Safe Routes to School in Northfield

Though it has been a draining week in every respect except the one related to my sinuses, I was elated to learn today that the Northfield Public Schools have been awarded a $30,000 grant to plan for safer walking and biking routes to our various schools. I was the main writer for the grant, but I worked with other tireless Northfielders like Bill OstremNeil Lutsky, and Randy Perkins - all members of the city's task force on non-motorized transportation. (In fact, Bill is the chair and Randy the secretary.) This group  is deeply making Northfield a better place for everyone to walk and bike, especially kids who are just trying to get to school.


Here's the summary of our grant project:

Pathways to Healthier Students (PaTHS) - $30,000
Planning Enhanced Access to Northfield Schools seeks to improve the safety of children who walk & bike to school and to motivate more children to do so.  It features enforcement, education, encouragement, and evaluation programs and an engineering analysis of routes for four K-8 schools. 


(Neil, a psych prof at Carleton and a a wizard with acronyms, came up with the great name for the project.)


You can here read more about Minnesota's "Safe Routes to School" program - part of a nation-wide, multi-million dollar effort. We hope the grant helps the schools and the city undertake some much-needed study and planning and moves the community toward the simple and real changes that would make our small, flat town a great place for walkers and bikers.


Forecast: Significant blowing and drifting, with the possibility of heavy accumulation in rural areas.