Living Streets Alliance is one of the 50 winners of the KaBoom! Play Everywhere Challenge. The non-profit organization was rewarded $20,000 to enhance Pueblo Gardens Pre K-8 School's streets.
"I'm thrilled to see this neighborhood finally getting some improvements," said Vanessa Cascio, a Safe Routes to School coordinator.
Cascio says 75 percent of the students live within a one-mile radius of the school and walk every day.
"For us it is important to provide a dignified space to do that and this was a really great opportunity to bring in much-needed improvements like infrastructure that were low-cost and easy to implement," she said.
In the next two months, murals, street trees, enhanced crosswalks, and creative play stations will be added to Menor Stravenue. The goal is to improve safety and increase physical activity.
Trees for Tucson donated 30 trees to the project to provide shade for the students.
"We showed the students the renderings and they were so excited," Cascio explained. "They were like that is going to be our street so there is already a lot of excitement."
More than 100 elementary students will submit crosswalk designs and two will be chosen.
The organization hopes to have the murals completed in two months.
