Sidewalks planned near Merritt Brown school

PANAMA CITY — New sidewalks will be built on Merritt Brown Road to allow students to walk safely from home to a middle school in their neighborhood.

The sidewalks leading to Merritt Brown Middle School, which are being funded through the DOT’s Safe Routes to School program, will be completed in 2019, said Keith Bryant, traffic engineering manager for Bay County.

The Bay County Commission on Tuesday approved a local agency program agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation that is funding $55,829 for the design work for the project.

The sidewalks will extend from Cherokee Heights Road to North Star Avenue, as well as on the east and west sides of Tommy Smith Drive and Merritt Brown Way.

“It is an initiative to help children walk to school,” Bryant said.

He said some students who live along Merritt Brown Road have been walking down the street to get to school, which can pose a safety concern.

“Some of them walk in the street,” he said. “Some parents drive them because there are no walking facilities on the roadway.”

Bryant said there is a sidewalk at the entry to the school.

“But there is no sidewalk on this roadway to help the kids who live up and down this roadway get to school,” he said.