Students at Patchogue-Medford High School wanted a safer way to walk to school. Now there is money to build one. The Town of Brookhaven has been awarded $1.9 million to install sidewalks and pedestrian safety improvements along Buffalo Avenue in Medford, the road the high school sits on, and the Patchogue-Medford School District says the project grew out of a student-led initiative at the school.

Where the money comes from

The grant comes from the Transportation Alternatives Program, a Federal Highway Administration program that New York State's Department of Transportation administers. It pays for projects that make walking, biking and other non-motorized travel safer and easier. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the latest round on October 14: more than $97 million for 35 projects around the state.

The Buffalo Avenue sidewalks are the only Long Island project in that round, which makes the Medford grant the Island's entire share of this year's statewide money for walking and biking.

How the program works

Awards in this program range from $500,000 to $7 million. The state covers up to 80 percent of a project's eligible cost, and the sponsor, here the Town of Brookhaven, provides at least a 20 percent match. Projects are chosen through a competitive application, so a town has to make the case that a stretch of road needs the work.

Why Buffalo Avenue

Patchogue-Medford High School sits on Buffalo Avenue, and students and neighbors walk the road to and from the building every school day. The district says the project is meant to address those dangerous walking conditions and make the trip safer for students and for everyone else in the community who uses the road on foot.

That the effort started with students is the part the district has highlighted. A safety concern raised by teenagers who walk the road every day became a funded public works project, carried forward by the town and the state.

What happens next

The state's announcement did not include a construction schedule. The Town of Brookhaven, as the project's sponsor, will manage design and construction. Residents who want updates can follow the Town of Brookhaven and the Patchogue-Medford School District, which posted the news on its home page.

Sources