USDOT Awards New Round of Safe Streets Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced an $82 million round of Safe Streets and Roads for All grants to be distributed among 235 localities, reports Jared Brey in Governing.

“Aimed at reducing injuries and deaths on roadways, the program directly funds cities, counties, metropolitan planning organizations and tribal governments — rather than passing through state departments of transportation first,” Brey explains.

The grants will fund demonstration projects and safety action plans such as Baltimore’s Complete Streets program, which received the largest grant at nearly $10 million. The city is “working with the University of Maryland and Morgan State University to improve crash data, identify its high-injury network and model risk on its streets, says Shayna Rose, a Baltimore city planner and director of the city’s Toward Zero program.” Baltimore also plans to use grant funding to develop new forms of community engagement and outreach as they roll out quick-build demonstration projects.

Since this is the first time many smaller cities can apply directly for federal funding, “USDOT staff have been uncommonly helpful in explaining why applications weren’t successful and how they were evaluated,” according to Somerville mobility director Ben Rawson, whose city won a demonstration grant after its first application failed.