State grant helps pedestrian safety

Borough, school distrct to receive funding.

By: Bill Greenwood
   JAMESBURG — The borough is going to get some help making Jamesburg a safer place to walk.
   The state Department of Transportation announced July 18 that the borough and the school district will receive a $227,760 grant from its Safe Routes to School Program, according to a press release from state Assemblyman Bill Baroni’s office. That amount will be split between the borough and the school district, though it is unknown exactly how much each will receive, borough Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik said.
   The borough will use its share of the money to provide infrastructure improvements, including creating new sidewalks and increasing the visibility of crosswalks, according to the borough’s application for the grant. Other projects for which funding was requested include demarcating school zones and creating a direct ramp from Front Street to the playground. Ms. Jawidzik said there are currently only stairs.
   John F. Kennedy School Principal Al Perno said projects to improve pedestrian safety are crucial to a town as small as Jamesburg.
   "Just because we’re a small town, people do walk a lot because everything is so close," Mr. Perno said. "People do rely a lot on having those sidewalks and clearly marked intersections and access to the schools."
   Ms. Jawidzik said she did not know which of the projects requested in the application had been approved, only that the DOT had decided to provide $227,760. The borough and district had requested $252,900 total.
   The school district will use its share to encourage children to walk to school, Mr. Perno said.
   "The students who are coming here are young, and they need to be able to get here safely," he said. "We need to encourage more exercise. We need to encourage kids to do little things, like walk to school, for their own health."
   He said his school would be using the grant to create an incentive program through which students could receive prizes for walking to school. He said pamphlets also would be created to advertise the program. The pamphlets would be included in the registration brochure for new students.
   Mr. Perno said the incentives also would apply at the Grace M. Breckwedel School.
   Board of Education President Don Peterson said he was happy that the borough and the district were able to get the grant.
   "I think any time that a small district like Jamesburg can access funds outside of the normal channels, it benefits us because we can correct things that need to be corrected or maintain things that we need to maintain," he said.