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02/18/2007: "Grant would pay for proposed "safe to school' trail"

With the idea being to provide a safe environment for children walking to and from school, the city council of Crofton agreed to serve as the sponsoring entity for a grant application being organized by a committee of residents.
The Safe To School Trail committee has been discussing a citywide walking trail for the last few months, in anticipation of applying for a grant that would pay 100 percent of the costs to construct such a trail. The program provides funds for communities to build trails or sidewalks that would give children a safe path when walking to and from school.

Councilman Allan Arens showed the council a map depicting the route of a trail he and the other committee members, including secondary principal Todd Strom, and Crofton area engineer Chris Wortmann, had come up with. The trail utilizes the sidewalk that is laid out in the Northside Park that travels from Second Street, near the swimming pool, to the football field and on up to the high school. It also would link into the sidewalks that pass in fron of the elementary school as well as St. Rose.
But it is possible that the way the trail is designed, and if approval is granted by all landowners whose property on which the trail would pass, would complete a loop around the city, thus perhaps serving also as an exercise walking path with a circuitous route.
The 1.92 loop would pass behind the baseball park, south to the sidewalk that links Sunrise Sites to the city, would follow existing sidewalks up to the elementary school, turning north and heading down an alleyway behind residences along Fifth Street, eventually hooking to the sidewalk at the football field and following that sidewalk by the pool. Once at Second Street, the trail would cut through land to the east, crossing the creek, and then back to the ballpark.
The trail would be an 8-foot-wide concrete sidewalk with 4-foot wide cleared areas along either side of the path. It was suggestd that the only costs the city would take on, as the sponsoring entity, would be the maintenance of the path and the grass areas next to the sidewalk. It was noted that snow would easily be cleared from the path with city equipment becuase of the width of the sidewalk.
The map Arens showed the council was described as a “very preliminary drawing,” but depicted the general route of the path. Now with the city’s blessing, and backing, the application for grant funds can be set in motion. Part of that application process will be getting cost estimates, approval from property owners whose land will be involved, and finalizing the map.
Arens said such trails have been established in a number of towns, and there is a larg amount of money available for such projects, which means Crofton could hve a good opportunity to secure funds to build the path.