News and Events

Round 4 Tentatively Schedueld for September

Preparations are under way for Round 4 of SRTS funding.

It is anticipated that the application period will open on Monday, Sept. 14. 2009.

Communities will have eight weeks to prepare their applications and submit them to both the NHDOT and Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs). Applicants will be invited to submit applications for initial review and comment by the coordinator and/or RPCs prior to the filing deadline.

It is anticipated that grants for reimbursement funding will be announced at the end of March 2010

The Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) is considering some changes for the new grant cycle. An increase in the current cap of $100,000 per infrastructure is under consideration. One possibility is to raise it to $200,000 or $250,000 for communities that have prepared comprehensive travel plans, while keeping it at the current level for communities that have not planned to that level.

Other changes have been drafted for the application form and guidelines.

The public is invited to review the form and guidelines and comment on both the documents and cap level. Comments should be submitted to the coordinator by Friday, Aug. 14, 2009.

Draft Round 4 Application Form
Draft Round 4 Application Guidelines
Draft Round 4 Scoring Criteria

July-August Newsletter

NHDOT Awards Nearly $740,000 to Communities in Round 3 Grant Cycle

Communities in and around the Merrimack Valley have successfully competed for the lion’s share of funding in the latest round of approved Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects.

NHDOT has announced nearly $740,000 in awards for eight communities hosting 14 schools. This brings the total amount awarded over three rounds to more than $2,343,000, nearly half the state’s total for the five-year program.

Commissioner George Campbell approved the grants, recommended by the SRTS Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC), on June 15. Federal SRTS funds reimburse communities for 100 percent of their eligible expenses

Round 3 awards (capped at $100,000 per infrastructure project) will reimburse communities for infrastructure projects including sidewalks and school-zone signs and pavement markings. Funds will also be used for non-infrastructure programs including planning, safety education, minor incentives to encourage walking and cycling, and law enforcement efforts.

Hopkinton received the largest award, $221,225, for three separate projects, near two elementary schools and the middle school. Most of the money will be used for sidewalks, crosswalks and signs.

In Boscawen, funds will be used for part of a sidewalk network that will give local students a safe route along busy U.S. Route 3. Sidewalks built with SRTS money supplement walkways built with federal Transportation Enhancement funds.

Other communities receiving support from SRTS include Bristol, Concord, Hillsborough, Allenstown, Rochester and Warner. Applications for smaller start-up and travel plan grants remain under review. The SAC met on July 8, 2009, and has recommended approval for all startup and travel plan grants, some with changs based on eligibility requirements.

NHDOT administers the community-based program in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration.

List of Round 3 Awards
NHDOT News Release

Gorham Principal Recognized With Community Leadership Award

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Physical Fitness and Sports has recognized one of New Hampshire’s community leaders for her SRTS efforts.

Karen Cloutier, principal of the Edward Fenn School in Gorham, was presented with the 2009 Community Leadership Award during a school awards ceremony on June 17. Only 16 community leaders across the country received the award.

Along with Rob Larivee, a physical education teacher, Cloutier has organized a walking school bus every Wednesday during the school year.

“I am sure I can speak for both myself and Mr. Larivee by saying that we have loved every single frozen, windy, cold, snowy, rainy, and every once in a while – sometimes sunny and dry day,” she told her students at the final assembly of the school year.

Plans are moving ahead for construction of a sidewalk on school grounds to give students a safe route all the way to the school entrance.

Read a Berlin Daily Sun article on the presentation
View the certificate and letter
Read the nomination for the award
Photo page of the Gorham walking school bus

Summer is the Time to Plan for Walking and Bicycling to School

Community leaders are encouraged to use the summer break to make plans for initiating or continuing efforts to enable and encourage kids to walk or ride bicycles to school. The first few weeks of the 2009-2010 school year are the ideal time to conduct in-class and parental surveys as part of the evalution process. Visit the Getting Started page for details.

Spring walks and bicycle rides held during Green Commuting Week and Walk NH Week complemented International Walk-to-School Month in October. Registrations for 2009 events are now being accepted at the walk-to-school Web site. Numerous New Hampshire schools sponsored walks and bicycle rides in 2008. Elementary and middle school kids in Weare formed successful walking school buses on Oct. 30. In Concord, a giant chicken escorted kids around a new roundabout on the route to Kimball School on Oct. 29. The chicken crossed the road again to greet walkers and cyclists arriving at Conant Elementary and Rundlett Middle School on Halloween. more …

Read a Concord Monitor story about Green Commuting Week at the Beaver Meadow School in Concord.

NHDOT Moves to Rolling Application Period for Startup, Planning Grants

NHDOT is working to expedite the planning process that can lead to comprehensive community programs.

The department and Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) will now accept applications for startup and comprehensive travel plan grants whenever a community is ready to move ahead.

Here is the process for reviewing applications and making awards:

Applications will continue to be filed with both the NHDOT and the RPCs for an assessment of eligibility and quality of applications, applying the existing scoring criteria and identifying any questionable or ineligible requests.

1. Individual RPCs will review the applications following their own internal procedures.
2. Applications will then be examined by Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) members, taking into consideration any recommendations and concerns from NHDOT staff and the RPCs.
3. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for a combined total of up to 20 communities for startup and travel plan funding. The process will be reassessed when the number of applications approaches the limit.

Startup grant application form
Startup scoring criteria
Travel plan application form
Travel plan scoring criteria

SRTS in New Hampshire offers three types of reimbursement funding:

1. Startup grants of less than $5,000 for preliminary planning and related activities
2. Comprehensive travel plan funding of up to $15,000 per school
3. General grants for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure programs and projects. Infrastructure grants have been capped at $100,000.

For the Latest SRTS News, Read our Electronic Newsletters

Additional Information

• List of Round 1 Grants
• List of Round 2 Grants
• Planning Process Key to Success of Local Safe Routes Programs
• Outreach Continues: Contact the Coordinator
• Federal Funding

New: See the Links page for a new report entitled "The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America."

Updated Aug, 7, 2009

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