LEESBURG, Fla. – City leaders are hoping to garner public support as they pursue a state grant that would fund nearly 2 1/2 miles of sidewalks near Beverly Shores Elementary School.
Leesburg City Manager Al Minner said the $493,000 project would be funded entirely through the Safe Routes to School grant. City leaders are expected to go through details of the proposal at a meeting Tuesday night.
As part of the proposal, 12 streets would have sidewalks installed, including Oak Drive, Peters Drive and Perkins Street.
"We can catch a lot of sidewalks easily, and it's an area where it's high traffic and high pedestrian walk area because of the school," Minner said.
For those in the area, like resident Debbie Castillo, it can be a dangerous area for pedestrians.
“I love to walk sidewalks, I don’t love walking in the street because the cars speed,” she said.
The Safe Routes to School program is a federally funded program, administered through the Florida Department of Transportation.
City leaders in Leesburg are expected to find out this summer if their grant application was approved. If it moves forward, construction could begin around the middle of 2021.
That public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Faith Community Church at 1107 Griffin Road. To learn more, click here.