Woodlawn moves to close sidewalk gaps near Woodlawn Elementary with Safe Routes plan update

Woodlawn Village council on Nov. 25 heard a Safe Routes to School presentation laying out proposed projects to make it safer for K–8 students to walk and bike to Woodlawn Elementary.

Presenters said the update is required every five years to maintain eligibility for Ohio Department of Transportation grants and that ODOT can reimburse up to 100% of eligible infrastructure costs (presenters cited a typical project cap near $1,000,000) and up to $20,000 for non-infrastructure efforts. Data collection for the update began in March 2025 and included teacher tallies over three days (480 tallies) and 53 parent surveys, along with arrival/dismissal observations and ODOT/Ohio Department of Health mapping and crash data.

The Safe Routes team recommended a mix of non-infrastructure and infrastructure countermeasures. Non-infrastructure proposals include an annual Walk to School Day, expanded school-zone enforcement during arrival and dismissal times, distribution of safety education materials and helmet campaigns, yard signs reminding drivers to “Drive 25,” and a bike rodeo for students. Infrastructure priorities focus on closing sidewalk gaps that disconnect residential subdivisions from the school, improving crosswalk visibility on Riddle Road, installing additional speed feedback signs on Woodlawn Boulevard and considering speed humps near municipal facilities and parks to reduce vehicle speeds.

Presenters noted several grants already in progress that could fund pieces of the plan: a SORTA grant to extend sidewalks along Riddle Road, an OKI grant for Marion Road sidewalks, and other local grants that have paid for recent sidewalk work on Springfield Pike. The team said it will collect feedback from tonight’s presentation, finalize the travel plan, secure signature support from the school and local-government representatives, and submit the plan to ODOT in December for the January grant cycle. Presenters said ODOT would likely return a list of required corrections; the team plans to make those edits and resubmit.

Council members asked about bus-shelter installation and whether barriers could be added to protect shelters placed near the right-of-way; staff said one shelter in front of Goodwill is installed and two additional shelters are staged but not yet set in concrete and that engineering will review possible protective measures though limited right-of-way could constrain options.

Next steps: the Safe Routes team will post materials and a QR-linked survey to the village website, collect resident feedback, finalize the travel plan and submit it to ODOT as described. The presentation materials will be posted online for public comment.