Sidewalks around Corinth Elementary in Prairie Village may soon be safer.

At its Monday night committee of the whole meeting, Prairie Village City Council members discussed entering an agreement with Leawood to improve sidewalks north of the school along 83rd Street east of Mission Road.

The Leawood sustainability advisory board first brought the issue to light after members recognized a safety concern with the sidewalk’s proximity to 83rd Street traffic. The board started walking school buses at Corinth Elementary, which both Prairie Village and Leawood students attend.

Council President Charles Clark said the safety issue begins east of the school where the sidewalk narrows to about 4 feet as it crosses a creek.

Council member Ted Odell noted that traffic in that area makes a sharp turn toward the sidewalk, which could be dangerous.

“Something needs to be done,” he said.

As the sidewalk continues east past Corinth Cemetery, the cemetery’s wall forces children to walk immediately next to traffic, Clark said. One solution could be to move the retaining wall back several feet, but that could conflict with cemetery plots, council members said.

City Administrator Quinn Bennion said a more likely solution would be to continue a two-lane profile for 83rd Street along the cemetery. The street now is two lanes east of the cemetery, but widens out to three to include a turning lane.

Clark said the Leawood council plans to apply for a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council to pay for the project. Eighty percent of the grant’s cost would be federally funded. The cities are talking about splitting the other 20 percent for $20,000 each.

Bennion said most of the project’s cost would come from widening a culvert over the creek, which would allow the sidewalk to also be widened.

Because Corinth Elementary lies within Prairie Village city limits, the city would make the improvements to the sidewalk. Clark said Prairie Village would not commit to building the sidewalk if grants are not received.

During the City Council’s regular voting meeting, the council approved a bid from Wildcat Concrete Services for a three-phase project to repair the Mission Road bridge over Brush Creek between 71st Street and Tomahawk Road. The company will overlay the bridge with polymer concrete at a cost of $49,000.

Keith Bredehoeft, project manager, said the project could be done in about three days if completed in one phase, but he thought detouring Mission Road traffic for that length of time could be an issue.

The Prairie Village Police Department informed the council they would like to switch animal impound services from Animal Medical Center to the Great Plains SPCA Clinic.

Police Capt. Wes Lovett said Great Plains is a not-for-profit, no-kill shelter. They offer two facilities, one for impound and another for adoption. AMC currently charges $26,000 to $27,000 for animal services, but the department estimates switching to Great Plains could cut that cost in half because they do not charge the department if animals are picked up within five days.

Bruce McNabb, public works director, told the council that there were no reports of vandalism during the month of November.