News and Events

Review of Round 4 General Grant Cycle Applications Continues

Fifteeen New Hampshire communities and one statewide organization filed applications for general grants in the fourth round of reimbursement funding.

Applicants seek nearly $2.7 million, incuding more than $2.5 million in infrastructure and more than $170,000 in non-infrastucture.

The Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) will meet with applicants in Room 114 (main floor conference room) at NHDOT headquarters, 7 Hazen Drive, Concord, on Feb. 11, 2010, beginning at 3 p.m. SAC members are scheduled to discuss the applications and make recommendations on Feb. 23, 2010. Both meetings are open to the public.

NHDOT expects to announce the awards on March 29, 2010.

Applications have been received from Allenstown, Dover, Dublin, Durham, Farmington, Hillsborough, Hopkinton, Lebanon, Littleton, Manchester, Nashua, Northumberland (Groveton), Warner, Whitefield, and Wolfeboro. The Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire has submitted an application for statewide bicycle training.

Additional rounds of general grant funding have not been scheduled. Future rounds are contingent on the amount of funding remaining after the current round, as well as any additional funding that may become available if the federal program is extended. The SAC normally schedules a new round after evaluating the program at the end of a grant cycle..

New resource: Want to know what's involved in admistering a SRTS grant? Read our new SRTS Project Administration Guide.

January 2010 electronic newsletter

State Report Recognizes Biking and Walking for Role in Preventing Childhood Obesity

The "Report of the New Hampshire Commission on Prevention of Childhood Obsesity" includes the following:

"The commission recommends a section (o) be added to RSA 674:2 to address the importance of making communities places where people of all ages and physical abilities can easily and safely enjoy walking and bicyling as forms of transportation and recreation."

The comprehensive report recognizes the importance of both physical exercise and healthy nutrition in addressesing childhood overweight and obesity. It specifically mentions SRTS as a resource for planning, infrastructure improvements, and education.

Healthy Kids Forum in Concord March 5, 2010: This public event will bring together school officials and youth program leaders in the Concord area to exchange information on their efforts and ideas for incorporating physical activity into each child’s day, and to raise awareness of the Concord Wellness Coalition.

Concord Celebrates State's First Infrastructure Project

Mayor Jim Bouley and other local leaders in New Hampshire's capital city held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new walkways on the combined campuses of Rundlett Middle School and Conant Elementary. The event was held in conjunction with Walk-to-School Day on Friday, Oct. 30. 2009.

Infrastructure projects have also been completed in Andover and Gorham (see below for more details about Gorham). The pace of infrastructure projects is expected to pick up during the 2010 construction season as more communities complete engineering studies and environmental review as they get ready to advertise for bids.

Getting Started: Schools Organize Walk-to-School Days, Conduct Surveys

Kids from the North Country to the southern tier participated in International Walk-to-School Month in October 2009. More schools are expected to participate in Green Commute Week, May 17 to 21, 2010. Watch for announcements.

Leading off fall events in 2009, students in Littleton actually started in September. Rolling bike trains and walking school buses converged from multiple directions on the Mildred C. Lakeway Elementary School. Youngsters at the Ledge Street School in Nashua didn’t let the rain stop them on Oct. 7. Other participating communities included Allenstown, Andover, Center Conway, Dover, Hillsborough, Lincoln, Merrimack, Portsmouth and Rye.

Such community-wide walks and bicycle rides are a great way to get a local SRTS program going. They complement initial evaluation work, including in-class and parental surveys. Ideally, this should be done in the fall and spring but data collected at any time can be useful. For details, visit the Getting Started page. New: The National Center for Safe Routes to School has added a Survey Monkey option for the parental surveys.

For a report on a Jan. 7, 2010, community meeting with a newly formed SRTS task force in the town of Bath, read an article from the Bridge Weekly Sho-Case. (Used with permission.)

Read a blog entry by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation on Walk-to-School day.

Read a Concord Monitor story about Green Commuting Week in May 2009 at the Beaver Meadow School in Concord.

NHDOT Awards Nearly $740,000 to Communities in Round 3 Grant Cycle

Communities in and around the Merrimack Valley successfully competed for the lion’s share of funding in the third round of approved Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects.

NHDOT announced nearly $740,000 in awards for eight communities hosting 14 schools. This brings the total amount awarded over three rounds to more than $2,343,000, nearly half the state’s total for the five-year program.

Commissioner George Campbell approved the grants, recommended by the SRTS Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC), on June 15, 2009. Federal SRTS funds reimburse communities for 100 percent of their eligible expenses

Round 3 awards (capped at $100,000 per infrastructure project) will reimburse communities for infrastructure projects including sidewalks and school-zone signs and pavement markings. Funds will also be used for non-infrastructure programs including planning, safety education, minor incentives to encourage walking and cycling, and law enforcement efforts.

Hopkinton received the largest award, $221,225, for three separate projects, near two elementary schools and the middle school. Most of the money will be used for sidewalks, crosswalks and signs.

In Boscawen, funds will be used for part of a sidewalk network that will give local students a safe route along busy U.S. Route 3. Sidewalks built with SRTS money supplement walkways built with federal Transportation Enhancement funds.

Other communities receiving support from SRTS include Bristol, Concord, Hillsborough, Allenstown, Rochester and Warner.

NHDOT administers the community-based program in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration.

List of Round 3 Awards
NHDOT News Release

Gorham Principal Recognized With Community Leadership Award

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Physical Fitness and Sports has recognized one of New Hampshire’s community leaders for her SRTS efforts.

Karen Cloutier, principal of the Edward Fenn School in Gorham, was presented with the 2009 Community Leadership Award during a school awards ceremony on June 17, 2009. Only 16 community leaders across the country received the award.

Along with Rob Larivee, a physical education teacher, Cloutier originally organized a walking school bus every Wednesday during the school year. In the fall of 2009, the walks were expanded to twice a week.

“I am sure I can speak for both myself and Mr. Larivee by saying that we have loved every single frozen, windy, cold, snowy, rainy, and every once in a while – sometimes sunny and dry day,” Cloutier told her students at the final assembly of the 2008-2009 school year.

A new sidewalk on school grounds, supported by a Round 1 grant, now gives students a safe route all the way to the school entrance.

Read a Berlin Daily Sun article on the presentation
View the certificate and letter
Read the nomination for the award
Photo page of the Gorham walking school bus

NHDOT Moves to Rolling Application Period for Startup, Planning Grants

NHDOT is working to expedite the planning process that can lead to comprehensive community programs.

The department and Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs) will now accept applications for startup and comprehensive travel plan grants whenever a community is ready to move ahead.

Here is the process for reviewing applications and making awards:

Applications will continue to be filed with both the NHDOT and the RPCs for an assessment of eligibility and quality of applications, applying the existing scoring criteria and identifying any questionable or ineligible requests.

1. Individual RPCs will review the applications following their own internal procedures.
2. Applications will then be examined by Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) members, taking into consideration any recommendations and concerns from NHDOT staff and the RPCs.
3. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for a combined total of up to 20 communities for startup and travel plan funding. The process will be reassessed when the number of applications approaches the limit.

Startup grant application form
Startup scoring criteria
Travel plan application form
Travel plan scoring criteria
Travel plan format

List of travel plan awards (rolling application period)
List of startup awards (rolling application period)

SRTS in New Hampshire offers three types of reimbursement funding:

1. Startup grants of less than $5,000 for preliminary planning and related activities
2. Comprehensive travel plan funding of up to $15,000 per school
3. General grants for both infrastructure and non-infrastructure programs and projects. Infrastructure grants have been capped at $100,000.

For the Latest SRTS News, Read our Electronic Newsletters

Additional Information

• List of Round 1 Grants
• List of Round 2 Grants
• Planning Process Key to Success of Local Safe Routes Programs
• Outreach Continues: Contact the Coordinator
• Federal Funding

New: See the Links page for a new report entitled "The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America."

Updated Feb. 4, 2010

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