Parents, teachers, pedestrians, cyclists: Merced needs input on safer roadways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Merced is seeking resident input for a Safe Routes to School grant application.
- Meetings are April 14 at Tenaya Middle School and April 15 at Merced Civic Center.
- The City wants feedback from parents, students, school staff, and other community members.
The city of Merced is preparing to apply for a “Safe Routes to School” grant and needs residents, especially parents and students, to offer input on walkway conditions throughout the community.
In a Facebook post, the city announced it would hold hourlong community outreach and input meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first meeting will be at Tenaya Middle School at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and the second meeting will be at the same time Wednesday in the Merced Civic Center’s Sam Pipes Conference Room. The city is emphasizing community input as a “critical part of this process.”
According to a fact sheet from the California Department of Public Health, “Safe Routes to School” is defined as “any effort making it safer and more convenient, accessible and affordable for students and their families to walk, bike or take public transit to school. Through SRTS, students and their families can more easily incorporate physical activity into their day.”
These programs aim to improve student health by encouraging the exercise of walking or biking to and from school. They are also considered effective ways to increase traffic safety and child safety and improve connection by creating more opportunities for community and family engagement.
The city’s call for participation includes a section titled “Who should attend,” where it specifically requests input from parents, students, and school staff, but also encourages “community members (and) anyone interested in safer walking and bike routes near school sites.”
For residents who want to provide input but are unable to attend the meetings, the city is accepting feedback online at tinyurl.com/SRTS-Merced.
