DAPHNE, Ala. — The city of Daphne recently completed a large stretch of sidewalk near Daphne Middle School on Highway 13 with funding from a “Safe Routes to School” grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the sidewalk was dedicated on Friday.

Representatives from the Baldwin County Trailblazers, the city of Daphne, Daphne Middle School and the Baldwin County Board of Education attended the dedication.

“We are here today to dedicate the latest sidewalk in the city of Daphne, which connects to a very large trail, the Eastern Shore Trail. One of the issues we had with the Safe Routes to School grant was meeting the requirements, which was of course, connecting the schools to the trails and to the community of the city of Daphne,” David Cohen, Daphne city clerk, said.

The new sidewalks are a part of the city’s long-term goal to create more “smart streets” in the city as well as connect parts of the city via means other than vehicles.

“Walkability and trails are very important to the city of Daphne. Relationships that we have with the Trailblazers and Smart Ride make these types of things possible,” Councilwoman Cathy Barnette said.

“I think the council has certainly shown our dedication of Safe Routes to School specifically, (and) walkability and trails overall. If you go throughout our community, we have a number of trails that we continue to work on. It is important for us to get people off the roads. We are going to continue to appropriate funds where we can. Funds are always limited but with partnerships we are going to continue to make more routes to school,” she said.

The recently completed sidewalk is the first phase of three to connect the three schools in the area — DMS, Daphne East Elementary and Daphne High School — with each other, and other parts of Daphne. The next phase will start at the high school and connect to the sidewalk recently put in place in front of the middle school. The city hopes to receive another no-match Alabama Department of Transportation grant for the next phase of the project. Cohen has already submitted applications for next year’s grants.

“One of the master plans of Daphne is to connect all of Daphne citizens throughout Daphne. One of the major issues that was accomplished by the Eastern Shore Trailblazers, was to put the trail throughout. The emphasis has really helped the City of Daphne prepare itself in laying sidewalks throughout the city,” Cohen said.

Even though the sidewalk was funded through a grant, the city still put in additional funds for extra parts of the project.

“We did not have to provide a match; we did however, put additional dollars in to bridge some of the areas that we could not do with the full funding from the grant,” Barnette said.

Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Alan Lee commended Daphne’s efforts to connect the schools with sidewalks so students can walk to school.

“Somebody asked me how things were going for me here and how I liked being here,” Lee said. “I will tell you that in my previous life and school system we applied two years in a row for this same grant and we never got it. What that says to me is Smart Coast, Trailblazers and Daphne have developed a partnership somebody really appreciates.”

Barnette said the sidewalk was a step in the right direction.

“We talk all the time about how do we get kids fit and active, how do we get you healthy, how do we provide a safe route for you to walk to school…. (The sidewalk) reduces our carbon footprint. It makes you healthier. It all around makes a better community for all of us to live in,” she said.

Charlene Lee, program director for Smart Coast, said the sidewalk was a small step toward changing the culture of youth.

“I think it is all about recreating culture. When I went to school, nobody said, ‘Do you want to walk to school or ride your bike to school?’ That is just what you did. Your mama kissed you goodbye, sent you out the door, there you go and you are on your way to school … What we are about now is recreating a culture to make it safe and fun and for it to become normal again; that the way we get about is on our feet, on our cycles and we are going to make it safe to do so,” Lee said.