Galloway Township will receive $175,000 to put toward the Wrangleboro Road Sidewalk Project as part of $3 million worth of grants distributed throughout the state to promote safety along designated Safe Corridor highway segments and to advance local projects that promote safety for bicyclists, Gov. Chris Christie announced on Wendesday, Aug. 8.

Grant money for this project is made possible by the Bikeway grant program. Galloway is one of six municipalities that will share $1 million in those grants.

In all, 53 municipalities that will share in $2 million worth of Safeway Corridor grants.

All grants are distributed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation Division of Local Aid and Economic Development.

The goal of the project is to set up a system of sidewalks that make it safe for school children walking to school along Wrangleboro Road, Deputy Mayor Tony Coppola said on Wednesday.

The project was initiated following cuts to courtesy bussing after the defeat of the 2010-11 Galloway Township School District budget. As a result of the cuts, anyone who lived within a mile and a half of the school they were attending had to walk.

Galloway Township Middle School, Reeds Road and Roland Rogers are all located off Wrangleboro Road. Absegami High School is also located off Wrangleboro Road, but that’s part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation also gave $251,000 in aid to the township for this project in February of 2011.

“It means more kids are walking and it’s more dangerous,” Coppola said. “It’s a difficult area.”

Coppola was unsure how much money had been put into the project to date, but knows a lot of it has been paid for by the township’s sidewalk fund.

“When people build houses and develop properties, they contribute to the sidewalk fund for things like this,” Coppola said. “ … We leave no stone unturned. When we hear about a grant, we pursue it. We crossed our fingers and we got it.”

The complete list of those receiving Bikeway grants and how much they will receive is available here. The complete list of Safe Corridor grant recipients and how much they receive is available here.