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Long-running Safe Routes project in Chesapeake Beach faces choice: finish SHA design or pursue town alternatives
Summary
Councilors debated whether to press ahead with SHA-funded 100% design for a sidewalk along MD‑261 (which would preserve eligibility for construction funds) or to pursue town-owned alternative alignments that avoid the state highway but would likely forfeit SHA construction funding; staff will meet SHA to explore options.
Chesapeake Beach councilors spent the bulk of their March 10 work session on a long-running Safe Routes to School/Transportation Alternatives project intended to connect Chesapeake Village to Beach Elementary. Staff presented project history, current grant constraints and three broad options: seek a grant increase and finish the SHA-backed design, close out the grant and pursue another corridor, or complete design while planning a town-funded alternative in parallel.
Silia, the staff lead on the item, summarized the background: the town received an initial Safe Routes award in 2017 for alignment planning and a 2022 Transportation Alternatives grant to complete 100% designs. "The original concept focused on connecting neighborhoods to Beach Elementary School…at some point SHA agreed to participate only in the portion along Maryland Route 261 and that shifted the focus of the project," she said.
Procurement and cost pressures…
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