CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KOAA) — Cañon City has been awarded a $1 million Safe Routes to School grant to improve student safety along 13th Street, a busy corridor near Cañon City Middle School (CCMS), Cañon City High School (CCHS) and Washington Elementary.
The grant comes after Colorado expanded the program to include high schools and increased the maximum award from $750,000 to $1 million.
“We were elated. It was a really solid win for Cañon City and then Cañon City School District,” said Ryan Brown, safety and security coordinator for Cañon City Schools Re-1.
The project is set to begin in 2026.
“Our hope is that we'll do most of the design and kind of permitting work in 2026 and then be ready for construction in 2027,” said Leo Evans, public works director, Cañon City.
Parents have raised concerns about student safety, citing high traffic volume (49.7%), speeding (43.6%), and unsafe intersections (47.1%).
The three schools are located near high-traffic streets and intersections, including Main Street, Highway 50, College Avenue, Yale Street, and North 9th Street, making pedestrian travel risky.
“This is about a three foot wide sidewalk right now, so, you know, a five foot wide sidewalk would come out to about here. But you'll have to picture this curve line will be moved in by about five or six feet on each side, so creating a green space here in the middle,” said Evans.
Plans call for narrowing 13th Street to approximately 30 feet and constructing continuous five-foot sidewalks separated from the street wherever possible.
Additional improvements include the following:
- upgraded school zone signage
- enhanced crosswalk markings
- RRFB flashers for high-use mid-block crossings
Students say the area can be dangerous.
“Yeah, just having to wait such a long time for one person to be nice and stop,” said CCHS ninth grader Conner Harbuck.
“It’s horrible, you know, you could be walking down here and I've actually tripped and cut myself pretty bad coming to soccer practice going down this,” said CCHS ninth grader Isac Zein.
City officials say these changes will improve safety for hundreds of students and provide training to help them navigate streets as pedestrians and cyclists.
Other Colorado schools also received Safe Routes to School funding this year, including:
- Denver: $838,045 for Stanley British Primary School
- La Veta School District: $875,625 for ADA-compliant sidewalks
- Paonia: $872,825 for safe walking and biking routes
- Fort Collins: $835,000 for roadway improvements near Irish Elementary
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