Washington Local receives $500,000 in Safe Routes to School funding

Washington Local Schools will receive nearly $500,000 through the state’s Safe Routes to School Program to build sidewalks leading to Hiawatha Elementary School and to the district’s new middle school.

A 1,500-foot-long sidewalk will be built on the south side of McGregor Lane from Secor Road to Hiawatha Elementary. The award will also fund a sidewalk on the north side of McGregor between Secor and Gay Street, one on the east side of Fairgreen Drive between Photos Drive and McGregor, and all of the necessary crosswalks and pedestrian ramps.

The grant will also fund new sidewalks to the new middle school that is being built on Quast Lane, including a 1,350-foot sidewalk along the west side of Rambo Lane from Alexis Road to Quast and a sidewalk along Quast from Rambo to the school.

The money is part of more than $8 million in awards announced Tuesday by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks. Safe Routes to School funding covers project development, right of way acquisition, construction, noninfrastructure programming, and school travel planning activities.