Safe Routes to School - (update)

We recently conducted a field review with MDOT (Mississippi Department of Transportation), where we walked through the conceptual plans for the Madison Safe Routes to School Project. We will have one more review with MDOT before our final submittal in January. We are looking forward to what this project will provide for both the students of the Madison Avenue Schools and the community as a whole.

Below are conceptual images we used during the early stages of the project as we met with school officials, parents, and representatives of neighboring communities.

This image shows upgrading the intersection signals with pedestrian crossing signals and replacing the thin stripes with a more dominant striping to provide a safer crossing.

The image below shows a segment of the proposed trail system that will allow the kids in the surrounding neighborhoods safe access to the schools.

Walk to School Day

Today was "Walk to School Day".  We walked with the students of Madison Avenue Elementary and were proud to see students walking even though there was a steady rain.

Over the next few years, we are looking forward to the increasing number of students that may choose to walk due to the Safe Routes to School program.

Safe Routes to School - Case Studies Trip

We are currently working on the Safe Routes to School project for the City of Madison.  If you are interested in seeing more information on Madison's Safe Routes to School program, please check out their blog.

In researching other trails and programs, we made a case studies trip to Birmingham, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee to visit with officials and groups to find out what has been successful in their projects and what road blocks we may encounter.

In Birmingham, this easement allowed a more direct path between two residences to the school property.

While in Chattanooga, we visited with the staff at Outdoor Chattanooga.  These guys were gracious with lending us bikes and taking us on a tour of downtown Chattanooga along their network of greenways, bridges, and roadside trails.

Alan Hoops - City of Madison Director of Community Planning

Chris Pace - City of Madison's Project Coordinator