COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — More students in Cottonwood Heights are going back to one school the old-fashioned way, thanks to grant money that paid for a new sidewalk near the school.
Parents of students attending Butler Middle School weren't totally supportive of their children walking to school last year due to the lack of a safe walkway, so officials worked with the state of Utah to fix the situation.
The new mayor of Cottonwood Heights, Mike Weichers, felt the issue needed to be remedied for the new school year.
"We felt it was important enough that our kids have safe passage to school," he remarked.
City officials budgeted about a quarter of a million dollars to install the new sidewalk and the State of Utah matched the money, making the project possible.
“We’ve actually applied for this specific grant we got a couple of times, we didn’t get it the first couple of times," Weichers said. "We have a stretch of the road in front of our school that doesn’t have a sidewalk, it’s built into the hill a little bit.”
The new sidewalk allows more kids to get safely to and from school on foot, which is expected to reduce vehicle traffic overall at Butler Middle School.
"They can feel comfortable on the east side of this road walking, without cars coming, and it gets busy in the morning and afternoon obviously when drop off and pick up happen,” Weichers explained.
As schools across Utah see a decline in student enrollment, Weichers said at this particular school, student numbers have stayed consistent. He's hoping the sidewalk will help everyone have a smoother journey to school each day.
“Parents being able to feel comfortable sending their kid to school and knowing they’re going to arrive safe is maybe the most important thing a city can do," Weichers said.
The mayor also hopes this project is just the beginning in helping the city overall to become more walkable and less dependent on cars.
