Increased commerce and development along South Gordon Cooper Drive has resulted in the Tribe improving the busy thoroughfare for automobiles in recent years. Now pedestrians who regularly walk the route will also have a safe place to tread, as Citizen Potawatomi Nation Road’s Department prepares to build a sidewalk along one of
Shawnee, Oklahoma’s most travelled streets through the use of federal grant funds.
Progress on that mission is coming closer to fruition following CPN’s recent award of Tribal Transportation Program Safety Funds for $144,500 to create the pathway along the road. The sidewalk will run from the
North Canadian River, which is the south city limits of Shawnee, to the intersection of Hardesty Road on
the west side of Gordon Cooper Drive.
“We have wanted to do this for a while now,” said CPN Tribal Transportation Director Arthur Muller. “Sidewalks are covered under transportation funding, but they are a little bit harder to get funds for. On a map, the location may seem like it’s in the middle of nowhere but if you are around here then you know how busy that road is with pedestrians.”
Once a pitch dark corridor around the CPN headquarters, the Tribe continues to offer a community first approach to dealing with a lack of infrastructure investment by city and state agencies.
“I would guess that at least 20 or more people walk this area every day,” said Muller. “This sidewalk will undoubtedly provide many a safe commute.”
Because funds were not available until this year, construction is set to begin in the early fall and will continue through the end of the year.
If you would like to learn more about the CPN’s Tribal Transportation Department, please call 405-878-4672.