ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- The City of Robertsdale has been approved for a Safe Routes to School program grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation, it was announced this past week.

At its meeting March 5, the Robertsdale City Council authorized City Engineer Greg Smith to apply for the grant, which will be used to construct sidewalks along U.S. Highway 90 from College Avenue to Rock Valley Subdivision.

The $132,671 received from the grant is slightly less than the projected $150,000 for a pair of projects proposed for the city, said Mayor Charles Murphy on Wednesday.

“We’ve had to scale back the projects slightly,” he said.

According to a press release issued by the DOT on Monday, “the SRTS program encourages and enables more children in grades K-8 to safely walk and bicycle to school in their community.”

SRTS helps communities promote the health benefits associated with walking, biking and exercising by providing funding to improve pedestrian conditions around schools.

Alabama schools and communities can submit SRTS funding proposals to the Alabama Department of Transportation that address roadway and safety issues such as congestion within school zones and inadequate pedestrian facilities by designing on-street improvements to make traveling to school safer.

The application deadline for the 2012 school year was March 31, but applications will soon be available for 2013.

Alabama’s SRTS program is supported by the Alabama Departments of Transportation, Education, and Public Health. For more information on Safe Routes to Schools, visit www.adph.org/srts.

ALDOT’s mission is to provide a safe, efficient, environmentally sound transportation network across Alabama. For additional information, visit www.dot.state.al.us.