HOWLAND — Township officials look to continue making progress with their comprehensive plan and are starting with building upon the community’s sidewalks.

Trustees earlier this month approved seeking $923,925 in Safe Routes to School funding for the Niles Cortland Road NE sidewalk project, which encompasses High Street to Carriage Hill.

The resolution commits the township to covering construction costs exceeding the awarded funds and maintaining the completed sidewalk in accordance with state and federal requirements, according to trustee Frank Dillon. Township Planning Director Kim Mascarella said the project is part of a three-phase project that starts and runs through the diverging diamond intersection, reaching to the North River Road sidewalk network.

“The other two phases, we’ve applied for other funding sources through Eastgate, so we’re waiting to hear (back). They all work as one large project,” Mascarella said. “We’re just seeking different funds for this section because it’s in close proximity to the high school, the middle school into Glen (Primary School). We feel the residents living near there, or the students going to school, will benefit the most.”

Mascarella said they’re only seeking grant funding for the east side for now, adding that they plan on having improved crosswalk infrastructure along the way, ensuring easier access to the park and schools.

Mascarella confirmed the township had a Safe Routes to School plan in 2013 and another one in 2015 to 2016, which was a “pretty big” project to upgrade signals on East Market Street and turn a three-way street into a three-way stop near the middle school.

“We’re almost a decade and a half away from the planning work that was done with the schools, on Safe Routes for School — surveying the parents,” trustee Matthew Vansuch said.

Mascarella said they surveyed the parents again for the township’s active transportation plan, which was adopted in 2025.

“That plan, we implemented most of the recommendations, and now we have an updated Safe Routes to School Plan,” Mascarella said.

During the meeting’s public comments portion, resident Ed Palumbo questioned why the township was doing the project, noting that the land was landlocked, so it couldn’t be widened.

“How many students go to Glen?” Palumbo asked.

Mascarella said the sidewalks are also for the community, noting the volume of people walking up and down state Route 46. Officials have an obligation to ensure people can travel safely without risk of being hit by a car, she added.

“People don’t have a choice. They’re walking on the road because they’re going shopping, because they don’t have good transportation; they’re walking to their jobs on 46 because they don’t have transportation,” Mascarella said. “So, we do need to make sure that those people have an opportunity to be safe.”

Palumbo said disguising it under the school’s planning was one way of getting a free sidewalk, but Mascarella pointed out that some kids walk to school, too.

“How many of them are on the bus? I don’t see any parent that’s gonna let their kid who goes to elementary school walk down that sidewalk on 46 when they can ride the bus or take them to school themselves,” Palumbo said.

Vansuch said sidewalks being implemented into the township has been in the comprehensive plan for the last 15 years, adding that it’s been updated. He also said he wasn’t going to apologize for applying for the Safe Routes to School grant money to pay for the sidewalks because they were getting someone else to pay for them, which they wanted and needed for the community.

Mascarella reiterated that there will be crosswalks designed by a traffic engineer, which have already been incorporated into the plan.