County details Safe Routes to School grants and multiple road projects that touch school corridors

Harrison Houston, a Clark County transportation planner, briefed the Clark County Schools Advisory Council on Safe Routes to School funding, recent county grant applications and several projects near schools in unincorporated areas.

Houston said Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) administers a statewide Safe Routes to School grant program that funds infrastructure, design and programmatic projects within about two miles of K–12 schools. He said WSDOT expected to award roughly $54 million in the 2025–27 biennium and that competition for the grants is strong. Clark County submitted two projects in 2024 (safety work near Chinook Elementary, Alpine Middle and Skyview High; and another near Felida Elementary and Thomas Jefferson) but did not receive funding. Houston said the next call for projects will be spring 2026 and invited school districts to begin early coordination with county staff.

Houston walked through multiple locally funded and grant‑supported projects near schools: final work at Hawkinson Elementary (marked crosswalks, lighting, flashing school‑zone beacons); a Truman Elementary sidewalk infill and enhanced crossings project (preliminary engineering; expected to be advertised for construction late 2025 or early 2026); and the recently completed Northeast 100th and 30th Avenue pedestrian upgrades, which included crosswalk and ADA improvements. He said a Highway 99 sidewalk infill project and a road‑widening project on 150th Avenue (Patton Parkway to NE 90th Street) — which will add bike lanes, sidewalk and pedestrian flashing beacons — are scheduled for construction in 2025.

Houston provided a detailed description of a repaving and restriping preservation project on Northwest 130th and Northwest Bliss Road, the school corridor serving Chinook Elementary, Alki Middle and Skyview High. Because the existing five‑lane cross‑section requires students to cross multiple travel lanes at uncontrolled locations, the county proposes reducing the roadway to one through lane each direction plus a center turn lane, adding marked crossings, dedicated right‑turn lanes at school parking‑lot entrances and school‑zone flashers to reduce pedestrian risk. He said county staff expect the new configuration can handle current volumes, will coordinate with school principals on drop‑off/pick‑up adjustments and will monitor performance after implementation this summer.

On the 170th Street corridor, Houston said interim improvements at 170th & 15th have wrapped up and that the county will construct a roundabout at 170th & 209th starting this summer, with further widening and additional roundabouts planned in 2028. He warned that the multi‑phase construction could impact Battle Ground and Ridgefield school bus routes and said project managers have already coordinated alternative routes and drop‑off locations with district transportation managers.

Houston also summarized noninfrastructure resources and grant opportunities: Target Zero‑affiliated education programs (including teen traffic‑safety peer programs), school‑zone grants administered by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (equipment, crossing‑guard support; April 30 application deadline mentioned by staff), and the Let’s Go bicycle education program administered by the Cascade Bicycle Club (applications for the 2025–26 school year; April 18 deadline). He said the county is developing a neighborhood traffic management program that would dedicate funding to local residential safety improvements and that school districts are listed as potential collaborators.

Houston noted an open house for the NW 130th/NW Bliss Road project was held two weeks earlier and that a recording and technical exhibits are available on the project website. He provided contact information for project managers and invited schools to contact him to coordinate Safe Routes or project‑specific concerns.