If the City of Rockdale gets its way, and early indications are encouraging, pedestrians will one day be able to walk from the corner of Cameron and Green all the way to the elementary school on new sidewalks.
City Manager Chris Whittaker said the city is in the early stages of interest in applying for a Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) grant which would link up the partially-ensured new sidewalk system which will transform the looks of downtown Rockdale.
The SRTS grant is 100 percent funded by the state. “That’s because it is viewed as a school safety situation,” Whittaker said.
MAIN STREET—
Whittaker met with Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT) representatives last week concerning not only the SRTS grant, but also a TxDOT Transportation Alternative (TA) grant possibility.
That grant—an 80/20 cost sharing proposition with the city footing one-fifth of the bill—would be for new sidewalks on Main Street from the I&GN Depot Museum to the Kay Theatre.
Already assured is a project for new sidewalk along Cameron Avenue (US
79) between Green and Burleson. That’s awaiting coordination with a TxDOT project to renovate US 79 through the downtown area.
And the city has discussed a new sidewalk, mostly on the south side of US 79, between Burleson and the Dollar General area.
“The TxDOT representatives appeared to be very impressed with our proposals,” Whittaker said. “They like the projects’ scope, and said it showed we had a master plan to address the city connecting and improving foot traffic.
TO THE SCHOOL—The sidewalk to, and from, the elementary would tie into the planned new sidewalk section at Scarbrough and West Cameron.
It would run north down the west side Scarbrough between Cameron and Bell then turn west down the south side of Bell to Wilcox.
At that point a new sidewalk would go west on the north side of Bell from the Rockdale VFD Fire Station to the southeast corner of the elementary campus at Marrs Street.
“In that block of Bell between the fire station and the school campus, there’s already an old sidewalk,” Whittaker said. That’s the “College Hill” area of Rock-dale which dates from the early 20th Century.
NEXT STEP—The school and Main Streets are in the talking steps at present and will need to be addressed by the city council.
Whittaker said he plans to bring the idea to the council at its June session, then put it on the agenda for a vote in July.
If it passes, a formal proposal could be submitted to TxDOT in August, he said.
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