The Washington School district is applying for grant money from the state of Iowa. The program known as Safe Routes to School promotes youth physical activity by providing more safe walking and biking routes to school. Lincoln Elementary School Principal Dave Hoffman says that Lincoln conducted a survey regarding how students arrived at school and saw there was a possibility to increase the number of kids who walked or rode bikes.

Washington Schools have worked with Washington County Public Health, the City of Washington and the Iowa Department of Transportation.during the grant application process to gather the necessary information. Hoffman said that those getting information for the school walked some of the routes in the area with GPS systems and observed conditions.

The total grant money available to Washington Schools is $150,000. These funds would be used to fix and improve sidewalk infrastructure around Lincoln Schools. The application is near completion and Hoffman says once turned in they are expecting a response within a few weeks.

Tags: ,