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Of <br />W=M? <br />the city that works fur you <br />REQUEST FOR COUNCIL <br />CONSIDERATION <br />Report Number: <br />Agenda Section: <br />Report Date August 30, 2007 <br />Council Meeting Date <br />September 25, 2007 <br />ITEM DESCRIPTION: APPROVAL TO ACCEPT THE MNDOT "SAFE ROUTES TO <br />SCHOOL" GRANT. <br />DEPARTMENT HEAD'S APPROVAL: <br />Sandv Breuer. Director of Parks and Recreation <br />CITY MANAGER'S APPROVAL: <br />No comments to supplement this report UX Comments attached <br />Recommendation: Approval to accept the MNDOT "Safe Routes to School" (SRTS) grant. <br />Legislative History: City Council approved the application process through MNDOT on May <br />23, 2006, which we did not receive. City Council approved the application process again on <br />January 9, 2007 for the second solicitation, which in turn we received. <br />Financial Impact: <br />Safe Routes to School projects are funded at 100% with no local match required. The SRTS <br />Program is a reimbursable grant program, meaning that recipients of the funds will front the cost <br />of the project and will be reimbursed during the course of the project. All costs submitted for <br />reimbursement are subject to eligibility requirements. Any costs incurred prior to a project's <br />authorization are not eligible for reimbursement. The grant is for $175,000 which the entire <br />project will cost approximately $180,000. <br />Explanation: The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, created by the Federal <br />Transportation Act, establishes a grant program providing communities with the opportunity to <br />improve conditions for bicycling and walking to school. The goals of the program are threefold: <br />1. To enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle <br />to school; <br />2. To make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation <br />alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and <br />3. To facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities <br />that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the <br />vicinity of schools. <br />The Parks and Recreation Department will link this grant to present and future trail ways which <br />are listed in the Parks, Recreation, and Trails Strategic Plan. The main improvements that are <br />highlighted within the grant are the pedestrian walkway on the Silver Lake Road Bridge, the trail <br />to High View Middle School, and the northern trail in Hansen Park. <br />is <br />11C0UNCIL\REP0BTS\20071P"s and RecreationWpproval to accept the MN DOT Safe Routes to School Cr t.doc