Middle school to get footbridge

A.E. Wright Middle School students who enter and leave via Las Virgenes Road will soon have another access. Calabasas will build a footbridge at Lost Hills Road. Construction is expected to begin at the beginning of January, according to Calabasas Traffic and Transportation Manager Robert Yalda.

"What’s happening now is that all traffic must access A.E. Wright from Las Virgenes Road," Yalda said. "The new footbridge will allow a secondary access from Lost Hills Road. And if you look at the Lost Hills neighborhood, there’s a dense population of apartment complexes and other residential areas. All those people will now have a walking option to A.E. Wright and they don’t have to put their children on high-speed roads like Las Virgenes."

Yalda said the new footbridge access might reduce traffic because more children can walk to school safely, without having to cross busy streets.

The project is only awaiting finalization of its environmental impact report, according to Yalda. That should happen soon, he said.

The bridge is being funded by state grants that Yalda helped acquire in 2000 and more in 2001as part of a "safe walk-to-school program."

"We received close to half a million dollars," Yalda said. "This (bridge) project is totally funded by grants."

––Michael Picarella