Agenda - 12-10-2024; 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

19 1 Chair Bedford said that the county cannot fund all of these projects and there will be a 2 process for selection. 3 4 PUBLIC COMMENTS: 5 Ben Tengelsen said he has children at Grady Brown Elementary and at AL Stanback 6 Middle Schools. He said that a lack of sidewalks is notable around the community and that he 7 has seen a lot of children walking around schools on the roads. He is an enthusiastic supporter 8 of sidewalks. 9 Terren Green said she is a Cedar Ridge High School parent. She noted that there are 10 children walking to the high school as well as young drivers and she supports safer routes to 11 schools. She asked the Board to pass the Safe Routes to School Plan. 12 Carrie Winkler said that providing routes will be great for students as well as the 13 community. She said she is excited to see this moving forward. She said there should be 14 consideration for future tweaks to walking routes on the east side of Hillsborough. 15 Barry Weston said he lives near Grady Brown Elementary School. He said the number of 16 students walking along the road can be scary. He said that the area could also use better lighting. 17 Rudy Free said he is a parent of two children at Cedar Ridge. He said that Oakdale Drive 18 is also a treacherous road with drivers going too fast. He said his kids want to walk but it is an 19 unsafe situation. 20 Karen Clissold said she is a parent of a school aged child and that he would like to walk 21 to school but she is terrified due to safety concerns. She said she looks forward to safety 22 improvements. 23 Richard von Furstenberg said he has two school aged children. He said that the burden 24 of needing safe routes to school is not shared equally. He said that often the children walking are 25 students of color and students who come from low-income families. 26 Alissa Martucci said she bikes with her child to River Park Elementary daily and there is 27 no particularly safe way to do that. She said that a crosswalk would be helpful. She said that the 28 schools are part of the community and the pathways that get the students there safely will 29 positively impact the community. 30 Amy Gross said she is a teacher at Cedar Ridge High School. She said that sidewalks 31 would allow more students to participate in activities before school and after school. She said the 32 buses are a one-time shot and the students that rely on walking are a majority low-income 33 students and this would be beneficial to allow them to participate in more activities. 34 Chloe Pankratz said that there are students who walk to and from Cedar Ridge who were 35 not included in the count. She said they seem low especially because some students have early 36 release or late arrival. She said those would not have been included in the count. She said they 37 walk at all times of the day. 38 Christi Lewis said she is an employee of Orange Middle School. She described situations 39 where she saw students walking back to school for events in the dark. She said that it is very 40 dangerous, and more sidewalks would be a huge benefit for the community. 41 42 Chair Bedford asked about lighting and if it is included in the projects. 43 Nishith Trivedi said it is an administrative cost and considered a utility so he will look at 44 this information and get back to the Board. 45 Commissioner Fowler thanked everyone who made comments and participated in the 46 report. 47 Vice-Chair Greene also thanked everyone for their participation. She also expressed 48 frustration with the rules in place that prevent funding for Bike/Ped projects that do not have a 49 road included. 50