Grant May Pay For Crosswalk at Hanna Woods Elementary School

The City of Manchester is hoping a grant will pay for a new signalized crosswalk at Parkway's Hanna Woods Elementary School.    

It's part of the Hanna Road Improvement Project taking place along a 1.8 mile stretch of Hanna Road.

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Last Monday, Manchester aldermen voted to authorize Juneau Engineers to apply to the Missouri Department of Transportation for a Safe Routes to School (SRT) funding grant for the crosswalk. 

As previously reported by Patch, Juneau Engineers is the company hired by the City of Manchester to prepare paperwork to acquire funding for the Hanna Road Project. The project includes improvement work on 1.8 miles of Hanna Road from Manchester Road to Big Bend Road.

Some of the expected improvements will be safety measures for both Hanna Woods Elementary School and Parkway South High School. 

Last Monday, Manchester City Engineer Ed Blattner told aldermen the SRT grant MoDOT is awarding will not exceed $250,000.

Brian Kulick with Juneau Engineers said he believes $250,000 would cover design and construction costs for the crosswalk. However, there is no guarantee the city would be awarded the full $250,000.

"If for some reason it did not, the city would have to provide the extra funds," Blattner explained.

Kulick said the crosswalk, which was identified as "unprotected," is a good project for the grant.

"There's a lot of conflict points there with the traffic turning in and out of the school," Kulick said.

Currently, the crosswalk is just manned with stop signs and a crossing guard when students are present. The proposal includes putting in stoplights and a signalized crosswalk with push buttons to cross the street.

Kulick and Blattner both said the Parkway School District is on board with plans for a crosswalk and applying for SRT funding. Superintendent Keith Marty and Hanna Woods' principal have both given the city a letter of support for the proposal, Blattner told aldermen.

"The support of the Parkway School District is very crucial in this project,"Blattner said. "Everybody in the whole state will be applying for these funds. The Parkway School District is very excited about us applying for this money."

It will cost the city a $1,500 fee from Juneau Engineers to prepare the paperwork.

Nov. 5 is deadline for turning in the application. 

(Read Previous Story: Federal Grant May Fund Most of Hanna Road Project)