H. B. 4162
(By Delegates Fleischauer, Foster, Warner,
Kominar, Hatfield, Perdue and Susman)
[Introduced January 29, 2004; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section §17-2A-24,
relating to the commissioner of highways generally; providing
for the establishment and administration of a safe routes to
school program; and setting forth certain priorities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §17-2A-24 to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
§17-2A-24. Safe routes to school program.
(a) The commissioner shall establish and administer a safe
routes to school program to distribute money received under the
hazard elimination program 23 U.S.C. §152 as amended, to political
subdivisions for projects to improve safety in and around school areas. Projects eligible to receive money under this program may
include, but are not limited to the following priorities:
(1) Installation of new crosswalks and bike lanes;
(2) Construction of multiuse trails;
(3) Construction and replacement of sidewalks;
(4) Implementation of traffic-calming programs in
neighborhoods around schools; and
(5) Construction of wide outside lanes to be used as bike
routes.
(b) The commissioner, in considering project proposals under
this section, shall consider:
(1) The demonstrated need of the applicant;
(2) The potential of the proposal to reduce child injuries and
fatalities;
(3) The potential of the proposal to encourage walking and
bicycling among students;
(4) Identification of safety hazards;
(5) Identification of current and potential walking and
bicycling routes to school; and
(6) Support for the projects proposed by local school-based
associations, traffic engineers, elected officials, law-enforcement
agencies, and school officials.
(c) The commissioner may allocate money received by the
department from the federal government under the hazard elimination program 23 U.S.C. §152 as amended, to projects under this section.
(d) The commissioner shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish and maintain
a safe routes to schools program within the Department of
Transportation that will prioritize the distribution of federal
funds for the purpose of improving safe access to schools,
including the construction of sidewalks.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.