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Improved walkways coming to Blackstone Elementary School · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Improved walkways coming to Blackstone Elementary School. Written by Matthias Werner.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  to you by Everlett. Students at Blackstone Elementary School will
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  have an easier time getting to school following Tuesday's awarding
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  of a Safe Routes to School grant to the City
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  of Mendota. The two hundred and fifty thousand dollars grant
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  will provide construction of a new sidewalk on the west
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  side of fourteenth Avenue seven eighty eight, compliant curb ramps,
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  high visibility crosswalks, and sidewalk improvements at other areas around
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  Blackstone Elementary School. According to a report from Rebuild Illinois,
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  we are very appreciative of our partnership with the City
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  of Mendota and especially grateful for Annie Short's leadership and
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  dedication to the Safe Routes to School program. Blackstone Elementary
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  School Principal Stacy Kelly said this initiative represents a collaborative
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  effort focused on improving safety and accessibility for our students
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  and families. Mendota Project director Annie Short said that while
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  the city was awarded this grant on Tuesday, residents may
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  not see its benefits for another year. As Idott would say,
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  it takes time. Short said, we were just awarded, so
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  we will have to bid on the project, finalized plans,
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  receive I DOOT approval, bid for the construction, and then
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  do the actual construction. This year's Safe Routes to School
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  grant will support sidewalks around Blackstone Elementary School, including sing
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  a sidewalk from Fourteenth Avenue to Plaza Drive along the
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  north side of US Route thirty four. Blackstone's location near
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  two heavily traveled roadways has long presented challenges for students
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  and families traveling to and from school. Kelly said, thanks
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  to this grant opportunity, we will be able to create safer,
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  more accessible routes that will better support our students and
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  encourage safety travel to school each day. The city has
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  been awarded this grant before improvements to the walkways around
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  Lincoln Elementary School were made in the spring of twenty
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  twenty five. After the announcement of grant funding was made
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  in the spring of twenty twenty four, the city worked
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  with the HW Lochner Group to prepare a report for
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  its application for the Safe Routes to School grant, just
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  as it did for the Lincoln Improvements. Part of that
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  report was participation from the schools that were viable candidates
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  to receive improved transportation avenues like Blackstone. Throughout the planning process,
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  significant time was devoted to gathering valuable feedback from staff,
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  parents and community members about ways to improve routes to school.
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  Their input helped shape a plan that reflects the needs
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  and concerns of our community. Kelly said, we are thankful
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  for the continued collaboration and investment in the safety and
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  well being of our children in community