(Trenton) – New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) in partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) today announced the awarding of nearly $4.1 million in 2016 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grants in eight counties. “Safety is a key component of New Jersey’s transportation network, including pedestrian and bicycling accommodations,” NJDOT Commissioner Richard T. Hammer said. “These grants will help our local communities improve sidewalks and crosswalks so children may safely walk or bike to school.”

The SRTS program is a federally funded reimbursement program that was established in 2005 to increase pedestrian safety awareness among motorists and schoolchildren. It is being administered by the NJDOT in partnership with the NJTPA, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO).  DVRPC and SJTPO grants totaling $2.1 million were announced in February.

The 11 grants in the NJTPA region announced today total $4.079 million dollars for the following projects:

NJTPA Grants for northern New Jersey:

County
Municipality
Project Name
Award Amount
Bergen
Ridgewood Village
Village of Ridgewood Safe Routes to School 2016
$400,000
Bergen
Rutherford Borough
Bike and Pedestrian Safety Infrastructure Upgrades
$368,000
Hunterdon
Frenchtown Borough
SRTS Harrison Street and Second Street
$472,000
Middlesex
Highland Park Borough
SRTS Infrastructure and Intersection Improvements
$216,000
Morris
Netcong Borough
Pedestrian and Bike Safety Improvements
$243,000
Morris
Chatham Township
Shunpike Road Sidewalk – Falmouth Road to Pine Street
$374,000
Ocean
Bay Head Borough
Clayton Avenue Sidewalk Construction
$190,000
Somerset
Somerville Borough
Safe Routes to School along
Veteran’s Memorial Drive East
$670,000
Union
City of Plainfield
City of Plainfield Safe Routes Improvement Project
$304,000
Union
New Providence Borough
Various Sidewalk Improvements SRTS 2016
$462,000
Warren
Lopatcong Township
Safe Routes to School Improvements
$380,000

 

The Safe Routes to School grants will provide local governments the ability to make pedestrian safety improvements near K-8 schools. The goal is to make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative,thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and to implement projects that will improve safety, and reduce traffic, fuel consumption and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.

Infrastructure improvement projects to be funded through the program include the construction of sidewalks, bikeway lanes, and multi-use paths and the installation of new crosswalks, school-zones markings and speed-limit signs.

View NJDOT’s Press Release 4-11-17 (PDF)

Congratulations to the grant recipients, and thank you for your commitment to safety and making walking and bicycling to school a priority for your community!!

If your application was not funded during this round or if you missed the deadline, there will be future opportunities to apply for SRTS and TAP funding, so please check our website frequently for information on funding at saferoutesnj.org/funding or sign up to receive our emails and we’ll keep you posted on grants as they become available.