New street signs, flashing lights and raised crosswalks will make two central Prince George’s municipalities more pedestrian- and bike-friendly for students, thanks to federal funding.

Cheverly received $98,500 and New Carrollton received $24,900 in Safe Routes to School grant money, part of an overall $1.2 million award Prince George's County received, according to a Sept. 7 Maryland State Highway Administration announcement.

Safe Routes to School, a grant program run through the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, awards money to jurisdictions to install pedestrian safety and traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps in school districts.

The county's award will also go toward constructing sidewalks at Glenridge Elementary in Landover Hills, Hyattsville's Woodridge Elementary, Capitol Heights' Robert R. Gray Elementary School, Oakcrest Elementary and Highland Park Elementary schools in Landover.

The state of Maryland received a total of $3.6 million in federal money to go toward 11 Maryland jurisdictions including Prince George's County.

New Carrollton plans to use Safe Routes grant money to post pedestrian-crossing signs on the double yellow road lines and digital signs that show motorists how fast they drive against the 25 mph speed limit, said Graham Waters, New Carrollton's assistant city administrative officer. The work could be completed as early as December, he said.

Waters applied for the Safe Routes grant because he saw it as an opportunity to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety in a city with five schools: Carrollton Elementary, Robert Frost Elementary, Margaret Brent Regional, Charles Carroll Middle and Lamont Elementary schools.

The grant will also go toward purchasing one to two bike racks each for Carrollton Elementary and Charles Carroll Middle schools. One rack holds about eight bicycles, Waters said.

"I think one of the problems is students don't bike to school because they might lose their bike because there's no safe place to lock it," Waters said.

A total of $15,000 of Cheverly's award went toward contracting Tori Smith, a part-time Howard University professor, to work four hours a week for the next two and a half years as a Safe Routes to School coordinator, said town administrator David Warrington.

Smith's job is to plan pedestrian and bicycle safety programs at Cheverly's schools, such as Walk and Bike To School Day scheduled for Oct. 5, said Cheverly Councilman R.J. Eldridge (Ward 3).

Construction on Cheverly's pedestrian amenities are slated for the spring, Warrington said.

Money will go toward building raised crosswalks at the following intersections: Parkway and Kilmer Street; Belleview Avenue and Euclid Street; Belleview Avenue and Kilmer Street; 63rd Avenue and Jason Street; and 63rd Avenue and Joslyn Place.

The money would also go toward placing bicycle racks at Glady Noon Spellman Elementary School and Judith P. Hoyer Montessori School and flashing crosswalk lights on Cheverly Avenue where it intersects Hawthorne Street, Forest Road, Kilmer Street and Inwood Street.

Warrington said they have to get federal approval for solar-powered flashing crosswalk lights, which blink at motorists when a pedestrian pushes a button to cross a raised crosswalk.

nmcgill@gazette.net