New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn announced more than $27 million in grants for 70 projects across the state to help students walk and bike safely to school and home again. Numbered among them is $410,680 for traffic calming on Plandome Road. Problems on Plandome Road are well documented, appearing each week in the Manhasset Press column "How Can We Fix This Picture" compiled by the Coalition for a Safer Manhasset.

Susan Auriemma of CSM is "thrilled to see Jon Kaiman and the Town of North Hempstead making Plandome Road a priority. The community has been asking and wondering what has happened to the Visioning Process and should be very glad to know that an important step moving forward, securing significant funding, has just taken place. Not only will the funding help to make Plandome Road and the surrounding streets a safer route to school for our children but it will make it safer for all of our residents."

The intent of the Safe Routes to School program is to enable and encourage children to adopt a more healthy and active lifestyle by making bicycling and walking a safer and more appealing transportation alternative. The funds also will help schools and other local agencies plan, develop and implement transportation projects that improve safety while reducing traffic, fuel consumption and air pollution in the vicinity of schools. Manhasset's Superintendent of Schools, Charlie Cardillo, was excited "especially for the next stage when work begins. Plandome Road will be a much safer road for all our community members, including our many students who cross the road on a daily basis."

Under this program, which was created by federal law in 2005, funding is made available to each state based upon its population of kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students. Although federal legislation authorized an apportionment amount of $31.6 million, the amount was reduced to $27,499,133 due to federal budgetary actions.

NYSDOT administers the program and will reimburse up to 100 percent of eligible project costs for successful applicants, up to the award amount. By law, 70 to 90 percent of funding will be used on targeted infrastructure improvements located within a two-mile radius of an elementary or middle school. This can include installation of traffic signals or crosswalks, construction or rehabilitation of sidewalks and traffic-mitigation measures.

In making the announcement, Commissioner Glynn thanked U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton and the entire state congressional delegation for their strong support for the Safe Routes to School program.