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New Hampshire
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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
New Hampshire Partner Affiliates
New Hampshire SRTS Federal Funding
New Hampshire’s SRTS funding totals $4,990,000 and includes the following annual apportionments:
| 2005 Actual |
2006 Actual |
2007 Actual |
2008 Actual |
2009 Actual |
| $1,000,000 |
$990,000 |
$1,000,000 |
$1,000,000 |
$1,000,000 |
Application Guidelines
The Round 4 funding cycle for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) general grants opened on Monday, September 14, 2009. Applications will be accepted by the N.H. Department of Transportation (NHDOT) and Regional Planning Commissions until Monday, November 9, 2009 (4 p.m. for NHDOT; RPCs set their own hours). Applications must be filed on time with both NHDOT and the RPC covering the affected community. NHDOT expects to announce the awards on March 29, 2010. During the application period, communities are invited to submit applications to the coordinator and/or RPCs for an informal preliminary review for eligibility and quality of programming. A final version of the application must be submitted by the deadline, so communities should plan ahead to avoid last-minute requests for such reviews.
Round 5 has not yet been scheduled. It will depend on the amount of funding remaining after Round 4 as well as any additional funding if the U.S. Congress extends SRTS.
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:
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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.
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Comprehensive travel plan grants of up to $15,000 per school. These grants will pay for more in-depth plans, including prioritized infrastructure projects.
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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
A Statewide Advisory Committee (SAC) has been formed, and held its first meeting on October 16, 2007. The SAC 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.
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.
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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 in Northwood on Thursday, Oct. 1. Download a brochure for more information.
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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 brochure for more details of the Oct. 6 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 provides state-wide bicycle safety education workshops and events.
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 does give application points to those schools and communities that provide evaluation data.
New Hampshire Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support for the Safe Routes to School movement.
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