Shared Streets & Spaces Grant Round Open Until March 1st
Written by Jes Slavin
January 11, 2022
The Massachusett Department of Transportation’s latest Shared Streets and Spaces grant round opened on January 10th and will close on March 1st. This latest funding opportunity focuses on increasing roadway safety and speed management, bike share, and connections to new housing and includes a new award type for relevant equipment purchases under $50,000. The project implementation deadline for awardees is June 30th.
Eligible Shared Streets and Spaces grant projects include:
- New protected bike lanes
- New off-road trails
- New bicycle parking
- Traffic-calming measures
- Capital costs for new bike share
In a webinar hosted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and MassDOT, snow removal equipment for sidewalks and bicycle lanes was discussed equipment that could be funded with the new “equipment purchases” award type.
Shared Streets and Spaces grants have a focus on data collection and pre & post-project data will be required to help determine project impacts. The Barr Foundation recently published a study about Quick & Creative Streets projects which included projects funded by Shared Streets and Spaces grants that you can view at www.streetimpactma.org. The Barr Foundation will provide free technical assistance to any municipality interested in applying for the Shared Streets and Spaces funding, as they have done in previous grant rounds.
MassDOT is encouraging strong, creative projects and wants to see “every kind of project, community, and idea”. For municipalities interested in traffic calming projects, there is a new Safe Speed Resource, found that can be found at www.mass.gov/safe-speeds that includes a technical toolkit on new roadway treatments. MassDOT also anticipates another Shared Streets and Spaces grant round to open spring/early summer if your community doesn’t have a project ready for this round.
Learn more on the Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program web page. You can get more information from the MAPC & MassDOT webinar by checking out our Twitter thread or viewing the webinar recording and slide deck.