Falls Church City Hall’s Wendy Sanford outlined to the F.C. City Council at its work session tonight her request for formal Council approval next Monday of a federal grant application for $500,000 to improve the City’s walkways infrastructure as part of a federal “Safe Routes to School” plan.

A formal ceremony involving the signing of the grant application by members of the City staff, City Council and School Board will take place at next Monday’s Council meeting upon a hoped-for favorable vote by the Council. The Virginia Department of Transporation (VDOT) administers the program in the state, and the City’s request will be for providing new sidewalks for “primary routes” to and from the City’s schools, as well as improving the pick up and drop off spaces at the Henderson Middle School. Because of the poor provisions for that now at the school, it has a “no walk” pollicy, Sanford noted, that this project “hopes to reverse by making it safe.”

Sanford said that surveys sent out to both students and parents on “Safe Routes to School” suggestions, over 500 responses came back.