13 sidewalk projects added to Transportation 2020+

The City of Clarksville has added 13 sidewalk projects to the Transportation 2020+ plan, all of which will focus on increasing safe walkable access to Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools.

The estimated total cost of these projects is $5.4 million and will make use of the $6 million approved by City Council during the FY 22-23 budget process. The plan, which was created in collaboration between The Street Department, Parks and Recreation and The Mayor’s Office, includes approximately 19,584 feet of sidewalk and will directly affect 6,053 homes.

These projects will be added to Tier 1 of the Transportation 2020+ Plan and are in various stages of development.

“These projects are a great addition to our Transportation Plan, and will go a long way in providing safe connections between families and their schools,” Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said. “We’ve been hard at work finding projects that can be executed swiftly and make the most of the $6 million in funding.”

The City of Clarksville Street Department worked closely with CMCSS in selecting which areas to focus on for sidewalks so as to help connect as many homes to schools as possible.

“We appreciate the support of the City of Clarksville and collaborative spirit in the community as we all seek to provide the best education and safest environment for children,” CMCSS Director of Schools Dr. Jean Luna-Vedder said. “City Engineers and CMCSS Operations staff conducted an analysis of accessibility barriers at schools and identified a list of potential projects…This significant undertaking will improve safety and accessibility to over 6,000 homes currently residing in parent responsibility zones and provide safe routes to schools for future CMCSS students.

More support for parks and neighborhoods

Alongside the 13, school-centered projects are an additional five which will be explored by the Street Department. These projects connect neighborhoods to local parks and would contribute to extensions of Clarksville’s Greenway system.

While not connected directly to schools themselves, these projects also fill in critical sidewalk gaps in existing connections. They include the following.

Progress on existing projects

The Street Department has also highlighted progress on several key sidewalk projects that were already included in the existing Transportation Plan.

These projects will be added to the Transportation 2020+ webpage on the City Website so that residents can track their progress.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: 13 new sidewalk projects have been added Transportation 2020+ plan