Pasco County Building 12.79 Miles of Sidewalks Near Wesley Chapel Elementary and 18 Other Schools

Pasco County is pouring 12.79 miles of new sidewalks this school year to close gaps along routes that thousands of students walk or bike to class, and county officials say the streets around Wesley Chapel Elementary remain among the most dangerous stretches in the entire program.

The work is part of the county's Safe Routes to School effort, which has picked up urgency since 2022, when Pasco eliminated courtesy busing for students who live within two miles of their school. That change left many families in Wesley Chapel with no choice but to walk, bike, or drive their kids along roads that, in some spots, never had a sidewalk to begin with.

"We started looking at sidewalks within the two-mile radius of schools to connect sidewalks and fill those missing connections," said Pasco County Engineering Manager Beau Thompson.

Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman said the county has pulled together more than $22 million in federal, state, and Penny for Pasco dollars for safe routes projects since 2022, working from a list the school district compiled of its most dangerous walking routes.

"Since 2022, we've captured over $22 million in federal, state, and Penny for Pasco dollars for our safe routes to schools funding," Weightman said. "We've worked with our partners at the Pasco school district and they've provided us a list of their most dangerous routes to school."

What it means for Wesley Chapel

One of the more concrete projects tied to this push runs along Curley Road and Wells Road, where the county has been working toward a continuous sidewalk serving Wesley Chapel High, Wesley Chapel Elementary, and Thomas E. Weightman Middle. That stretch has drawn state funding on top of local dollars as part of the broader effort to link school campuses to the neighborhoods around them.

Weightman said the benefit goes beyond the school bell.

"We're filling those gaps in and it's going to be a great benefit to everyone who travels," he said. "Not just to school, but for folks who live in the area and want to get out and exercise or walk their dog."

Parents have been asking for this for years

Erica Galloway, a Pasco County school parent, said getting students to and from school safely has to be the top priority for the county. She said she expects the new sidewalks will make a real difference once they're finished.

"Kids are the most important thing we have of course, and we want to keep them all safe," Galloway said. "It's nice that the county is realizing some things that need to be improved to make sure our kids get to school and get home safely back to their families."

The county has not released a full street-by-street list of where all 12.79 miles will go or a firm completion date for every segment. Families near Wesley Chapel Elementary can expect the work to continue rolling out through the school year as crews move down the district's priority list of most dangerous routes.

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