Lyon County commissioners on Tuesday expressed interest in taking part in what would be a multi-county initiative that would create an expansive, data-driven Safe Routes to School plan.
Southwest Regional Development Commission Transportation Director Chris Webb introduced the plan at Tuesday’s regular county board meeting, expressing that the program would be mostly funded by a federal Safe Streets for All Planning Grant. The multi-jurisdictional grant would be an 80/20 split, with counties, the SRDC and possibly school districts pitching in.
“Traditionally, it’s been a statewide program … designed to create strategies for improvements to make it safer for students to walk and bike in their community, whether that be to a school or city park,” Webb said. “This is a federal grant opportunity to where we can do multiple communities at once.”
The objective of the plan is to identify safety risks and priority improvements, and the implementation of strategies to improve walking and biking conditions for students and families in Lyon, Lincoln and Murray counties.
The grant would fund an analysis of crash data and high-risk areas’ mapping of existing school travel routes and sidewalk gaps; community engagement with schools, parents and local partners; identification of safety improvements (sidewalks, crossings, traffic calming, signage and education); and a phased implementation and funding strategy aligned with federal and state programs.
The grant that SRDC is applying for does not include construction. Cities would have to apply for another grant for any future work they might want done.
The focus of the plan is on towns that have had little or no attention given to safety issues through prior Safe Routes to Schools work. While Marshall and Tracy both have a background with the program, Lyon County towns like Balaton, Minneota and Cottonwood do not. In Lincoln County, the city of Tyler has been covered in the past through the statewide program, Webb said, but towns like Lake Benton and Hendricks would be focal points — the same with Slayton and Fulda in Murray County.
“We would focus our efforts in communities that haven’t had Safe Routes in the past,” said Webb. “(Marshall and Tracy) keep up their planning pretty regularly and do quite a lot of grant writing.”
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners has already jumped on board and identified Hendricks and Lake Benton as communities that will be included in the plan. Both of those towns have schools.
Webb said work on the program, if the $200,000 grant is awarded, would begin somewhere between 2028 and 2029; counties would be notified of grant approval later this year. This is the final year this funding will be available.
While the focus of the plan centers around larger school campuses, the Hwy. 14 crossing near Lake Yankton in Balaton is also on the SRDC’s radar. Webb said these kind of safety programs can include access points in places by parks and other public areas.
In other business Tuesday …
• The board voted to extend its current recycling agreement with West Central Sanitation; the current contract was set to expire on April 1, 2026. Commissioners also agreed to purchase 793 95-gallon recycling bar carts at $66.63 apiece for a total of $56,091.59.
• The board accepted a bid of $219,113 from Backyard Showcase for the construction of three 24’ x 30’ shelters at Garvin Park — one for the Camper Cabin area, one for the Upper Campground and one for the ballfields area.
• An informational meeting for landowners affected by the redetermination of benefits and damages on County Ditch 24 in Custer Township will be held at 10 a.m. on March 11 at the Garvin Fire Hall.
