Saratoga News
News
Saratoga wins grant from a request submitted by firm fired by the city
By Jason Sweeney
The state has awarded the city of Saratoga a "Safe Routes to School" grant amounting to $169,200. The grant will be used to fund pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 9 and Oak Street.
The Safe Routes to School program promotes traffic calming and bicycle and pedestrian safety projects through the disbursal of federal transportation funds to state agencies. The purpose of the program is to encourage more children to walk and bike to school.
In California, Caltrans disburses the funds to local agencies after a competitive application process. Local agencies must demonstrate a need to reduce safety hazards for children walking or biking to school.
The Highway 9 and Oak Street intersection, down the street from Oak Street Elementary School, has long been a safety concern for local residents and for the city.
According to Saratoga Public Works associate engineer Iveta Harvancik, the scope of work funded by the grant will cover Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps for sidewalks, raised medians, a new crosswalk across Highway 9 with solar-powered pedestrian-activated flashing lights and flashing crosswalk beacons. The distance between sidewalks will also be shortened to make street crossings safer for pedestrians.
Public works director John Cherbone said work on the intersection would begin in the next few weeks. The city was planning to go forward with safety projects at the intersection before the grant was awarded, he said. The grant means city money allocated for the intersection can now go into the city's capital improvement plan fund and be used for other projects.
Of the 370 applications submitted by local agencies in California, Saratoga's application was among 115 that were approved for funding. "Many local residents and organizations supported the application with their letters, including the sheriff's office, the Citizens for Highway 9 Safety, the Saratoga Union School District, the Saratoga Traffic Commission, the Trails Committee, the Saratoga Elementary School PTA, the Saratoga Federated Church and others," Harvancik said in an email. "This tremendous support was crucial in this competitive grant program."
The consulting firm Randall Funding and Development can also claim some of the credit. The firm was hired by the city in 2004 to provide grant writing and research services. But six months after it was hired, no grants had been secured. The city council then decided to terminate the contract. However, a grant writer from Randall Funding had written and submitted the application for the Safe Routes to School grant.
"It takes a long time from when you start a contract to when you receive money," said Barry Kaye, chief financial officer for Randall Funding. "Saratoga spent $21,000 on our contract and in return received this award of $169,2000. So maybe we didn't do such a bad job."
"What we do is win money for cities like Saratoga," Kaye said. "This grant will make it safer for Saratoga children walking to school."
