Planning is underway to update a portion of Sixth Street in Halstead, making it safer for students on their way to school. “It will make it safer for children to walk,” Halstead City Clerk Julie Wait said. This is part of the Safe Routes to School project Halstead is working on. Wait said from Sixth to 10th Street, there are no sidewalks. “They [students] are walking in the street,” Wait said. Wait said the project would also improve the existing sidewalks. Wait added that the proposed improvements would make the street more visually appealing, as well. Halstead received a $400,000 Transportation Alternatives Grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation. Wait said the city is required to match 20 percent, or $80,000, and cover any additional costs that come up from inflation. According to a report from County Administrator Anthony Swartzendruber, the county and city are working to reach an agreement for maintenance of the roads. The county is responsible for maintaining the two inner lanes of Sixth Street. The city maintains the outer two lanes. Initial city plans involved combining and re-striping the outer two lanes and condensing it into one lane. This would create 11-foot east and westbound lanes and an 11-foot turn lane. The city also planned to add a four-foot bike lane on either side of Sixth Street. “The re-striping of Sixth Street should naturally decrease the speed of traffic, improve the flow of traffic, allow for sidewalk expansion along Sixth Street and allow for the addition of bike lanes,” Wait said in an email. Plans for the street and the possible re-striping are still being finalized. The city completed the first phase in September 2021, which involved developing an improvement plan for the road. Wait said the city worked with Lochner, the engineering consultant, to complete phase one. Together, they analyzed the town to find what streets and sidewalks needed to be replaced and to determine what the route for the safe streets project would be. The city is now working on the second phase, which carries out those plans. Wait said so far the city has been planning out the project by meeting with engineers and the department of transportation. As of the time of writing, a start date and timeline for the project is unknown.
Source: Harvey County Now
