Safe Routes to School Grants

Posted by on September 26, 2011

Grant Money Available for Safe Routes to School Activities
Deadline to apply for noninfrastructure grants is November 15, 2011

Does your school encourage students to walk or bicycle to school? If so, it could benefit from funding available from the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Resource Center.

Beginning October 5, schools may apply for items and activities that promote, educate, encourage, and/or enforce safe walking and bicycling at their school. The kickoff for this application cycle, which coincides with Pennsylvania Walk or Roll to School Day, allows schools to build on the excitement of the day and apply for funds to maintain the enthusiasm throughout the year and beyond. The deadline for submitting applications is November 15, 2011.

“Noninfrastructure grants allow schools to be creative with how they educate and encourage students to walk or bicycle to school,” says Chris Metka, Pennsylvania’s Safe Routes to School coordinator. “Since these projects are typically smaller and easier to implement than infrastructure projects, a school can quickly apply strategies to increase participation and ensure student safety.”

Grants up to $10,000 will be made available to eligible applicants, and schools may apply for more than one item or activity as part of a comprehensive approach to its funding proposal. As part of the noninfrastructure grant application process, schools must follow these requirements:
•    Schools must partner with the municipality or municipalities in which the school’s walking routes are located. Municipal representation could include an elected or appointed municipal official or the municipal police department. A letter of support from the partnering municipality must be included with the grant application.
•    Schools applying for a grant must conduct two types of evaluations (In-Class Student Tally and Parent Survey) at the beginning of the school year (before the end of October) and submit the data to the National Center for Safe Routes to School. If schools do not submit the appropriate data, they are ineligible for grant funding.
•    Schools that receive grant money must agree to conduct a second round of data collection (post-activity) in the fall 2012 using the same evaluations.
In addition to these requirements, the following recommendations will enhance a school’s chances of receiving funding:
•    Applicants should try to incorporate all five Es of Safe Routes to School—education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation, and engineering—as part of the project or activity for which funding is sought. Although only noninfrastructure items and activities (all of the five Es except engineering) are eligible for funding under the noninfrastructure grants, applicants should be aware of their current infrastructure status and note any planned upgrades or improvements.
•    Schools should encourage other community organizations to become involved in the grant activities and to sign on as a partner on the grant application. The inclusion of supporting letters from participating community organizations, such as a parent group, a local transportation agency, bicycle or pedestrian advocates, or a local health agency, is recommended as part of the application package.
•    Schools that have not yet assessed their walking routes should consider a walkability audit or walkability assessment. Either of these tools (the first involves a third-party engineer, and the second is conducted by local school and municipal officials) will provide valuable details about existing deficiencies on the walking routes and solutions to improve them.
•    Although there is no match requirement for this grant program, applicants enhance their competitiveness if in the application they either provide evidence of in-kind support or identify other sources of relevant funding they may have applied for, received, or secured.

The Safe Routes to School Noninfrastructure Grant Program is administered by the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Resource Center on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and is part of a statewide effort to promote and encourage safer routes to school. Funding comes from the Federal Highway Administration.

Established through federal legislation in 2005, the Safe Routes to School program was created, in part, to help reverse the unprecedented nationwide increase in childhood obesity and inactivity. Safe Routes to School also provides numerous benefits to the local community and environment by helping to reduce fuel consumption, alleviate traffic congestion, and improve air quality.

To obtain more information about noninfrastructure funding and which activities and items are eligible for funding, visit http://www.saferoutestoschool.org/noninfrastructure-grants.

SIDEBAR BOX
Timeline for 2011-12 Safe Routes to School Grant Projects
•    September/October 2011 – Schools perform required baseline surveys, submit the data to the National Center for Safe Routes to School, and identify partners for the grant proposal.
•    October 5, 2011 – Schools may begin applying for grants with the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Resource Center.
•    November 15, 2011 – The resource center must receive all grant applications by 4:30 p.m.
•    January 30, 2012 – Resource center notifies schools of grant awards and provides notice-to-proceed letters.
•    February 1-28, 2012 – Schools awarded funding must sign grant agreement during this time period.
•    February 15, 2012 – Upon receiving the signed agreement, the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Resource Center distributes 25 percent of funding to the grantee.
•    February 1, 2012, through January 31, 2013 – Schools awarded grant money conduct program planning and implementation of Safe Routes to School noninfrastructure activities.
•    Completion of project – Center distributes 65 percent of reimbursement to grantee.
•    Fall 2012 – Schools must conduct and submit data for post-activity evaluations to the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
•    January 31, 2013 – Schools must submit to the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Resource Center their activity and final expense reports.
•    February 15, 2013 – As long as all required conditions have been met by the grantee, the center distributes final reimbursement (10 percent of awarded amount) to the school.