The federally-funded Safe Routes to School Program is working with Albemarle County for a grant to make Greer Elementary and Jack Jouett Middle School safer for young pedestrians.
Currently, the two schools are difficult to get to, except by bus or car because most of the way there there's no sidewalk.
"By having sidewalks it opens up a lot of possibilities," said Elizabeth Korab, Greer's assistant principal.
In the complex with Greer and Jouett, there are several other schools, such as Albemarle High School, with a total of nearly 3,000 students that need to get to and from their buildings each day.
"A number of those students walk to school and walk home from school and we want to make certain that that walk is as safe as can be," said Albemarle County Supervisor Dennis Rooker.
Rooker said Hydraulic Road has nearly 20,000 vehicle trips each day, which makes the walk to school even more difficult for students.
Korab said she's had conversations with parents wanting their children to walk, but that right now the school can't allow it because there is no safe way to get there.
"Ultimately we have to make sure our kids are being safe," she said.
Korab also said that at times students from the high school even had to take a bus right around the corner to Greer, because there were no walkways.
"We really have this campus that is not connected because there is no sidewalk," she said.
That's why the Safe Routes to School program is working with Albemarle to apply for a grant through the Virginia Department of Transportation, or VDOT, to make the walk to school less dangerous.
"There really is no safe way for people to get here unless they're walking in the road and at certain times of day that can be very hazardous," Korab said.
The plan has been approved by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors. Rooker said he even wanted to expedite the process by using some of the proffer money from the Stonefield Development.
He said that the full plan involves sidewalks and crossings that go as far as that development, and also includes Georgetown Road, Whitewood Road, Lamb's Lane and accesses back to the schools.
"Eventually, if we were able to implement the entire plan, it would be an extensive plan that would probably cost well over a million dollars and we're hoping to obtain some substantial grant money to assist in that," Rooker said.
School administrators hope that the option to walk to school will make the facilities more accessible even when classes are out.
"I think if there was a safe opportunity, we could really start to think about not only getting to and from school in a different way, but how families can enjoy our facilities on the weekend as well," Korab said.
And there could be health benefits to adding more pedestrian walkways, Rooker said.
"We also want to encourage more pedestrians and bicyclists and if we provide a safer route to school, so to speak, we'll find more kids are able to walk or ride their bikes to school, which then helps make them fitter and I think it it's an improvement all around with health," he said.
Safe Routes to Schools must get approval from VDOT for their plans. They can then apply for the grants.
