Danville High gets $535,000 school safety grants

DANVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – Another school district in the region gets valuable funding to make it safer for students.

Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman presented Danville High School a ceremonial $535,000 check. The funding will pay for improved sidewalks on the school’s campus as well as the roads that surround it: East Lexington Avenue and Old Wilderness Roads.

For Danville Independent Schools officials, this is a much needed improvement to the safety and wellness of students walking to school.

“You take a student out on a bus and they live a quarter or three quarters of a mile away and you ask, ‘why didn’t you walk?’ and their answer was ‘there’s no sidewalk, and my family doesn’t feel safe with us walking home that way,” said Director of Transportation and Facilitis Ernest Dunn.

Ron Ballard, Director of Pupil Personnel and Student Support Services, says his biggest concern is when he sees students walking in the street because the sidewalks are unsafe.

“One thing I see with the sidewalk safety when I’m walking home in the morning or even in the afternoon is the students end up walking in the streets. And those are the most busy times of the day, when schools are just starting and ending…and it’s imperative that they’re off the streets,” said Ballard.

Danville Independent Schools is not the only program to be receiving funding, however. State grants are paying for 70 school projects in 44 different counties. To see the full list, click here.

“As a teacher and a parent, I want to make sure school is one of the very safest places our kids and teens can be,” Lt. Gov. Coleman said. “These investments mean educators, parents and students will all be more protected as they walk to class, walk to a practice or rehearsal, travel between nearby schools or walk home at the end of the day.”

The project includes the design and construction of a new sidewalk at the high school and safe crosswalks and sidewalk connections along East Lexington Avenue and Old Wilderness Road.

That will improve access to school for students who walk to the campus from nearby neighborhoods.

In April, Gov. Andy Beshear announced plans to invest nearly $23 million in highway safety projects near schools to protect students, educators and families. Gov. Beshear charged KYTC with prioritizing and targeting such projects, using state funding allocated in the 2020 Kentucky Highway Plan.

“At Danville Independent Schools many of our students walk or bike to school. With the large number of school walkers, safe intersections and sidewalks are very important to our students’ safety,” said Danville Independent Schools Superintendent Dr. Tammy McDonald. “This grant will allow for an efficient and safe walk to school and ensure our students have enough space to travel separated from road traffic. We are excited that not only will our students have a better route to school, but also that our community will be able to better enjoy the area surrounding our high school.”

“Improvements made to our building grounds that ensure the safety of our students and staff are vital,” Danville High School Assistant Principal Tiffany Smith said. “So, we are excited to have the pedestrian project funding to make those necessary changes.”

At the high school, KYTC engineers will be evaluating existing pedestrian facilities and looking for ways to make improvements for the safety of students, staff and visitors.