The Iowa DOT Commission has approved a “Safe Routes to School” grant of $141,182 for the City of Kalona focusing on the area around Kalona Elementary. There were 13 other “Safe Routes” projects funded by the Commission on Monday for a total of $1.5 Million.

The project in Kalona was a collaborative planning process that included Mid-Prairie School District, the City of Kalona, Washington County Dept. of Public Health, Washington County Engineering Dept., ECICOG, and a dedicated group of local volunteers.

Projects that improve healthy, safe ways for children to walk or bike to school are a focus of the Obesity Prevention Task Force of the Washington County Healthy Community Coalition.

 The Iowa DOT’s “Safe Routes to School” web site says…

SRTS is a rising international effort to increase safety and promote walking and bicycling to school through the “5Es: engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation.” The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) federal transportation bill included a new SRTS federal funding source of $612 million over five years for both infrastructure and noninfrastructure reimbursement grants.