Marble Falls seeks $500,000 sidewalk grant to connect schools, neighborhoods
The city of Marble Falls has applied for a state grant to add sidewalks to connect three school campuses to each other and their surrounding neighborhoods. If approved, a crosswalk would be added to this sidewalk on Broadway at Marble Falls Elementary School as well as a new sidewalk on the other side of the street. Staff photo by Jared Fields
STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS
A grant to build a network of sidewalks connecting three school campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods is in the works for Marble Falls. The city applied for more than $500,000 worth of sidewalk construction through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School project.
Assistant City Manager Caleb Kraenzel said the city is waiting to hear how the project scores among over 300 others submitted from across the state for a piece of a nearly $8 million pot.
If the ranking is not high enough, the project could be eligible for another state grant in the following fiscal year. If funded, however, the Safe Routes to School grant would pay for 100 percent of the project.
The new sidewalks would be added to existing sidewalks so the Central Administration offices, Marble Falls Middle School, and Marble Falls Elementary School would be connected to each other and surrounding neighborhoods.
The plan includes a sidewalk down the full length of Northwood Drive, sidewalks on the north and west sides of Marble Falls Middle School, a sidewalk on Avenue N between Ranch Road 1431 and Broadway Street, and a connecting sidewalk on Broadway to the Boys and Girls Club of the Highland Lakes and Marble Falls Elementary School. More new sidewalks in the plan also are being considered for Avenue U and Fourth Street.
Current plans call for new sidewalks to be a minimum of 6 feet in width with some neighborhoods having wider sidewalks where space is available. The city already has the rights-of-way to build sidewalks where needed and would not have to purchase land for the project.