Funding Opportunity
Is your community and/or school district working to get more students walking and bicycling to and from school?
The Colorado Department of Transportation announces a call for projects for Fiscal Year 2017-18 Safe Routes to School (CSRTS) Infrastructure and Non-Infrastructure Projects. The guidelines and applications are posted on the CDOT website.
The goal of CSRTS is to help schools, school districts and local communities enable and encourage more children Kindergarten through 8th grade to safely bicycle and walk to and from school.
Safe Routes to School programs are sustained efforts by parents; school staff and administrators; representatives from law enforcement, public health and advocacy; community leaders and local, state, and federal governments to improve the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school.
SRTS programs examine conditions around schools and conduct projects and activities that work to improve safety and accessibility, and reduce traffic and air pollution in the vicinity of schools. As a result, these programs help make bicycling and walking to school safer and more appealing transportation choices thus encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age.
Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:
- Infrastructure - Planning, design, and construction of safe school routes and facilities for children to walk and bicycle to and from school
- Non-Infrastructure - Educating children, parents, and communities about safe walking and bicycling practices and the health and academic benefits that result from walking and bicycling to and from school
To provide guidance on completing the application and understanding the requirements of a CDOT grant, the Colorado SRTS program manager will be hosting applicant training sessions at various locations throughout the state in August and September. Currently sessions are scheduled for Friday, August 25 from 1-3 pm and Wednesday, September 6 from 1-3 pm. Attendance is via webinar with some in-person space available. For more information or to register, email [email protected]
Funds are awarded through a statewide competitive process and chosen by an appointed advisory committee. Up to $2M is available for infrastructure projects and $0.5M for non-infrastructure (education and encouragement) projects. Funding details are included in the application guidelines. Minimum funding level for Infrastructure projects is $50,000 and $350,000 will be the highest amount awarded to a single project. An education component is required with infrastructure projects.
Non-infrastructure projects have a $5,000 minimum but no maximum limit.
These reimbursement grants will be awarded statewide. Project selection will give consideration to schools with greater than 50% of students eligible for free- or reduced-lunch.
Applications are due to CDOT-SRTS by 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 1, 2017. Both Word and PDF versions of the application are available on the website. NEW THIS YEAR – applications can be submitted electronically.
For more information, contact Leslie Feuerborn, Colorado SRTS Program Manager at 303.757.9088 or leslie.feue
