Colby will not receive money for Safe Routes plan
By Ben Schultz

It looks like the sidewalks of Colby won’t be popping up on many new streets in the near future as the city has not been awarded a state grant for its Safe Routes to School plan.
Governor Doyle recently announced 38 other communities in the state will be reimbursed for making their streets safer for children walking or biking to school. Eighteen out of 42 submitted projects were approved for planning while 20 out of 78 submitted projects will implement infrastructure changes right away.
Safe Routes to School is a federally funded program that aims to encourage healthy alternatives to riding in cars or buses. The state received almost $3 million this year and about $8 million in the last two years from Safe Routes.
“In its first year the program was an immediate success, and I am encouraged to see such wonderful community interest continue,” Doyle said in a press release.
In winter and spring a planning committee in Colby drew up a list of priorities for the city. Its main concerns were a lack of crossing guards near the schools and limited sidewalks throughout the city. Other concerns were the horseshoe driveway in front of the elementary school, only one exit from the high school parking lot and crossing STH 13.
Engineer Mike Stoffel helped draw up the grant application for Safe Routes. He said it would have helped to change items from being on a wish list to being available.
“Money like this helps bring things to the forefront rather than thinking, ‘That would be nice someday,’” he said.
He pointed out far more communities applied than received money and Colby shouldn’t give up on it. There were more than $15 million dollars requested for the program from communities in Wisconsin and only about 20 percent of that came through.
For the future he said the school district can improve its chances by implementing suggested changes it can afford. The next round of applications for Safe Routes is in 2010.
Colby mayor Jim Schmidt said the issue will go back to committee in the meantime.
“Then we’ll have to see our next move,” he said.
For more information go to www.dot.wisconsin.gov/localgov/aid/
saferoutes.htm.