Safe Routes to School Grant program October 17, 2006

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Safe Routes to School Grant programOctober 17,
2006 Minnesota Department of Transportation
Office of Transit, Bike/Ped Section State Aid
Division
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• nationally, fewer than 15 students regularly
  walk or bike to school

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• in just 1 generation, the percentage of children
  who walk or bike to school has dropped 75 while
  the number of overweight children has tripled

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• fewer then 1 in 4 american children get 30
  minutes or more of physical activity per day

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• 16 of school-aged children and adolescents are
  overweight

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• between 70 - 80 of overweight children and
  adolescents continue to be overweight or obese
  adults

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• childhood obesity and Type II Diabetes have risen
  dramatically in the past few years

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• in 1969, 35 of students lived within 1 mile of
  school and 87 of those walked to school

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• today, only 20 of students live within a mile of
  school and only about 1/3 of them walk
• center for disease control

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• parents driving their children to school make up
  20-25 of the morning commute

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• in 2003, school transportation costs exceeded 14
  billion, the 2nd biggest portion of school
  budgets, right behind teachers salaries

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• several studies suggest that providing more time
  for physical activity can lead to increased test
  scores, particularly in math

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• the best part of my walk
• is always the first step!
• angela kingerlee, student, victoria bc

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PROGRAM INTRODUCTION
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Safe Routes to School Program Goals

• To enable and encourage children, including those
  with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school

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Safe Routes to School Program Goals

• To make bicycling and walking to school a safer
  and more appealing transportation alternative,
  thereby encouraging a healthy and active
  lifestyle from an early age and

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Safe Routes to School Program Goals

• To facilitate the planning, development, and
  implementation of projects and activities that
  will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel
  consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of
  schools.

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The 5 Es

• Engineering
• Education
• Enforcement
• Encouragement
• Evaluation

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SRTS Funding

• Minnesota is expected to receive 8 million
  over the life of SAFETEA-LU (2009)
• 2005 850,00.00
• 2006 1,224,901.00
• 2007 1,612,641.00
• 2008 1,995,156.00
• 2009 2,495,529.00

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Funding Categories

• Funding categories
• 70 infrastructure,
• 10 non-infrastructure,
• 20 for either category

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Grant Awards

• Infrastructure Grants
• Individual Grant ranges
• 10,000 - 175,000
• Non-Infrastructure Grants
• Individual Grant ranges
• 5,000 - 10,000 per school
• New range to be determined for school districts
• Projects are reimbursed at 100

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Who is the program for?

• Public and Private schools with any combination
  of K-8 enrollment

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Who Can Apply?

• Schools, both public and private
• School Districts
• Cities
• Counties
• State Agencies
• Regional Development Commissions
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Public and non-profit entities working on behalf
  of a school(s) or school district

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City and County Role

• May apply for SRTS funds
• May partner with others to
• Develop cost estimates for application
• Make design recommendations
• Sign off on construction projects
• Liaison with District State Aid Engineers

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City and County Role

• Sponsors for infrastructure projects
• Financial Support
• Similar to the Enhancement program
• Act as the financial agent, fronting funds until
  reimbursed

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Federal Aid Process and Reimbursements

• Projects awarded Safe Routes to School funds must
  follow the Federal Aid process and work with
  Mn/DOTs State Aid Division to receive
  reimbursements
• All costs submitted for reimbursement are subject
  to eligibility requirements

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PROJECT EXAMPLES
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new school crossing sign
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route completion
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lets get traffic to calm down a little!
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providing a route
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making routes inviting
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a well marked crosswalk
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make crosswalks safer!
Make Routes Safer
Crosswalks What the pedestrian sees
Crosswalks what the vehicle sees
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some crosswalks look nice yet are still unsafe
Crosswalks What the pedestrian sees
Crosswalks what the vehicle sees
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sponsorship of a walk to school day!
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the classic Walking School Bus
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partner with local law enforcement
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active speed monitor
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bike racks
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SOLICITATIONS
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1st Solicitation Timeline

• 5/1/2006 Grant Application Release
• 7/5/2006 Grant Applications Due
• 9/2006 Grants Awarded
• 1.7 million was awarded in the first
  solicitation

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1st Solicitation Results

• 76 applications requesting 8 million in projects
  
• Projects from all over the state
• Non-infrastructure requests were underrepresented

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Grant Recipients

• 17 communities 10 in Greater MN and 7 in the
  Metro Area
• Hill City, Grand Rapids, Duluth, Bemidji, Becker,
  St. Cloud, Sartell, Saint Peter, Hawley, La
  Crescent, Minneapolis(2), Oakdale, Maple Grove,
  Inver Grove Heights, Plymouth, Dayton

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2nd Solicitation Timeline

• 11/2006 Grant Application Release
• 11/06 12/06 Application Workshops
• 1/2007 Grant Applications Due
• 3/2007 Grants Awarded
• 1.2 will be available for the second
  solicitation

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• For additional information please visit our
  website
• http//www.dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/index.html
• or contact Kristie Billiar, Safe Routes
  Coordinator at
• kristie.billiar_at_dot.state.mn.us