ADRIAN — Adrian Public Schools has been awarded funding through the Minnesota Department of Transportation in the form of a Safe Routes to Schools planning assistance grant.
"The biggest concern is connecting with a broader sidewalk between the high school/middle school and the elementary," said superintendent Molly Schilling.
She explained that Fifth Street is a heavily walked street in town, and the district is especially interested in increasing safety at its intersection of Maine Avenue. Many students use Fifth Street to travel to and from school each day, and middle school athletes use the route to the elementary school to use the gym.
Adrian Independent School District 511 is partnering with the city of Adrian on this project, as the roadways in question are city streets and the city also has a vested interested in making walking safer.
Also assisting are Nobles County Public Health and the county Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), both of which are concerned with keeping Nobles County residents safer.
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The state has not specified the dollar amount of the grant, Schilling said. The next step is for the local entities to work with MnDOT on completing a survey of the city streets to define the scope of the needed work.
"It's been a good collaboration piece," Schilling said, adding that this effort has shown her how great a resource SHIP is for school districts.
