TUCKER, Ga. -- It will soon be much safer for students at seven metro Atlanta schools to walk to and from school. The schools are getting major safety improvements, thanks to federal grants distributed by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Livsey Elementary School in Tucker will receive $314,000, which will allow for the construction of raised crosswalks, new sidewalks, new curb extensions with bike pass-throughs, flashing radar signs and an upgraded traffic signal at Chamblee-Tucker Road.

Other schools receiving the federal grants are Morningside Elementary in Atlanta; Crabapple Crossing Elementary, Summit Hill Elementary and Northwestern Middle schools in Milton; and Lawrenceville and Margaret Winn Holt Elementary schools in Lawrenceville.

School administrators hope to avoid the kind of tragedies that have made headlines in recent months. On the first day of school this fall, three DeKalb County teenagers were injured when they were struck by a car while walking near Henderson Mill Middle School. And in February, 7-year-old Cameron Dunmore was killed in a crosswalk, hit by a woman driving an SUV in front of Princeton Elementary near Stone Mountain.

“It hit us hard. It could have happened to any one of our kids,” said Stephenson Jones, who lives near Princeton Elementary. He said he'd like to see Princeton get a grant for safety improvements. “Anything has to work. We need something,” he said.

Crystal Paulk-Buchanan is a spokeswoman for GDOT. “There are so many needs across our state, and we wish we had funding to help all 65 of our very wonderful applicants, but unfortunately the resources aren’t there to meet the needs,” she said.

Livsey Elementary parents like Mim Potthoff are excited that soon, they may feel more comfortable letting their kids walk to school. “I think that would be a good option. It’s better for the environment, and also having the peace of mind that your child can walk to school safely, that’s just wonderful,” she said.

Paulk-Buchanan said the safety improvement projects will get under way in a few months. GDOT will take applications next year for another round of the grants.