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North Carolina

North Carolina SRTS Program
Managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Transportation Mobility and Safety Division, North Carolina’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. 

North Carolina DOT SRTS Coordinator (Interim)
Sarah W. O'Brien
(919) 515-8703
skworth@ncsu.edu
http://www.ncdot.gov/transit/bicycle/saferoutes/SafeRoutes.html

Click on any of the menu items below for more information:
North Carolina SRTS Federal Funding
Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee
State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods
Success Stories
Other Statewide and Regional Programs
North Carolina Partner Affiliates

North Carolina SRTS Federal Funding
North Carolina’s SRTS funding from FY2005-2009* totals $15,593,698  and includes the following annual apportionments:

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

Application Guidelines
In September 2009, the North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded more than $3.6 million in SRTS funds to 22 municipalities and local agencies.

Press Release - September 2009
List of Funding Awards - September 2009

In late January, North Carolina closed the second call for applications for its competitive grant reimbursement programs. The state received 76 applications for infrastructure projects and 17 applications for non-infrastructure projects.  An external review process was completed at the end of June, and the projects are awaiting approval from the Board of Transportation, which is set to occur at the September 2009 Board meeting.  The state anticipates award announcements in September. 

Requests for SRTS Division Fund projects are accepted on a rolling basis and is not closed. Please see the variety of funding categories the state offers as described below.

Infrastructure Grant Reimbursement Program: This program was first offered during NC’s second funding cycle to encourage communities to plan, design, and construct infrastructure projects that will encourage and enable children to walk and bicycle to school. Funding requests range from $100,000 to $300,000 per project. Any agency that has authority to construct and maintain infrastructure within public right-of-way (or on land with an easement) is eligible and encouraged to apply. Projects must be implemented within two miles of a school serving K-8 grades. For more information about the Infrastructure Grant Reimbursement Program, please visit www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/saferoutes/funding/infrastructure.html.

Non-Infrastructure Grant Reimbursement Program: This program provides funding to create and implement education, encouragement, enforcement, and/or evaluation programs and activities that aim to shift community behavior, attitudes, and social norms to support increased safety and convenience for children to walk and/or bicycle to school. Any state, local, or regional agency, tribal government, school or school district, or non-profit organization is eligible and encouraged to apply. Funding requests can range from $10,000 to $50,000. For more information about the Non-Infrastructure Grant Reimbursement Program, please visit www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/saferoutes/funding/noninfrastructure.html.

Action Plan Service Award Program: Offered in the state’s first grant cycle, this award provided assistance to schools or communities beginning a SRTS program through the development of a plan. Recipients receive assistance in developing an action plan through the services of a consultant assigned to them by NCDOT. These action plans provide a framework for identifying projects, programs and activities that will cover all five “E’s” to make walking and bicycling to school safer and more appealing. Plans may encompass up to five schools within a community or school district. Please learn more about this service award program, and find a link to NCDOT’s Action Plan Guidelines by visiting www.ncdot.gov/transit/bicycle/saferoutes/funding/actionplans.html.

SRTS Division Fund Program:
North Carolina also provides for infrastructure projects through its SRTS Division Fund program. Each Division has been allocated up to $430,000 of SRTS funds for eligible projects along or intersecting with state-maintained roads. Projects must be within two miles of a school serving grades K-8. These funds are primarily intended for small safety improvements, as project requests can range from $10,000 to $100,000. Requests for projects are made directly to the Division contact, who determines whether the potential project should move forward as a formal request to the SRTS Coordinator. For more information, and a list of Division contacts, visit www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/saferoutes/funding/highway.html.

In its first award cycle, North Carolina awarded six Demonstration Grants, which are a combination of infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure programs and activities, totaling $1,462,000. Five non-infrastructure grants were awarded, totaling $135,500. Sixteen communities were selected for Action Plan Service Awards. Approximately $315,000 is allocated for these action plans. The SRTS Program also has received over 35 requests for Division projects across the state.

State Advisory Committee
North Carolina currently does not have a State Advisory Committee.

State Outreach Programs
North Carolina’s SRTS program offers the SRTS National Course workshops to interested schools on an as-requested basis. State-trained instructors teach these courses at no cost to attendees. As of April 2009, 28 workshops have been conducted covering 61 schools. Not all requests that are received can be granted.

North Carolina is honoring requests for speakers at various Rural Planning Organizations (RPO), Metropolitan Planning Organizations, public health conferences, individual schools, and communities interested in starting Safe Routes to School programs. In addition, North Carolina has presented at the state’s Department of Public Instruction’s Healthy Schools Institute and the NC Pupil Transportation Association Conference, and Department of Health and Human Services Successful Students Committee.

Evaluation Methods
An evaluation requirement is included as a condition of grant award. At a minimum, each grant recipient must utilize the In-class Student Travel Tally and the Parent Survey provided by the National Center for Safe Routes to School as a means of collecting pre- and post-implementation data. Questions regarding other evaluation techniques are included in the grant applications.

Success Stories
Winston-Salem, NC: Using Bookmarks as SRTS Incentives
Sherwood Forest Elementary School facilitated a bookmark contest to give to students who participate in their Walk to School Day.  Kindergarten to 5th grade students were invited to create bookmark designs using a rectangular-shaped template, and submitted their entries.  With a total of 30 entries, judges selected one winner from each grade.  Thereafter, parent volunteers printed the winning designs in large quantities just in time for the school's Walk to School Day.  On the back of the bookmarks was information about why bicycling and walking are beneficial to students.  The bookmarks were distributed to students on Walk to School DAy (April 30).  Each participating student picked a bookmark from an assortment of winning designs, and there was even enough left over to distribute during the upcoming fall Walk to School Day event.  The school hopes to make this bookmark contest an annual event, as it was well received by students, parents, and school staff. Below are samples of the submitted bookmarks.

Bookmark Designs
More Bookmark Designs
Back of Bookmark

Contact:
Judi Lawson Wallace, APR--Winston-Salem Coordinator for Safe Routes to School
President, Wallace Consulting & Training, Inc.
Specializing in Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education
judiwallace@triad.rr.com
National Instructor for Safe Routes to School

Other Statewide and Regional Programs
North Carolina currently promotes two programs that enhance pedestrian and bicycling safety and encourage walking and biking by school children. The first is the Basics of Bicycling Curriculum Initiative. This elementary school-level course was developed in 1990 by the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) and the Bicycle Federation of America (now the National Center for Bicycling and Walking). More than half of the 120 school systems across North Carolina have used the program, which currently reaches approximately 60,000 fourth and fifth graders annually. The curriculum includes seven lessons, requiring seven classes that cover bike handling, traffic, high-risk situations, and rules of the road.

The second program, also developed by DBPT along with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, is the North Carolina School Crossing Guard Training Program The objectives of this course are twofold:

1. To protect North Carolina school children by standardizing instruction and procedures for crossing guards so that motorists across the state will know what to expect as they travel through school zones across the state.
2. To teach children proper pedestrian skills so they will cross safely at other times and locations.

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