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Residents urge council to sustain Safe Routes to School, present bikeability working-group progress
Summary
A local working group and Purdue Extension’s Safe Routes to School coordinator presented ongoing efforts to expand bike- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and requested a permanent home for the grant-funded Safe Routes to School program once current funding ends at year-end.
Members of a local bikeability and walkability working group reported progress to the Richmond Common Council on Sept. 2 and urged continued support for active-transportation efforts. The presentation emphasized connecting the Depot District cycle track to regional greenways and asked the city to consider a permanent home for the Safe Routes to School program.
Berry Kramer and Christina Allen described monthly working-group meetings held in the Sally Hutton Room and outreach to multiple city departments, including planning, streets and parks and recreation. "We draw together people of interest who otherwise would not probably be gathering together in this way," Kramer said, noting the group’s coordination with department heads.
Christina Allen identified herself as program coordinator for Safe Routes to School through Purdue Extension and said the position is currently grant-funded by the Health First Indiana grant, which ends at calendar year-end. "This position is currently grant funded through the Health First Indiana grant. So it's actually coming to a close at the end of this calendar year," Allen said. She asked the council to help identify a permanent home so the program’s work—education, distribution of helmets and safety equipment, and an upcoming needs assessment—can continue.
Allen summarized the program’s recent activities: providing bike safety instruction to students, distributing helmets, bike lights and reflective vests to families in need, and soliciting student feedback about safe routes. She and the working group also highlighted “bike boulevards”—low-speed, low-volume residential streets marked and signed to prioritize bicycle travel—as a low-cost option to improve connectivity across neighborhoods.
Speakers told the council the group had reviewed a 10‑year-old master plan and said current work would not conflict with any planned updates. The presenters requested the city’s continued engagement on a needs assessment to guide future infrastructure and education efforts.
Council members thanked the presenters and asked no substantive follow-up questions during the meeting. The presentation was informational; no formal motion or council directive was recorded that night.
