By Tara Paxton
Imagine you just started your dream job and moved to a city where you can jump on a train to get to work in a matter of minutes. You sell your car, save on insurance costs and buy a transit pass for the coming year. The job is going great; you’ve become a real urban dweller. Then you get the news that there is a transit strike! The train lines are suspended for who knows how long. How will you get to work? Walking or biking is unsafe due to the lack of amenities, so you’ll need to take Uber to the nearest bus stop that is ten miles away on a congested corridor, turning your 20-minute commute into a 90-minute ordeal.
This scenario is one that just happened to more than 350,000 rail passengers using New Jersey Transit. Straphangers didn’t have any good options to get to work. Buses were packed in minutes and local highways were gridlocked. This is why the government needs to provide a more diverse multimodal transportation network. Transportation networks are the backbone of any thriving community, connecting people to jobs, schools, healthcare, and recreational opportunities. They are a lifeline in urban, suburban and rural communities.
What transportation professionals and local officials don’t always consider when designing highways, streets and mass transit systems is that they will inevitably fail. Natural disasters, social unrest and labor strikes can bring transportation systems to a halt. But, if we plan for transportation to have alternatives, to be multimodal, to design for options when the main system cannot deliver, we can avoid major system collapse. Diversity of transportation options when traditional routes are interrupted is key to resiliency.
How can we design for resiliency? Grants — funding opportunities provided by federal, state, and private entities to support mobility projects.
The importance of transportation grants
Transportation grants are vital for communities seeking to address infrastructure challenges, including safety, transit strikes and lack of pedestrian and bike amenities, without exhausting local budgets. These grants enable municipalities to undertake ambitious projects, such as building public transit systems, improving road safety, and promoting sustainable transportation options.
They provide funding for planning, demonstration projects and implementation projects. Safe Streets and Roads for All, Safe Routes to School, Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Project, Bicycle and Pedestrian grants, Transit grants, Bus route funding, shuttles for senior citizens, port grants, ferry system grants. You name it, the Federal Department of Transportation has a funding program. Each state also administers its own programs to fund infrastructure improvements.
The U.S. Department of Transportation 2022-2026 Strategic Plan includes priorities to:
- Improve system operations to increase travel time reliability, manage travel demand and improve connectivity.
- Invest in multimodal capacity to improve travel time reliability on congested corridors.
- Increase transportation options and system connectivity and improve the built environment to provide multimodal transportation options.
Strategies for securing transportation grants
Transportation grant funding is very competitive. At the State and Federal level, every jurisdiction is vying for the same pot of money. Here are key strategies for success:
Assess the problem you want to solve and phase the project. The phases include Planning, Design and Construction.
- Plan – most transportation grants require a comprehensive planning process or needs assessment to be completed before they will fund construction — Planning Grants are also available to fund hiring consultant engineers and planners to complete this phase.
- Design – before construction projects can be implemented, design plans need to be completed and approved to address stormwater management, pavement design, environmental concerns and permitting. This phase usually does not have a lot of grant funding opportunities but can be included in any grant match requirements to be funded by the local or state government agency.
- Construct – This is the phase where the implementation of the planning and design are completed. The rubber hits the road when you put the shovel in the ground and make improvements identified in the plan and needs assessment.
Collaborating with stakeholders
Partner with others. Effective grant applications are built on collaboration. By partnering with community organizations, businesses, and regional planning commissions, local governments can demonstrate broad support for their projects, increasing their chances of approval. These applications stand out from others. It shows that there is support to get your project completed and that it is needed by a broad spectrum of the community.
The role of public engagement
Engaging the community is essential for successful transportation projects. Public input ensures projects meet residents’ needs and fosters a sense of ownership, increasing support for grant applications.
Including the public that uses the transportation network as a regular part of their lives should go without saying. However, they are busy living their lives. Be sure to make public participation convenient. Send out surveys through social media. Put up signs along the transportation routes to direct people to those online surveys. Put signs with QR codes in buses, trains, on the street and in stores and places of work where people shop and frequent. Demonstration of projects with strong public participation always edges out projects without it.
Conclusion
Transportation grants provide communities with funding to improve and diversify transportation systems. This can include expanding public transit, repairing rural roads, or developing bicycle and pedestrian amenities. Enhancing transportation systems aims to offer citizens more options and reduce issues when systems fail or are interrupted by weather, congestion, system failures or labor strikes. Grants can improve the transportation alternatives and improve the quality of life for everyone who uses roads, rails, bike lanes or sidewalks.
Looking to navigate the complexities of grants funding? Lexipol is your go-to resource for state-specific, fully developed grants services that can help fund your needs. Find out more about our grants services here.
