Vernon 'Safe' Sidewalk Project A Decade In The Making Finished

VERNON, CT — A program that began a decade ago with a major grant has turned into improved paths to Rockville High School and Skinner Road School. The finishing touches were put into place late last year.

The local, state and federal collaboration has been called "Safe Routes to Schools."

Part of the work filled a gap between Center Road and RHS. Students walking from that area no longer have to cut through busy Route 83 business parking lots to get to the school from that area. The sidewalk has been extended from Center and Regan roads to the RHS campus, complete with a state-of-the-art crosswalk at Love Land Hill Road.

"We were able to do more than we anticipated thanks to careful management of taxpayers’ dollars,” Vernon Mayor Daniel Champagne said. "And while the new and improved sidewalks were intended for children walking to school, all residents of the neighborhoods where the work was completed will benefit."

Indeed, walkers of all ages are a constant along the path.

The project required the collaboration of the Vernon public school system, the Vernon Department of Public Works, the Vernon Engineering Department and others in town government, Vernon Town Administrator Michael Purcaro said.

“The resulting sidewalks make it safer and encourage healthy walking habits for our young people as they
head to school," he said.

The final portion of the project included replacing asphalt sidewalks with concrete sidewalks in several locations:

• Along Dart Hill west of Skinner Road toward the bridge over the Hockanum River
• Along both sides of Route 83 from Regan and Dart Hill roads to the Loveland Hill Road intersection
• Along the east side of Loveland Hill Road to the southern entrance to Rockville High School

"Making it easier and safer for our students to walk or ride their bicycles to school is beneficial for the
students and our community," Vernon Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said. "Physical activity helps our
students stay fit, reduce stress levels and most importantly do better academically. This work has also made
Skinner Road School more accessible to our students who have disabilities."

The program was initiated in 2012 after a coordinated effort by a group of citizens and school staffers secured a grant through a comprehensive and competitive application process designed to encourage students to walk and bike to school and to make the routes children take to school safer.

Skinner Road became a model walk-to-school campus.

The initial focus of the work was on Skinner Road School school, but "careful management of construction costs" has left enough funding for improvements to the sidewalks that lead to Rockville High School, officials said. The project cost was about $700,000, much of what was paid by Federal Highway Administration and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The Town of Vernon also provided funds and considerable in-kind work by town departments and employees.

“This is a project that began with parents and school leaders developing a plan to encourage students to be
healthier by walking or riding their bicycles to school,” Vernon Town Engineer David Smith said. “We took that
idea, refined it and came up with a great project that benefits children and adults in the neighborhoods near
Skinner Road School and Rockville High School.”

Other improvements completed as part of the project include reconfiguring the Skinner Road School parking
lot, installation of new bike racks at the school, a new walking path on school grounds, a walking path
connecting Hayes Drive with Barbara Drive, and improved crosswalks and signage along Skinner Road.

The Safe Routes to School program is intended to reduce childhood obesity by getting children physically
active by walking or riding bicycles to school, making the routes children take to school safer and more
pedestrian-friendly, and reducing congestion and air pollution caused by automobile emissions by having
fewer children drive to school.

People in the neighborhood did their part by trimming bushes and hedges away from sidewalks to make them
easier to navigate.