Call for Projects: State Safe Routes to School Funding Announced

California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently announced a call for Safe Routes to School projects, applications due March 30th, 2012.
This two-year call for projects is expected to provide over $45 million in funds for SR2S work.  Awards are for Infrastructure projects but can include up to 10% of construction costs for Non-Infrastructure work.

There are two Safe Routes to School funding sources: the California SR2S program and the federal SRTS program. Both programs are administered by Caltrans through the Caltrans Safe Routes to School Program and are intended to increase the number of children walking and bicycling to school by making conditions safer and more appealing to do so.  An overview of the basic differences between the two is detailed by a chart developed by TARC below:

PROGRAM FEATURES	STATE SR2S	FEDERAL SRTS
Eligible Projects	Infrastructure with up to 10% of construction costs for non-infrastructure	Infrastructure and non-infrastructure
Local Match	10% required	None
Targeted Beneficiaries	K -12	Grades K -8
Max. Project Funding Award (based on previous funding cycles)	$500,000 to $1,000,000	Up to $500,000 for non-infrastructure projects, and up to $1,000,000 for infrastructure projects
Estimated funding available this Cycle	$20 – $50 million for 2-year Call for Projects	N/A
Eligible Applicants	Cities, Counties	Cities, Counties, MPO, RTPA, and more

For more information visit:

• Caltrans Safe Routes to School webpage,
• California State Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center (TARC), and note that
• California Walks will be holding a conference call on how to apply for these funds on January 6th, 2012  11 am-12 noon, 1-866-941-8436, 189887# passcode. We encourage you to join the call and find out more!