AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE*
title
Adopt the Safe Routes to School Action Plan
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT*
Alyson West, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Planning Department
Bergen Watterson, Mobility and Greenways Manager, Planning Department
STAFF RECOMMENDATION*
Staff recommends that Council adopt the Safe Routes to School Action Plan.
body
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT*
Chapel Hill was awarded a Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Grant by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in 2023, and funds from this grant were used to create the Town's first Safe Routes to School Action Plan. It contains recommendations for 14 elementary, middle, and high schools in Chapel Hill for:
* programs
* policies
* infrastructure improvements
A "quick-build" demonstration project is included for each school to test new ideas and garner support for implementation.
The Plan will support strategic efforts to fund and implement a multipronged approach to improve walking, biking, and rolling to school in Chapel Hill.
This Safe Routes to School Action Plan will be an appendix to the Triangle West Vision Zero Action Plan enabling Town staff to include infrastructure recommendations in future Safe Streets for All Implementation or Demonstration grant applications.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Plan was funded through the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Grant. The SRTS Grant supports staff and resources to implement programming and policy recommendations. No funds are currently identified for implementing infrastructure projects. The Town was awarded a 2024 Federal Safe Streets for All Grant to design and implement the demonstration projects in the plan; however, this grant is currently frozen. Staff will work to identify opportunities to implement infrastructure recommendations through other Town projects, grant funding, or collaboration with the school district.
ATTACHMENTS
Safe Routes to School Action Plan_Executive Summary
Safe Ro...
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