Politics & Government

Committee to Discuss Walking Routes to School

Safe Routes to School will provide bike paths and walking paths in the township.

Safe Routes to School will be a topic for discussion at the Committee meeting Thursday.

As the former vice chair of the Environmental Commission, Kathy Abbott, now a member of the committee, helped the commission apply for a state grant through the Safe Routes To School program last year

As part of the grant, parents were asked to fill out a survey from TransOptions on . Results of the survey will be used in gathering information about which forms of transportation families use to get to and from school.

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The survey results will be included as a part of the data used for grant justification. Abbott said, "We have to first show a need for the sidewalks and bike paths, and then prove that once we receive the grant, the residents will actually utilize those paths to get to school safely."

The has also worked with the national Safe Routes to School program and TransOptions to find ways for children to get to school without driving.

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"School traffic has been increasing along with Chatham's rising student population," Abbott wrote in a press release. "The program’s benefits to children are calmer traffic and improved fitness, alertness, sense of community and air quality."

The school and township asked parents to complete a survey created by Rutgers University to help identify streets in town that needed improved sidewalks and bike paths.

Once identified and approved, grant money from Safe Routes to School may be used to improve sidewalks and streetways for children to utilize. The Chatham Borough Council has already approved a grant application for the in as part of the Safe Routes to School program.

The Chatham Township Committee meets Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the .


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