Federal budget measure includes $850,000 for sidewalks near two Poinciana schools
When President Joe Biden signed a package of spending bills on March 9, it meant that Polk County will receive $850,000 to build sidewalks in the Poinciana area.
Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, worked to include the appropriation in a “minibus” of six budget bills totaling $460 billion. The combined measure funds military construction, water development and the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Interior, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
All four of Polk County’s House members — Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland; Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Tampa; Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Clermont; and Soto — voted for the measure.
The $850,000 appropriation will be used to construct 7.66 miles of sidewalks in Poinciana, an unincorporated area of eastern Polk County, said Belén Sassone, a spokesperson for Soto’s office. The sidewalks will primarily be located near school bus stops and along school bus routes, Sassone said.
The request originated with Polk County Public Schools, Soto said. After discussions, his office determined that Polk County would be better to oversee the project, as it is responsible for building sidewalks. U.S. House members are allowed to submit 15 funding requests for local projects in each budget year.
The sidewalks will be installed near Laurel Elementary School and Palmetto Elementary School, Soto said.
A 2019 report ranked Polk County as the fifth-deadliest metropolitan area in the country for pedestrians. Several student pedestrians in the Poinciana have died after being stuck by vehicles in recent years, Sassone said.
“Poinciana is a wonderful suburban area,” Soto said. “They have a lot of walkable communities, provided they have safe sidewalks. We want students and families to have options, whether they want to walk to school, ride their bikes to school or get driven to school. There should be safe options for our kids every day to get to school and be able to learn and live healthy and safe lives.”
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The Association of Poinciana Villages has submitted sidewalk requests to Polk County totaling $4.9 million, Polk County Communications Director Mianne Nelson said. The county’s Roads and Drainage Division has spent more than $900,000 over the past seven years to construct nearly 5 miles of concrete sidewalks in the area, Nelson said.
Polk County is requesting $4 million in the current federal budget to build the remaining sidewalks on the Poinciana area list, Nelson said. All of the projects are approved by the county’s Sidewalk Advisory Committee.
Soto said he expects to request more funding for sidewalks in Poinciana in next year’s budget.
Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Federal budget measure includes $850,000 for Poinciana sidewalks