Left to Right, Edward Kemp, Starkville City Engineer, Lois Connington, Co-Author of the Safe Routes to Schools grant, Ron Cossman, President of SIM and co-author of the SRTS grant, Jimmy Richardson, SIM Board Member, Cookie Leffler, SRTS Coordinator for MDOT

Ribbon Cutting Held for Safe Routes to School Sidewalk

Due to a grant from the National Center for Safe Routes to School, a sidewalk has been installed along Whitfield Street and the intersection of Long St. and Hwy 182. This connects the neighborhood of Green Oaks to downtown by connecting to existing sidewalks, making pedestrians safer. The sidewalks also make walking to school safer and easier for school children.  Read more about this project.

Comments from Ron Cossman, president of Starkville in Motion, “This project, and this sidewalk, is a monument to a public-private partnership among Starkville in Motion, the City of Starkville and the Starkville School District. Starkville in Motion saw the need and the opportunity and possessed the grant writing talent. With the cooperation of the school district and the city engineer, Lois Connington and I drafted a Safe Routes to Schools grant proposal in 2007. The city was awarded $281,476 dollars to fund infrastructure improvements, such as this sidewalk, as well as funding education and encouragement activities in the schools that are just getting started. Building a better, safer community is what comes from cooperation.”

View photos from the event.

The John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act – Three Feet to Pass

Effective, July 1, 2010, the John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act is designed to improve bicyclist safety on Mississippi roads and highways. It is named for a cyclist who lost his life in an auto collision.  This law provides all the rights and duties of a vehicle when a bicycle is operated on a roadway or highway.  It also requires that vehicles passing a bicyclist must leave a safe distance of not less than three feet between the vehicle and the cyclist.  Read through the rights and duties assigned Mississippi cyclists.

• Read the full text of the law: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2010/pdf/SB/3000-3099/SB3014SG.pdf
• Read an article by the NEMS360.com “Bicycle Safety Topic Back in Focus in Northeast Mississippi“
• Read the Starkville Daily News Article “New Law Set to Increase Bicycle Safety in Mississippi“

Starkville Bike Helmet Ordinance

The City of Starkville has a helmet ordinance that requires all citizens to wear helmets when riding bicycles.  Read the Starkville Bicycle Helmet Ordinance.  Read the Starkville Daily News Article “Split Decision.”