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New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s first lady Dr. Susan Lynch leads Kimball School students from Concord SRTS

New Hampshire SRTS Program
Managed by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT), New Hampshire’s federally funded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is the source for state coordinator contact details, federal SRTS funding amounts, SRTS applications and guidelines, and state SRTS program information.

New Hampshire DOT SRTS Coordinator
John Corrigan
(603) 271-1980
jcorrigan@dot.state.nh.us
www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/planning/srts/

Click on any of the menu items below for more information.
New Hampshire SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods
Success Stories
New Hampshire Partner Affiliates

New Hampshire SRTS Federal Funding
New Hampshire’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $4,990,000 and includes the following annual apportionments:

* Funding for SRTS is being continued into FY2010 at FY2009 levels.

Application Guidelines
Ten communities and one statewide organization will use more than $1.4 million in Safe Routes to School (SRTS) awards to enable and encourage elementary school children to walk and ride bicycles between home and school. Commissioner George N. Campbell, Jr., of the N.H Department of Transportation (NHDOT) approved the Round 4 grants on March 15, 2010. Federal funds will reimburse sponsors for 100 percent of eligible and approved expenses for everything from bicycle safety training to paths and sidewalks. Round 4 marked the first time that applicants sought more money than was available under the program managed by NHDOT in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs). Sixteen potential sponsors asked for nearly $3 million. Commissioner Campbell approved the awards based on recommendations from the Statewide Advisory Committee after review by the RPCs.

Round 5 of New Hampshire's SRTS funding is scheduled to open on Monday, October 5, 2010. Applications must be received by NHDOT and the RPCs by Tuesday. November 30, 2010. NHDOT is schedueld to announce the awards during the week of April 25, 2011.

SRTS enables and encourages children in kindergarten through eighth grade to safely walk and/or ride bicycles between home and school. It is intended for students, including those with disabilities, who live within approximately two miles of school. A major change in this cycle is an increase on the cap on infrastructure projects. Communities that have completed a comprehensive travel plan may be reimbursed up to $250,000. The cap remains at $100,000 for applicants that have not prepared such plans.

SRTS works with communities at all stages of developing their programs. NHDOT now accepts applications for startup or travel plan grants whenever local leaders are ready to move ahead. Startup grants of less than $5,000 are intended to get new programs off the ground. Funds can reimburse for the expenses of evaluation, basic planning, and minor encouragement, educational and enforcement activities. Travel plan grants will cover more comprehensive planning, up to $15,000 per school. To speed up the process of approving grants and giving recipients authority to spend in anticipation of reimbursement, NHDOT and the RPCs have removed these smaller grants from the general grant funding cycle. Applications may be filed with the NHDOT and RPCs at any time. This new approach to start-ups and travel plans is intended to make the process easier. Using these grants is not a prerequisite for a general grant application. Funds for startup activities and travel plans can also be included in an application for a general grant.

Communities can apply for reimbursement funding for these non-infrastructure program grants whenever they are ready to move ahead. Application forms and scoring criteria are available for easy download from the “Getting Started” page on the SRTS website.  Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible, high- quality projects. A combined total of up to 20 startup and travel plan grants will be awarded. The process will be reassessed when the number of applications approaches the limit.

Applications for the Round 3 cycle of grants were due Monday February 2, 2009.  NHDOT is currently processing grant applications received in the Round 3 funding cycle. State Advisory Committee members will meet with applicants for general grants, and possibly with selected applicants for startup and travel plan grants.  The committee will make funding recommendations to Commissioner George Campbell. NHDOT is scheduled to announce the awards on June 15, 2009.
 A major change for this cycle is that separate criteria and forms have been designed for the three categories of SRTS grants:

1. Startup grants of up to $5,000 to cover the initial expenses of conducting surveys, holding meetings, engaging in non-infrastructure activities, and drafting a basic travel plan.
2. Comprehensive travel plan grants of up to $15,000 per school. These grants will pay for more in-depth plans, including prioritized infrastructure projects.
3. General grants that can include infrastructure and/or non-infrastructure programs and projects. These grants will be based on travel plans that are included in the application or developed as a separate document. The cap for infrastructure projects remains at $100,000 per project (generally defined as one project per school).

New Hampshire approved more than $1 million in funding for the Round 2 cycle of SRTS grants.   Most grants support a mix of both infrastructure (mostly sidewalks with a cap of $100,000) and non-infrastructure, as well as the development of comprehensive travel plans. For the first time, they also awarded “startup” grants to 11 communities.

The application period for the first round of applications closed on September 17, 2007, and applications were reviewed by Regional Planning Commissions. The total amount requested in the first round of applications was more than $926,000. Awards were announced on December 3, 2007.  Nearly half a million in funds were awarded to ten New Hampshire schools.  Projects approved in the first round include crosswalk and path improvements in Portsmouth, new sidewalks on school property in Andover, Concord, Gorham, and Hopkinton. Upgrades and repairs to the “Tiger Trail” sidewalk network have been approved for Farmington. Nashua will make the streets and sidewalks safer around the Ledge Street School. New Ipswich plans to build a new sidewalk along a busy state highway. Weare has begun the planning process, and will conduct several education and encouragement programs. Lebanon has initiated walking school buses and will purchase a speed trailer to remind drivers to slow down near schools. SRTS will also help fund BikeSmart, an organization providing bicycle safety education to schools throughout the state.

State Advisory Committee
The Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC), formed in the fall of 2007, reviews applications for reimbursement funding, offers applicants an opportunity to present their proposals at a public meeting, and makes recommendations to the commissioner of NHDOT. SAC meets quarterly, generally on the second Wednesday of January, April, July, and September.

State Outreach Programs
New Hampshire SRTS works in partnership with two statewide initiatives that strive to get kids outside and active and connected to nature. Both initiatives will be holding conferences in early October.

• Inspired by Richard Louv’s Book Last Child in the Woods, The Children in Nature Coalition (CiNC) strives to counteract what Louv calls "nature deficit disorder." The organization will hold its annual conference on Thursday, Oct. 7. Download a brochure for more information.
• The Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) is part of a growing movement that recognizes the importance of balancing a healthy diet with an active lifestyle. Included in that concept is the idea that our communities should be designed in a way that encourages more walking and bicycling for short-distance transportation. This dovetails nicely with the SRTS goal of enabling and encouraging elementary school children to walk and/or ride bicycles between home and school. Terry Johnson, director of the HEAL initiative, serves on the SRTS SAC. See the conference website for more details of the Oct. 26 event.

If you have trouble downloading the two brochures, follow the links on the homepage of the NH SRTS Website, address below.

The Bike Walk Alliance of New Hampshire (BWANH) provides state-wide bicycle safety education workshops and events. Major improvement in bicycle safety is the goal of a program sponsored by the BWANH. The organization plans a “train the trainer” approach to offer schools a standardized bike safety curriculum developed by the League of American Bicyclists. Youngsters will be taught the “rules of the road” and basic techniques for safe and responsible use of bicycles for both short-distance travel and recreation. 

The other award winners are Allenstown, Dover, Hillsborough, Hopkinton, Lebanon, Manchester, Northumberland (Groveton), and Wolfeboro.

New Hampshire is working with a number of state organizations that are listed on the state’s SRTS Helpful Links page.

John Corrigan, the SRTS Coordinator, travels to communities to meet with local leaders, explain the program, answer any questions, and initiate a discussion about local conditions.

Evaluation Methods
New Hampshire gives application points to those schools and communities that provide evaluation data.

Success Stories
Another grant was awarded to Dublin, the home of the recently deceased Doris “Granny D” Haddock. The 100-year-old activist arguably became New Hampshire’s most famous pedestrian a decade ago after she walked from the West Coast to Washington, D.C., in support of campaign finance reform. Getting around on foot in the rural community in southwest New Hampshire is challenging because of busy traffic on Main Street, which is also N.H. Route 101.

The town is about to embark on a Transportation Enhancement program to add and repair sidewalks in the village center. The SRTS grant will pay for safe walkways on the campus of the Dublin Consolidated School, providing physical separation between students and motor vehicles.

A notable project will pave a pathway providing an off-road connection between downtown Whitefield and the elementary school located on busy U.S. Route 3.

Another North Country town, Littleton, was awarded the smallest grant, $4,621 for a bike rodeo and incentive prizes. Taking advantage of the town’s existing pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure, the community has already organized successful walking school buses and rolling bike trains that converge on the Mildred Lakeway Elementary School from many directions.

Commute Green 2010: A Springtime Opportunity
Schools are encouraged to participate in Commute Green 2010. Events begin with National Bike and Walk to Work Week, May 15 to 21, and continue until June 25. It’s an excellent complement to International Walk-to-School Month in October. Group walks and bike rides give kids a taste of walking and bicycling to school while making the public more aware of SRTS programs.

Seeking greater balance in the choice of transportation modes, Commute Green 2010 promotes walking, bicycling, public transportation, and car pooling for all ages. For those fortunate enough to live close to both work and school, a family walk or bicycle ride is a great way to introduce children to active and healthy commuting.

For more information, visit the NHDOT Pedestrian/Bicycle Information Center and the BWANH site. See the Walk NH website for information about Walk NH Week, June 1 to 7.

New Hampshire Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support for the Safe Routes to School movement.