City of Boulder awarded over $700,000 toward safe routes for Manhattan Middle School

Colorado Safe Routes to School (SRTS) has awarded the City of Boulder $707,222 to improve safe routes for Manhattan Middle School. In 2024, the city will receive the awarded funds and work with the community to develop the conceptual design. Construction will take place in 2025.

Funds will be used toward improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure to increase safety, provide convenient travel options and encourage active lifestyles in the neighborhood. The federal grant is provided by SRTS, a national program that aims to improve infrastructure and outreach to encourage K-8 students to walk, bike and roll to school.

The SRTS grant will augment nearby city work toward making travel safer and more comfortable. This includes recently installed signal timing that gives pedestrians a head start at Baseline Road and Manhattan Drive as well as the Baseline Road Transportation Safety Project, which will create safer conditions for walking, bicycling and driving on Baseline Road between Foothills Parkway and 30th Street. It is a priority corridor in the city’s Core Arterial Network (CAN), a key initiative supporting the city’s Transportation Master Plan goals and the connected travel system that will help reduce the potential for severe crashes and make it more comfortable and convenient for people to travel along Boulder’s main corridors

“We’d like to thank our partners at the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) and Boulder Housing Partners for their help in understanding how student, family and neighbor travel can be made safer,” said Principal Project Manager Melanie Sloan. “We’re excited to return to the community during the design phase and work toward providing a safer, more comfortable travel experience for all ages in the area.”

"The grant award exemplifies the successful partnership of the city and school district to support and promote walking and rolling to school,” said BVSD Safe Routes Program Coordinator Landon Hilliard. “The school community appreciates the initiative and contribution of the City of Boulder to build attractive, convenient and low-stress transportation paths to school that enhance the health and safety of our students."

"We are incredibly grateful to the BVSD Safe Routes team and Colorado Department of Transportation for their efforts in creating a safer commute for all students to Manhattan Middle School,” said Manhattan Middle School Principal, Kristen Lewis. “Our number one priority is to always ensure student safety, and this helps us tremendously with providing students a supportive and safe route to school by bike or by walking. This will not only help our students but will also benefit all our neighbors and supports our shared community goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Learn more about the Manhattan Middle School SRTS project on the city’s Safe Routes to School webpage.