By: Joseph Phelan, Grants Development Consultant, Broadband, Transportation, & Utilities
Among the major initiatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safey Strategy to eliminate roadway deaths continues to be Safe Streets and Roads for All. So far, $1.7 billion has been allocated to communities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. There remains $2.3 billion as the DOT gears up for another round of funding with the application window expected to open in February.
Not every grant opportunity is as straight forward as Safe Streets and Roads for All with the sole purpose to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Applicants can apply for two types of grants: planning and demonstration or implementation grants.
Planning and Demonstration Grants can consist of developing, completing, or supplementing a comprehensive safety action plan, examples include:
- Timeline for eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries
- Create a task force to oversee the plan
- Provide a safety analysis of historical trends that provide a baseline level of crashes
- Private sector and community group collaboration
- Equity considerations
- Access current policies to identify opportunities to improve how processes prioritize transportation safety
- Comprehensive set of projects and strategies that are shaped by data, best available evidence, and noteworthy practices to address the safety problems described in the action plan
- Progress and transparency methods that measure progress over time after an action plan is developed or updated
Within the framework of an action plan, supplemental activities are eligible. These are meant to support or enhance an existing action plan, such as: topical safety sub-plans focused on speed management, vulnerable road users, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, health equity, among other key topics; road safety audits; additional safety analysis and expanded data collection, as examples.
Demonstration grants will fund various activities like feasibility studies; engineering studies that further safety applications of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Device; pilot programs for behavioral or operational activities; and technologies not yet fully adopted in the community like variable speed limits, technology for adaptive signal timing, adaptive lighting, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology.
The vast majority of awarded projects, over 1000, have been Planning and Demonstration Grants, but there have been 85 implementation projects awarded through two years of funding. These implementation grants have been infrastructure, behavioral, and operational safety activities identified in an action plan. The list of eligible projects is exhaustive, but here are three examples of awarded projects in 2023.
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Applicant
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Amount
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Activities
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Town of Hammonton, NJ
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$14.4 million
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Implement crosswalk visibility enhancements, bicycle lanes, dedicated left- and right-turn lanes at intersections, corridor access management, and enhanced lighting to address numerous safety issue
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City of Dallas, TX
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$21.8 million
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Install bike lanes and implementing a road diet from five lanes to four, leading pedestrian intervals, raised crosswalks, and bus shelter improvements, among other safety enhancements
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City of Madison, WI
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$6.2 million
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Improve pedestrian, bicycle, and transit rider safety and accessibility with sidewalks, ADA ramps, median and pedestrian refuge islands, protected bike lanes, and traffic calming
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Not much is expected to change when the new notice of funding opportunity is announced in February. Applicants are required to match at least 20 percent of the total project cost. Grants will range based on the project type with planning and demonstrating grants having a minimum cost of $100,000 to a maximum amount of $10 million. Implementation grants must be between $2.5 million and $25 million. The project period is up to five years upon receiving the award.
Make sure to sign up for news alerts from DOT to ensure you will not miss when this program opens!