COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ja’liyah Woods walks to and from school every day and knows first-hand how dangerous it can be.

“It's really unsafe to not have sidewalks. And plus it's like, y’all want kids to come to school, but we need to be safe,” said Woods, who is a senior at Independence High School.

Her walk to Independence High School in Columbus is only seven minutes each wa,y but for her, it’s not the distance that’s the problem — it’s the obstacles.

What You Need To Know

  • 50-60% of Columbus doesn't contain curbs or sidewalks

  • Columbus City Council approved $4.3 million for "Operation Safewalks," adding almost a mile and a half of sidewalk around Independence High School because students deserve a safe sidewalk when walking to school

  • Last year, Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Transportation invested more than $8 million dollars in projects that focus on the safety of children who walk or bike to school

“I have to walk in between people's houses to get to school. So it's like, I'm wearing all black and it's dark out and something could happen to me. So it's like, it's just hard,” said Woods. 

And Woods isn’t alone. Communities across the state are trying to make sure students have access to sidewalks to keep them safe on their walks to and from school.

“it's essential for us to support our kids in walking and biking to school, making sure that kids have safe connections to get to school. Sidewalks or pads, you know, things that are keeping them out of the roadway, providing them with safe space,” said head of the Safe Routes to School program, Caitlin Harley.

Last year, the program allocated $8.5 million to school districts across the state to help with the issue. Columbus City Schools is among the recipients. And now, Columbus City Council is taking action.

“We are certainly making strides in ensuring that we can have more coverage, more sidewalks in the places all around the city. I mean, we have different strategies to do that,” said Columbus City Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla. 

Council has approved a $4.3 million project called "Operation Sidewalks." It’s an initiative that will begin by adding nearly a mile and a half of sidewalks around Independence High School. And it’s one that’s been years in the making after students at the school raised the issue way back in 2018.

“Students from Independence realized they did not have a safe walk to school. You know anything about Independence High School and is in the middle of a neighborhood. And so I especially on days like today when there's snow and ice on the ground, they didn't have a safe passage to school,” said Barroso de Padilla.   

Barroso de Padilla says this project is just the beginning of their work. According to the city, about 50-60% of Columbus doesn’t contain curbs or sidewalks. As for Woods, she’s proud that it was students from her high school who brought up the issue in the first place and now she’s hoping to pay it forward.

“It's like we're speaking out for each other. It's like a movement. It's like. Like a domino effect. It's like they asked and they kept going. And now we got it. So it was like we could all do more if we come together,” said Woods.