To address rising deaths and injuries on American motorways, Congress created the Safe Streets and Roads for All program as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which funds planning and implementation of safety improvement projects nationwide. In 2022, the first year of the program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded approximately $800 million to 511 projects , including 474 planning grants and 37 implementation grants.
What’s eligible?
Recently, the DOT announced the availability of approximately $1.2B in Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants for 2023. MPOs, local and regional governments, tribal governments, and other political subdivisions of a state may apply to develop a new comprehensive safety action plan, execute supplemental and demonstration activities to further develop an action plan, or carry out projects identified in an existing action plan. Demonstration activities, which include feasibility studies of quick-build strategies and pilot safety projects, are a newly eligible project type for FY23.
How is the funding allocated?
SS4A grants are divided into planning and demonstration grants, which fund the development of new action plans, supplemental planning activities to further develop an existing plan, and/or demonstration activities; and implementation grants, which fund the implementation of projects identified in an action plan. Action plan grant awards have a minimum of $100k and a maximum of $10M, while implementation grants have a minimum of $2.5M and a maximum of $25M. Awards will cover up to 80% of project costs for both types of grants. Approximately 40% of available funds must go to planning and demonstration grants; because of this restriction, almost all eligible planning grant applicants in 2022 were awarded, while roughly 20% of eligible implementation grant applicants were awarded.
How can Via and Remix support your application?
At Via, we believe that safe roadways are critical to equitable mobility for all. That’s why we partnered with Transportation Alternatives on NYC 25x25 Streets , and used Via’s industry-leading Remix software to support the redesign of New York City’s streets.
Software (such as Remix Streets) used in developing and implementing an action plan is an eligible expense for the SS4A grant. In addition, we have assembled a unique partnership to support SS4A demonstration activities:
- Remix can ingest, visualize, and analyze relevant Vision Zero data to support Complete Streets re-designs and the identification and prioritization of quick build projects.
- Our in-house team of transportation consultants, Via Strategies, can support with training, data sourcing and clean up, existing conditions analysis, and stakeholder engagement.
- We are excited to announce a partnership with Numina, a best in-class street-data sensor company, to offer anonymized, ground-truthed, multimodal data for vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. Through a simple installation of Numina's privacy-oriented sensors, applicants can collect detailed data before, during, and after SS4A demonstration activities and projects, which can then be viewed and analyzed in Remix for ongoing planning efforts.
How can I secure funding for my project?
The Department will evaluate applications on the basis of safety impact, equity, and the use of effective and evidence-based strategies and practices. Implementation grants will also be evaluated on the degree to which they promote environmental sustainability. For more details, please consult the NOFO.
If you’re interested in exploring our planning tools as part of your SS4A application, please reach out to partnerships@ridewithvia.com . We’d love to help as you consider applying and can provide insight on the application process. Applications are due July 10, 2023.
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