Rio Mesa High School Celebrates Sidewalk Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

(OXNARD, Calif.) Sept. 26, 2019 – The Rio Mesa High School (RMHS) Spartan Marching Band and students came out in full force to celebrate the official ribbon cutting of the new sidewalk in El Rio, located near Strickland Acres and along Central Avenue, which will make it safer for them to walk to and from school.

The ribbon cutting ceremony kicked off on the front lawn of the high school, with a performance by the RMHS Spartan Marching Band, and included speeches about sidewalk improvements by Supervisor John Zaragoza, David Fleisch, Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Director of Transportation, and Mark Contreras, Rio Mesa High School Principal.

“It all begins with safety. Learning begins with a safe climate and a safe environment, so this sidewalk provides a great element to that,” said Mark Contreras, RMHS Principal. He added, “We’re already experiencing better traffic and safety for our students.”

The new 8-foot-wide Safe Schools sidewalk project was designed and overseen by the VCPWA’s Transportation Department to help improve the safety of students and faculty at RMHS. Together with funding from federal as well as local taxes, the project came to fruition on Aug. 29 constructed by local contractor, Granite Construction.

“We applied for and received grant funding, called Safe Route to School funding in order to do this, and there was money available through the state for us to be able to do these projects. The board had given us guidelines on how to prioritize these projects and this one came up fairly high on the list,” said David Fleisch, VCPWA.

The south side of Central Avenue will be resurfaced and the road widened in October.

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