White Cloud has been making some positive changes throughout the town and recently received a pair of grants to improve the downtown area. Thanks to a generous Safe Routes to School grant the city has been able to secure funding to install new sidewalks on Lester Street, Clark Street and Pine Hill Avenue. The total cost of this project is estimated at $450,000 and the City has committed $84,500 to the project with the remainder of funding being covered by the grant. The project improves the safety and accessibility of the community while enhancing the overall safety for the many students who walk to school. “We believe that the new sidewalks will be a valuable addition to our community,” said April Storms, City Manager. “These sidewalks will make it safer and easier for kids to walk or bike to school and residents to use non-motorized transportation.” WCPS Superintendent Ed Canning added “The collaboration and support between the City of White Cloud and White Cloud Public Schools over the past decade to submit and receive the Safe Routes to School grant will have a tremendous impact on the community for years to come. These much-needed sidewalks and crossings provide students, families, and community members safer access to the school, surrounding resources, and city businesses.” Also recently, the Consumers Energy Foundation announced a $5,000 grant to the City of White Cloud for one of the Sustainable Built Environment Initiative goals, the addition of Custom Composite Planter Benches downtown. White Cloud City Manager April Storms credited Andrew Stafford for heading up the project when he served as a Community Economic Development Association of Michigan Fellow for the city. The decision to pursue funding for planters with built-in benches was made after Michigan State University’s Sustainable Built Environment Initiative visited White Cloud and created design recommendations for redoing White Cloud’s downtown streetscape. While a comprehensive final report was given to the city, the planters with built-in benches were identified as an actionable step that could be pursued. “We are excited to see the community’s vision for downtown start to come to fruition, one step at a time.” said April Storms.
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November 2024
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