Community member -

Members of the Piper West Elementary SITE Council are currently collaborating with Wyandotte County’s Safe Routes to School Program and the Unified Government to bring about safe pedestrian routes for surrounding community members. Our current area of focus is along Leavenworth Rd., between 128th St. and 115th St. Specifically, the SITE Council and PWES hope that by adding sidewalks to this area, families in nearby neighborhoods would have a safe alternative to driving a vehicle or riding the bus. Simply put, sidewalks in these areas would benefit the Piper community as a whole.

The mission of Wyandotte County’s Safe Routes to School is “to encourage more students to walk and bike to school. We hope to increase the practice of walking and bicycling to school by creating safer routes to schools within the County and using available funding to help improve infrastructure (like sidewalks) around school neighborhoods” (Safe Routes to School Mission Statement). Most recently, PWES SITE Council has partnered with the Unified Government to add pedestrian signage and road markings along Leavenworth Rd. immediately in front of PWES. Yet, despite the overwhelming desire of families to walk or bike to school, the lack of sidewalks severely limits the number of participants who can safely engage in these active modes of transport.

In addition to providing safe modes of non-vehicle transport for students, sidewalks provide safety for local pedestrians and increases mobility opportunities for all community members. A sidewalk placed along Leavenworth Rd, between 128th St. and 115th St. allows connecting neighborhoods the opportunity to seek mobility out their front door, with direct access to not only adjacent neighborhoods, but also PWES, the new intermediate school, and the Patricia “Diane” Kane Community Center.

Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners will soon begin to meet regarding 2021 funding. It is now that we have the opportunity to voice our need for safe pedestrian traffic, not only for the families at the surrounding schools, but for ALL connecting community members. We would like to ask for your assistance by signing the following petition, showing support that local funding should be allocated to Piper for sidewalks along Leavenworth Rd. These sidewalks will benefit all community members in our general area and will assist the PWES SITE Council to continue to grow the Safe Routes to School program by allowing as many community members to participate as possible.

As with all large projects, funding and project completion will take time. But now is our time to speak. With every signature we receive, the Board of Commissioners will see the level of support from community members to safely connect neighborhoods. We need you to help us grow the voice of our community stronger and louder. All signatures must be received by midnight Thursday, March 12.

We thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Piper and Kansas City Proud,

PWES SITE Council

Kate Clark, Bilee Jo Grable, Jina Greer, Sarah Schwery

[email protected]

**Please note: ipetition.com will request your email as part of your electronic signature, this simply prevents duplicate signatures from taking place.