Pittsburgh receives $464K to help kids get to school safely

Pittsburgh received a $464,000 state grant this week to help make it safer for children to walk or bike to elementary or middle schools.

The money comes from PennDOT’s Transportation Set Aside Program.

“The ability to walk or bike to school has long been one of the classic characteristics of Pittsburgh, but over recent decades it has become increasingly hazardous for children, who are our most valuable and vulnerable travelers,” said Department of Mobility and Infrastructure Director Karina Ricks.

Ricks said the grant will allow the city department to collaborate with school officials and parents to find places for low-cost improvements to improve safety. The department also wants to use the grant to hire someone to coordinate efforts to make it safer for children to walk or bike to school.

The city would like to have a coordinator by the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.