OAK HARBOR — The Oak Harbor Community is invited to provide feedback on the Village of Oak Harbor’s School Travel Plan. A Public Input Meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 6 to 7 p.m., at the Village Hall, located at 146 N. Church St.

Local planning consultants Reveille and Mannik & Smith Group have been assisting the village in the plan’s development, meeting with school officials, and identifying areas along critical routes to school in need of safety upgrades. The recommended infrastructure and non-infrastructure countermeasures will be reviewed during the Public Input Meeting with opportunities for comment and feedback.

The Village’s Safe Routes to School Travel Plan is being developed with guidance from a 10-member committee comprised of village and school officials, representing all Oak Harbor public and parochial schools. The goal of Ohio’s Safe Routes to School Program is to assist communities in developing and implementing projects and programs that encourage and enable children in grades K-12, including those with disabilities, to walk or bike to school safely. The plan is centered around developing programs and solutions that follow Ohio Department of Transportation’s 5 “E’s” of Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation.

“The whole community benefits from projects that encourage and enable children to walk or bike to school safely,” said Mayor Quinton Babcock. “After the public helps us finalize the plan and we get ODOT’s sign-off, we can apply for funding to bring these projects to life and make it easier for the whole family to enjoy our community.”

Those who are unable to attend the public input meeting may email comments or ideas to Becky Barton at bbarton@oakharbor.oh.us by Feb. 5.