard/Rexford Avenue, so they
don't have to walk on the road or the shoulder.
And the Crete sixth graders who take a bus to cross the street can
expect a newly designed bike route.
Margo O'Hara is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Communications
Manager.
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