Sidewalk grant considered in Decatur Council meeting

DECATUR — Decatur is looking to join a program that would help the city build more sidewalks for students who walk to school.

At the Jan. 14 meeting, the Decatur City Council passed a resolution to join the Arkansas Safe Routes to School Program. The program uses federal aid money to help cities develop sidewalks for pedestrian and bicycle traffic within two miles of a school, Mayor Charles Linam said.

Since Decatur’s city limits are about 2.5 square miles and the two schools are located on opposite sides of town, the program would apply sidewalks across the entire city as long as they connected to a school, Linam said. The deadline for application is Feb. 15.

Linam reported that he recently met with city utilities director James Boston, Decatur school superintendent Larry Ben and police chief Terry Luker to discuss applying to be a part of the Arkansas Safe Routes to School Program. The city is in the process of marking the sidewalks that are already in place and will then determine where sidewalks are most needed, he said.

Linam said he felt the city most needed a sidewalk from Ninth Street, down Stadium Avenue to the Decatur High School. Adding that such a sidewalk would connect the high school to the four way stop at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 102 and Arkansas Highway 59, he said.

The city is also set to begin work extending the sidewalk along Arkansas Highway 102, from Prather Street in front of the post office to the high school, using a $100,000 grant from the Arkansas Highway Department, Linam reported.

Building a sidewalk down Mount Olive Road to the Decatur Northside Elementary School would be another possible use for the Arkansas Safe Routes to School Program, he said. The Highway Department grant was originally set to be used for that route until the city council decided it was more needed along Arkansas Highway 102.

Newly-elected councilman Bob Tharp suggested that a sidewalk extending down Arkansas Highway 102 from the high school to Randall Lane, near his home, for the students who live at the Lakeview Apartments was also needed, and Luker suggested a walkway over the viaduct on North Main Street.

The next step will be to apply for an engineer for the project, Linam said.