District, city team up on Safe Routes program grant

SANDPOINT — Thanks to a nearly-six-figure grant and some collaboration between public institutions, local students will soon be safer than ever heading to school.

Earlier this year, the Lake Pend Oreille School District and the city of Sandpoint teamed up to apply for a Community Choices Funding Award from the state of Idaho. Recently, they learned their efforts were successful, landing a $98,250 grant for a mere $7,800 in match funding — almost 10 percent of the total funds distributed.

“I feel very honored that we’ve received so much money,” said Jacob Iverson, LPOSD transportation director.

The influx in funding will support the local Safe Routes to School program. Efforts to create safe, efficient pathways for local schools kicked off earlier this year with the addition of a crossing guard near Sandpoint Middle School. According to Sandpoint Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk, the guard has the double benefit of making a dangerous crossing more accessible for students while also alleviating traffic problems for drivers.

“It’s had a huge impact,” Van Dyk said.

Safe Routes program managers hope to replicate that success with the arrival of new funding. Thanks to the efforts of the program organizers like Brenda Woodward and Bruce Robertson, the grant application began to take shape. Ultimately, city and school district personnel produced a 113-page document to submit for consideration.

According to Iverson, the planned safety features are planned to provide students convenient walkways from popular neighborhoods. For instance, a new pathway from Travers Park to Sandpoint Middle School gives students a safe path that avoids high traffic areas. The path is paired with improved sidewalks on Pine Street to give individuals an open route from several directions. According to the project grant application, students are already using this approach as a route judging from the tracks in the snow during winter, so it makes sense to improve it.

Similarly, having new access points from southern neighborhoods would disperse traffic and make all access points safer. However, most approaches required the purchase or easement of private land. Project planners found an alternative by extending sidewalks on the north side of Ontario Street.

“From our point of view, this is the part of the project we’re most excited about,” Van Dyk said.

Finally, the grant will help redesign the southern access point to Sandpoint middle and high schools. The design separates the area into a right-turn-only entrance and a right-turn-only exit. These two access points will be separated by a median, allowing pedestrians easier crossing.

According to Van Dyk, construction on these projects is expected to begin by next summer. Even so, project planners are already considering methods to further reduce vehicles, improve traffic flow and increase safety for students coming to or leaving from school, Iverson said. One idea is to redesign the parking lot to encourage carpooling, he added.

In the meantime, Iverson and Van Dyk said they’re pleased at how fruitful and effective the collaboration between the city and school district has been.

“We haven’t really worked this closely with the school district on a project like this before,” Van Dyk said.

“It’s been a pleasure working with the city,” Iverson added. “I think this project will have a tremendous benefit to the community.”