A sidewalk project that would make it safer for students walk to Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School is officially funded.
On Tuesday, the James City County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appropriate a $361,949 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation that would help build bicycle and pedestrian connections from Clara Byrd Baker to nearby neighborhoods.
The project includes sidewalks, pedestrian islands and crosswalks in the area around the elementary school. The area currently lacks crosswalks near the school and islands.
The grant requires a 20 percent match from James City County. That money has already been set aside in the county’s capital improvement program, Planning Director Paul Holt said.
There is no set timeline for the project yet, but Holt said it’s “definitely” a project that will start in 2019.
“These improvements will not only encourage students to walk or bike to school by connecting neighborhoods to the school site, but will also provide a walkable connection to several local businesses,” according to a Dec. 11 memorandum in agenda documents.
Holt hopes to have a more definitive timeline in January.
The project was prompted by a group of parents trying to make walking to Clara Byrd Baker more feasible for their children. The grant application became possible with the help of Darlene Dockery, the Safe Routes to School program coordinator at Williamsburg-James City County Schools.
James City County was awarded the grant through VDOT’s Transportation Alternatives program in October.
The project application was first submitted in November 2017 and fits under the Safe Routes to School program.
While the school is required to pay a 20 percent match for the grant to finish the project, only about $19,000 will come from the Williamsburg-James City County Schools’ capital improvement funds, according to the project application.
The remainder of the match – about $71,000 – will be paid for by James City County, county planner Roberta Sulouff told WYDaily last year.
