By Gary Lloyd
CHALKVILLE — The first phase of the sidewalks project at Chalkville Elementary School is done.
Construction began in October 2014 to build sidewalks along Chalkville School Road and along the school’s drive. Principal Rod Johnson said before the sidewalks were there, students were walking between cars in the morning car line.
“It’s a lot safer (now),” Johnson said.
About 200 students walk to school from the surrounding homes and apartments.
The second phase of the project may be tougher. Safe Routes to School grants are no longer available, but Nick Sims, who was instrumental in getting the first phase complete by writing the grant for the school, told Johnson that the Transportation Alternatives Program is now available and could help.
A plaque, cross and tree are located on the Chalkville Elementary School campus in memory of Larry Bevis, near where he was struck by a car in 2006.
photo by Gary Lloyd
The second phase would include a sidewalk extending from the Chalkville Elementary School sign down Chalkville School Road toward Old Springville Road. That project will include “a lot more obstacles,” Johnson said, including grading work and utilities.
The reason behind the sidewalks is safety. On April 5, 2006, Larry Bevis, the school crossing guard, was struck by a car while directing traffic on Chalkville School Road. He later died of his injuries. A resolution from the Alabama State Senate mourning Bevis’ death hangs on a wall near the cafeteria at Chalkville Elementary School.
Over the years, Johnson wrote letters and emails, and made phone calls to a number of people, asking for help in making the school zone safer. Johnson soon heard about the Safe Routes to School program, the purpose of which is to enable and encourage students in grades K-8 to walk and bicycle to school.
Federal funds are used to pay for the program, and the school faced two major obstacles in receiving them: a complicated application process and funds only being available on a reimbursement basis for approved projects. Because Chalkville Elementary School is in an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, the school needed support of the Jefferson County Commission and the Jefferson County Board of Education in order to move forward with an application.
Johnson almost gave up on the project when he received an email from Nick Sims on Dec. 16, 2011. He introduced himself and offered his assistance in helping the school complete the application. At the time, Sims was employed by Communities Putting Prevention to Work, which was funded by United Way.
Johnson said that somewhere along the way, the “ball was dropped” and while others who had applied for funding were seeing their projects come to fruition, nothing happened at Chalkville. Johnson contacted Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight and asked for his help.
The grant totaled $132,525. The Jefferson County Board of Education in December 2013 approved an application for construction submitted by Chalkville Elementary School.
The project resulted in the construction of two sidewalks. One sidewalk runs along the school drive from the entrance to the school up to the Bishop Building. The other sidewalk is across the street from the school, running along Chalkville School Road from the Tammera Place Apartments up to Park Brook Apartments.
Sims, Knight and Knight’s assistant, Zach Brooks, were recognized at a PTA meeting at the school earlier this month.
“I know that if Nick Sims hadn’t emailed me out of the blue and if Commissioner Knight had not gotten involved, we would probably still be without sidewalks,” Johnson said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
