The Michigan SRTS program is administered by the Environment section of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty. Listed below are some of the key elements of the legislation and portions of the guidance issued by FHWA or the Michigan Department of Transportation. Full program guidance is available on the FHWA website.
The statutory purposes of the federal Safe Routes to School program are:
- To enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities to walk and bike to school;
- To make bicycling and walking to school safer and a more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age, and;
- To facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety while reducing traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools
The Michigan SRTS program offers communities two kinds of opportunities to receive Federal funding for a SRTS program:
Mini Grant
The Mini Grant is a programming only grant, to help schools build a culture of walking, biking, and rolling among students. Mini-grants can help you fund a walking school bus program, an incentive program, a remote drop site, bike rodeos, and more. Schools can apply, once a year, for up to $15,000 each or up to $120,000 for districts with 8 or more schools. The application opens each year in January. To learn more about Mini-Grants and the next application deadline click here.
Major Grant
The Major Grant is a grant to help communities build sidewalks, crosswalks, and any other infrastructure improvements that may be needed to make it possible for students to walk, bike, and roll safely to school. There is up to $300,000/school available for infrastructure, and an additional $15,000/school available to build programming around your project. The Major Grant requires communities to undergo an in-depth planning process prior to submitting an application that can take anywhere from six months to a year. Application deadlines are on-going and rolling basis. To learn more about Major Grants or to start an application click here.