East Lansing’s Safe Route to School plans to apply for funding in June to construct three traffic islands. Safe Routes to School is a federal program created to ensure the safety of children heading to school.
These traffic islands would be on Burcham Drive at John Street, Gunson Street and Virginia Avenue.
Safe Route has been working with several students from MSU to make this happen.
The project will include islands at three intersections which are located at the middle school. These islands would include traffic and speed limit signs according to East Lansing school board committee member, Karin Pfeiffer.
According to city Engineering Administrator Nicole McPherson, these safe routes are to encourage students to take alternative forms of transportation instead of being driven or taking the bus to school.
“Safe route is a problem-solver, it looks at all the ways students get to school,” McPherson said.
Although McPherson is confident that the group will receive funding, she says work would not be able to begin until 2021 due to work already being planned for Burcham Drive.