Union Pacific is building a new fence along the south side of the railroad tracks in downtown Sallisaw as a safety precaution.
City Manager Clayton Lucas said the $32,760 project was begun shortly after Thanksgiving and should be complete next week.
“They did visit with us,” Lucas said about Union Pacific, “and asked us about the project. We told them we would like it to match the fence at the cemetery and that’s what they did.”
The fence will run from Wheeler Avenue to Elm Street. Lucas said that area around Stanley Tubbs Memorial Library is being fenced because so many public events are held on the library lawn. The fence will only be on the south side of the tracks.
As another safety precaution, Sallisaw is in the planning stage to install sidewalks around Sallisaw schools, Lucas said. The initial planning is to have sidewalks from Sallisaw High School and Middle School to Jay Reynolds Park.
“We applied for a grant to the Safe Routes 2 Schools program but they have run out of funding this year. They told us that we will be a top project for next year,” Lucas said.
Safe Routes 2 Schools not only emphasizes a safe sidewalks for children, but also emphasizes the health benefits children receive from walking to school.
Lucas said the project is estimated to cost $186,000.
But Sallisaw is not depending only on grant funds for new sidewalks. Lucas said the city is planning on using money from the street fund to begin work on the sidewalks next year.
“It is an ongoing project for the next several years,” Lucas said.
Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director
For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com
Thanks alot for this great post. I'm not much into reading blogs but I found yours via google when searching for how to Hi-Street Safety Fence for children and this is a great, easy solution that I can't wait to do.. I hope today and stop my 2 year old from going out the end of our yard into the alley, Bushes block majority but theres about 6 feet of open space.
ReplyDelete