Apply now! Funding opportunities for your SRTS work

Safe Routes to School Grants – Now open

We encourage school districts, cities, counties, local public health and nonprofit partners to apply for Safe Routes to School grants and ease the burden on schools that may not be able to complete an application. Funded communities will be announced in March, with work starting in spring 2023.

Busing shortages have schools reimagining transportation plans. For parents, driving isn’t their only choice. Walking and biking are low-cost options for students to get to and from school, reducing the amount of money needed to purchase and maintain personal and school vehicles. Safe Routes to School programs may help encourage more parents and children to consider walking or bicycling to school in lieu of a bus or a car.

Safe Routes Boost Grants for non-infrastructure strategies

Boost Non-Infrastructure (program implementation)

Safe Routes to School Boost Grants are intended to help boost programmatic SRTS efforts! Through these grant awards, MnDOT supports communities with existing SRTS plans or other comprehensive SRTS approaches. These programming strategies for schools support making it safe, easy and fun for students to walk and bicycle to school. Project ideas include walking school buses, bike fleets and curriculum, bike racks, crossing guard supplies or other innovative ideas. Boost Implementation grants are funded with State SRTS dollars and no local match is required.

Grant application closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. SRTS Boost grant awardees are intended to begin work in February 2023 and expend funds by June of 2023.

SRTS Planning Assistance funding now available

SRTS plans have been used to engage community stakeholders to successfully identify barriers and opportunities for youth to walk and bicycle to school. They also leverage significant investments in infrastructure and non-infrastructure solutions. Now is your chance to bring these improvements to your community! MnDOT’s Planning Assistance Grants provide planning expertise and plan development support to schools. Planning is done by the local regional development organization, metropolitan planning organization or the statewide SRTS planning consultant team. MnDOT works directly with the planning organizations and consultant. In alignment with our five-year strategic plan, we are directing funds to priority populations that include people, groups and communities who are:

• More likely to rely on walking, biking or transit for transportation;
• More vulnerable to unsafe traffic conditions
• Have suffered historic disinvestment in safe, comfortable walking and biking infrastructure.

Grant application closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. Planning efforts will commence in August 2023 through June 2024.

TA infrastructure solicitation now open for Greater Minnesota

Minnesota communities, schools and their partners are invited to apply for funding on local projects that enhance transportation safety goals around schools.

Greater MN Transportation Alternatives Program funding – 20% local match required

The Greater MN Transportation Alternatives Solicitation is a competitive grant opportunity for local communities and regional agencies to fund projects for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, historic preservation, Safe Routes to School and more. Greater Minnesota applicants must submit a letter of intent describing the key components of their project. A regional representative will contact applicants to help review the project proposal and the steps necessary for delivering a federally funded project prior to local communities and regional agencies submitting a full grant application.

Walk to School Day Highlights

More than 160 schools across Minnesota laced up their shoes and got stepping for Walk to School Day on Oct, 12. Be sure and stop by the Minnesota Safe Routes to School Facebook page to catch photos of events and submit your own event photos for our Walk to School Day Photo Contest.

In the news:

Bike Bus in Portland Gives Us Faith in the Future of Cycling

• Getting Kids Walking, Biking to School Can Lead to Long-Term Fitness
• Bicycling and bike routes surging ahead in Minnesota
• History of International Walk to School Day

Join the Safe Routes National List Serve

There is a Safe Routes National Partnership list serve to ask questions and learn about work from across the country. You can either view the history of discussion in the google group or as emails come in.

If you have a Google account, you can join through this link. If not, you can email Brittany at brittany@saferoutespartnership.org and she can add you.

Upcoming events:

Nov. 3, 10-11 a.m. – MN SRTS Network Call

• Share and learn with whose working on SRTS from across Minnesota.
• To join the Minnesota Safe Routes to School Network and received log in information, please email dot@state.mn.us
• View past recordings and slides

Feb. 1, 2023 – Winter Walk to School Day

May 3, 2023 - Bike to School Day  

Resources

Order free MN Bike Maps and MN Bicycle Handbooks for your organization’s events!

Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum, bike fleet trailer request, and future training opportunities.

More about MnSRTS

Visit: http://www.mnsaferoutestoschool.org

Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaSafeRoutestoSchool/

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