MassDOT Selects 14 Municipalities for Safe Routes to School Program Awards
MassDOT is pleased to announce that a total of 14 municipalities have received infrastructure project awards through the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program. The selected projects are distributed across the Commonwealth, with at least one project located in each MassDOT Highway District. Projects were selected in the following municipalities:
• Agawam: Robinson Park School and Roberta Doering School
• Arlington: Stratton Elementary School
• Boston: Ellis Elementary School
• Dracut: George Englesby Elementary School
• Fairhaven: LeRoy L. Wood Elementary School
• Gardner: Elm Street Elementary School
• Grafton: Millbury Street Elementary School
• Harwich: Harwich Elementary School
• Leominster: Frances Drake Elementary School
• Longmeadow: Blueberry Hill Elementary School
• Medway: Burke-Memorial Elementary School and Medway Middle School
• Nantucket: Nantucket Elementary and Intermediate Schools
• North Adams: Brayton Elementary School
• Northampton: Bridge Street Elementary School
All of the projects will include creating some form of pedestrian/bicycle improvements such as sidewalk reconstruction, sidewalk infill, intersection and crossing improvements, ADA accessibility improvements, signage and striping, traffic calming, shared use paths, or bicycle accommodations.
“These 14 awards will ensure that communities from Nantucket to North Adams will have projects to provide safe and healthy transportation options for schoolchildren of the Commonwealth,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “We were very pleased to see such a diverse and competitive group of submissions that all shared great vision on how to improve access to active and safe transportation for schools and communities.”
MassDOT announced a new round of infrastructure project funding for the SRTS Program on November 28, 2018. Public and charter schools involved with the Program’s non-infrastructure initiatives relating to education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation were eligible to apply. All projects were required to be within two miles of a school serving any grades from kindergarten to eighth grade, with a focus on increasing student safety and/or the number of students walking and biking to school. Proposed projects included both the construction of new facilities and the improvement of existing infrastructure.
Funding for the program included $15 million of Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds set aside for SRTS projects in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) spread across federal fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. The selected projects will soon begin the project initiation and design process before being scheduled for construction in the STIP.
The Massachusetts SRTS Program is a federally-funded initiative of MassDOT. SRTS works with schools, communities, students, and families to increase active transportation among elementary and middle school students in the Commonwealth. SRTS promotes a collaborative, community-focused approach that fosters mutual partnerships between advocacy groups, law enforcement, education leaders and public health departments to promote safer routes for elementary and middle school students. The program currently serves over 875 schools in more than 220 communities across the Commonwealth.
For more information on Massachusetts Safe Routes to School: visit SRTS at our website: https://www.mass.gov/safe-routes-to-school
Written By: Klark Jessen