Columbia commission gives green light to new crosswalk

A Columbia commission gave the green light to a new crosswalk that could it make safer for nearby middle schoolers to walk to school.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission met Wednesday night to decide if members would support a crosswalk on West Broadway between Clinkscales Road and Stadium Boulevard.

The project was started over a year ago, when Debbie Rodman was concerned for her child’s safety. She wanted sidewalks put in.

After finding out the sidewalks would be a long and expensive process, she decided a crosswalk would be better.

The group discovered there has to be sidewalks to build a crosswalk. After discussion and changes to their plan to include both, the commission unanimously approved sending the idea to city council.

Rodman said she has been met with nothing but support for this project.

“I think this is a project that’s going to have a clear impact on people’s lives, not only the kids going to west middle school, but also families who live in the area and people who ride the bus because the buses go that way,” she said. “So it seems like the more I talk to people about this project, the more people it will benefit.”

Rodman said council members Ian Thomas, Ginny Chadwick, and Barbara Hoppe all supported the idea.

The commission expects the project to go before city council in December.