CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System recently unveiled a plan that would install sidewalks leading to area schools. The sidewalks would give nearby students a safe way to travel to class while keeping them off the roads and out of traffic.
The plan comes with a $5.2 million price tag, and it includes 13 projects across the district.
The City of Clarksville announced the plan on Oct. 26, and at a School Board meeting on Nov. 15, CMCSS officials reviewed each project in detail.
“With all the continued growth we see in Montgomery County, we’re seeing more and more students walking to our schools,” Chief Operations Officer Norm Brumblay said at the meeting.
In response to that growth, and to the shortage of bus drivers, CMCSS has expanded the “parent responsibility zones,” or PRZs, to increase the number of children walking to school. The problem with that is that while neighborhoods and schools have grown in Clarksville, those involved have neglected to install sidewalk infrastructure to connect them.
The city and CMCSS have been working together to identify “barriers to access” and have come up with 13 projects that would have the biggest impact per dollars spent, Brumblay said. In many cases, the sidewalks will connect school campuses to neighborhoods that are directly next door.
Projects to be completed under the proposed plan are as follows:
- Rossview – Rossview Complex
- Northeast – Northeast Complex
- E Street – Byrns Darden Elementary
- Ringgold Road – Ringgold Elementary
- Old Russellville Pike – St. Bethlehem Elementary
- Crossland Avenue – Moore Magnet Elementary
- Roedeer Drive – Kenwood Complex
- North Liberty Church – Northwest High
- Richview Road (3 sections) – Richview Middle and Clarksville High
- Meriwether – Northeast Complex
Rossview
The first project would add a path on Cardinal Lane to connect the three-school Rossview campus to the Page Estates neighborhood. The project is still in the design stage and would cost only about $56,000.
There are 213 houses within a half-mile of the school, so adding the sidewalk would allow many students a safe path to travel to and from classes, ending the practice of the students having to walk along Rossview Road.
Issues cited with the plan include an abundance of trees as well as the proximity of the sidewalk between houses.
Northeast
The next project would see the addition of a sidewalk from Golden Eagle Way to Northeast Middle, connecting to the Eagles Bluff and Eagles Way neighborhoods.
This project would cost only $81,000 and would create a walkable path to the school for 350 homes, preventing students from having to walk on Trenton Road. There are 591 houses within a half-mile of the school.
“We are servicing this neighborhood with a double-run bus because there’s no safe access to houses 50 feet from our campus,” Brumblay said.
Issues cited in the plan include obtaining an easement and sticking to ADA guidelines.
E Street
While in the initial concept phase, the plan for Byrns Darden Elementary features a hefty $420,300 price tag.
The project would involve constructing a 1,401-foot sidewalk along E Street leading to the school. The sidewalk would directly connect 442 of the 1,177 nearby houses, most of which are currently being served by a bus route because of the lack of sidewalks.
Issues cited with this plan include an abundance of trees, utility poles and culverts.
Beech Street
In addition to the sidewalk along E Street, another path would also be constructed on Beech Street. This path would also connect with E Street, allowing students from 85 additional homes to walk to Byrns Darden Elementary.
“It provides a sidewalk accessibility from Byrns Darden to a future city park almost in sight of the school,” Brumblay said. “This is a significant community improvement and improves connectivity for families and schoolchildren in that community.”
Issues cited with this plan echo those of the plan on E Street, where many trees and utility poles are in the way. In addition, the county would also have to acquire right of way.
Ringgold Road
Among the larger and more expensive of the 13 projects is the proposed sidewalk along Ringgold Road. This project would cost $1,091,000 but would allow students from 1,040 nearby homes to walk safely to Ringgold Elementary, connecting to Timberline Way.
The sidewalk constructed would be 3,638 feet long. Issues cited with this plan include an abundance of utility poles and trees.
Old Russellville Pike
For St. Bethlehem Elementary, school officials are considering a 1,389-foot sidewalk along Old Russellville Pike to Union Hall Road. This project would cost $417,000, and is still in the concept phase.
The plan would allow students from 215 nearby homes to walk directly to the school.
Issues cited with construction include proximity to gas and utility lines as well as drainage structures.
Crossland Avenue
Perhaps the largest and most expensive of the 13 projects is the proposed sidewalk along Crossland Avenue. The plan would feature the construction of a 6,323-foot sidewalk costing $1,581,000.
While in the conceptual phase, the project would allow students from 1,189 nearby homes direct access to Moore Elementary via the path.
The only issue cited so far with this plan is that there is a sinkhole near the road.
Roedeer Drive
Another project in the concept phase would add a sidewalk along Roedeer Drive. The cost to construct the 1,087-foot path is $272,000.
The plan would allow students from 485 nearby homes direct access to Kenwood Schools without having to walk along Peachers Mill Road. It also connects to the Clarksville Greenway, improving walkable access to the city walking and biking trail.
No issues have been cited with the plan thus far.
North Liberty Church
For Northwest High, officials are looking at adding a 1,662-foot sidewalk along North Liberty Church Road and Appleton Drive.
The cost of this project would be $416,000, providing students in 972 nearby homes with a safe and direct walking path to school.
The only issue cited with this project was drainage.
Richview
For Richview Middle and Clarksville High , there are three sections planned on Richview Road and around the Crow Recreation Center. Combined, the projects would cost $606,000.
The first of the three sections includes a 708-foot sidewalk along Richview Road. This portion of construction would cost $212,000, but it is still in the concept phase.
“This is the one you’ve been wait for for 55 years,” Brumblay said.
Richview Road is also state Highway 374, so this will be a city project on a state route. “This is a win-win for all of us, and they’ll know right where to put the sidewalk because there’s a groove from 42 years of foot traffic along the shoulder of Richview Road,” Brumblay said.
There are 736 houses within a half-mile radius, and students living at any one of those houses would have a safe way to walk to school via this path.
No issues were found with this project during planning.
The second of the three sidewalk sections around Richview would cost $149,000. The plan is to construct a 496-foot path from Richview Road to the Crow Recreation Center.
This sidewalk would also serve students from the 736 homes within a half-mile radius of the school. It would also connect the Crow Center to the city bus stop on Richview Road.
No issues with this plan have been identified thus far, but it is still in the concept phase.
The final section around Richview would feature an 818-foot sidewalk from the Crow Center to Richview Middle.
“Currently we provide CMCSS shuttle buses for students who are leaving Richview Middle School to attend after-school programs at the Crow Center,” Brumblay said. Crow is practically on the same campus, between Richview and Clarksville High, but there’s no sidewalk.
No issues with this plan have been identified thus far, but like the previous two projects, it is still in the concept phase. This portion of the sidewalk would cost $245,000.
If all three projects were completed, students could walk directly from the nearby subdivision to both the Crow Center and Richview Middle.
Meriwether
The final of the 13 projects would feature a 949-foot sidewalk leading from nearby housing to Meriwether Road. The sidewalk would connect with the Northeast Elementary property.
The project would allow students from 329 homes in the Glenhurst Way neighborhood to walk directly to class. There has been no sidewalk access, despite the discovery of a sidewalk easement built into the neighborhood. It would cost the county $285,000.
Issues cited with the plan highlight the need for a sidewalk connection to the actual school building. This project is also in the concept phase.
What next?
Construction will take place between March 2023 and October 2023, Brumblay said.
While these projects are all inside the city limits using city funding, CMCSS is working with Montgomery County on plans to address sidewalk needs at schools outside the city limits.