The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the Georgia Department of Transportation last week to allow for construction of equipment to encourage pedestrian traffic and safety at the school at Chamblee-Tucker and Livsey roads in Tucker.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School has awarded the school more than $300,000 to fund the Livsey project through its Safe Routes to School program.

District 5 Commissioner Lee May praised the program and encouraged other schools through DeKalb to seek to participate.

“I love this idea of us working with the school system and the Georgia Department of Transportation,” he said at last week’s meeting.

May noted the death of a Princeton Elementary student earlier this year. The student was struck by a car in a crosswalk while crossing the street in front of the Lithonia school.

The project calls for the construction of sidewalks, speed radar signs, a raised crosswalk, curb extensions with bike pass-throughs, and upgrading of the traffic signal at Chamblee-Tucker and Livsey roads.

Safe Routes to School is a national program which is coordinated through the Georgia Department of Transportation. The North Carolina-based group receives funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

The project will be coordinated jointly by the state and DeKalb County governments. No construction timeline was announced.