Montana

Montana SRTS State Network
Montana is one of twenty jurisdictions participating in the SRTS National Partnership Network Project. This initiative creates state networks that bring together advocacy groups, government agencies, and other leaders.

Montana SRTS Program
Managed by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), Montana’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.

Montana Partner Affiliates
Find out which organizations in your state have pledged their support as partner affiliates of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

Montana SRTS State Network

Montana is one of the twenty jurisdictions participating in the SRTS National Partnership State Network Project. The SRTS State Network Organizer works for their sponsoring organization, which is under contract with the SRTS National Partnership.

Montana State Network Policy Achievements:

This promotional piece highlights Montana's state network policy achievements.

Montana SRTS Program

Managed by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), Montana’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.

Quick Links

Montana SRTS Federal Funding  |  Application Guidelines
State Advisory Committee  |  State Outreach Programs
Evaluation Methods  |  Success Stories and Best Practices
Montana Partner Affiliates  |  Legislation and Policies

Montana SRTS Federal Funding

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

* Funding for SRTS is being continued into FY2010 and FY2011 at FY2009 levels.

Application Guidelines

All of the applications are officially in for this year’s round of SRTS funding projects. Montana SRTS recieved 36 applications $3.24 million in infrastructure and $622 thousand in non-infrastrcutre requests for a combined total $3.87 million. There are some exciting proposals for this upcoming year. The evaluation committee has begun its review of these applications. Award recipients are generally announced in May, with funding becoming available on July 1st which is the start of the State fiscal year.

Montana is a minimum apportionment state. Montana allocates 30% of available project funding for non-infrastructure projects with 70% of the available funding being used for infrastructure projects. Infrastructure projects are administered through the Community Transportation Enhancement Program (CTEP). The ceiling for infrastructure projects is $250,000. Applicants can apply for SRTS funds with the option of having their application reviewed by CTEP for additional funding.

MDT manages the administrative costs and timeline generated by federal and state regulations through state law that requires that 12.25% be allowed for Indirect Cost Allocation. That number can slightly change year to year.

State Advisory Committee

Montana’s SRTS Advisory Committee consists of MDT employees with expertise in safety and bicycle and pedestrian issues as well as representatives from the Office of Public Instruction and Western Transportation Institute. The committee meets each January to select funding recipients.

State Outreach Programs

Montana’s SRTS program has held trainings in various locations around the state. Mark Fenton, a national walking advocate, has also provided three SRTS trainings. Additionally, Taylor Lonsdale, the State Coordinator with Western Transportation Institute is available to host public meetings and meet with individuals and groups to help communities develop a Safe Routes to School Program.

Evaluation Methods

MDT requires that project managers submit a quarterly progress report.

Success Stories

P.A.C.E. Trek 2011 - Destination: Mojave Desert
The P.A.C.E. (Promoting Active Children Everywhere) Trek challenge is underway! School teachers can sign up teams here for the 12-school-day event between April 14 - 30, 2011. So far, teams are signed up from across the U.S.A. as well as from Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. The Mojave Desert challenge is going to be presented at a newly developed "online classroom" and will be shown in a way unlike any other P.A.C.E. run.

For the first time ever, coordinators of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs across the nation can register teams to participate. SRTS teams are separate from the school-registered teams (which are K-12 students participating through P.E. classes or classrooms). School team guidelines for P.A.C.E. Trek 2011 are available here.

Please share information about this free P.A.C.E. Trek challenge with teachers that you know. If you’re a parent, share this with your own child’s teacher, principal or coach. There is not much time remaining until the journey begins. It’s all about the kids and what we can do to motivate, inspire and encourage them toward greater health, fitness, goal setting, and knowledge of the world around them.

Billings, MT - Highland Elementary School Awarded Mini-Grant from National Center for SRTS

The National Center for Safe Routes to School announced the selection of 25 recipients who have been awarded $1,000 mini-grants for projects designed to encourage safe walking and bicycling to and from school. The mini-grant activities, many of which are driven by student leadership, will occur during the spring semester of the 2010-2011 school year.

Highland Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Association will bolster its existing program with a student-developed video that documents why family members walked or bicycled to school and what they learned along the way. This video will be used to educate local decision-makers and community members about the effects of school siting policies in hopes of establishing a local policy that supports locating schools as close as possible to where their students live. The school will also have a poster contest that highlights how students can safely walk and bicycle to school.

Shelby, MT - Making Efforts to Improve Walk-and-Bikeability - July 2009
Billings, MT - Go Play Campaign Promotes SRTS Efforts - July 2009
Ronan, MT - Promoting Physical Activity through SRTS - November 2009

Montana Partner Affiliates

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

Legislation and Policies

School Zone Safety - For the first time in the printing of Montana's driver manual, the new issue for 2008 added a section on "School Zone Safety Standards". Kristine Thatcher, Bureau Chief of the Motor Vehicle Division agreed that Montana needed to address school safety for all new and old drivers operating in and around school areas in the state. Mr. George Littlefield of Great Falls, has attempted to keep school safety issues in front of the general motoring public by gaining support from the 2005 State Legislature in doubling the traffic speed fines in school zones throughout Montana, effective October 1, 2005, and by making recommendations for school zone safety additions to the Montana State Drivers Manual a reality. In addition, Mr. Littlefield and Senator Mitch Tropila brought forward Senate Bill 88 to the 2009 Montana State Legislature, which added the “definition of a School Zone and a School Area,” to Montana Code and allowed for implementation of Montana Code Annotated 61-8-726 – violating speed limit in school zone--penalty doubled--disposition of fines.

The Montana PTA adopted a Safe Routes to School Resolution in September of 2011.

The MT state SRTS Network identified 3 priority areas: Education, Complete Streets and School Siting.

Education: Promoting Better Health through Walking and Bicycling

Journeys From Home Montana (JFHM) is a statewide effort to give children the skills necessary to become competent, predictable, and comfortable on the route to school. Participation in this effort gives parents the confidence to allow children to travel freely in their community. Specifically working with the Montana Safe Routes to School Network; Montana Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, the Montana Traffic Education Association, the Montana Office of Public Instruction, and the Montana University System, JFHM is conducting teacher training workshops in an effort to supplement the local school Health Enhancement program.

Journeys From Home Montana (JFHM) is under MDOT/SRTS contract to provide educational services to Montana communities. The focus is on encouraging a friendly walking and bicycling environment by providing the specific tools and techniques children lack to become responsible and confident in traffic. During the last two years, over 20 communities have participated in this effort, from the major cities of Billings, Great Falls, Missoula, and Helena, to small communities like Whitefish, Miles City, Dillon, Arlee, Florence, Lolo, Bridger, Stevensville, Baker, Roundup, Lockwood, and Joliet. This effort includes K-5, Middle School, and “CyclingSavvy” for adults.

Complete Streets

Since 2008, four of Montana’s seven largest cities have passed Complete Streets policies: Missoula, Bozeman, Helena and Billings. In October of 2011, the Great Falls City Commission unanimously adopted a Downtown Master Plan which contains an objective specifically calling for adoption of a Complete Streets policy for the city. A broad stakeholder group has been formed with the express purpose of accomplishing that objective.

On November 14th and 15th, 2011 the Montana Transportation for America Coalition and the American Public Health Association trained 100+ stakeholders from over a dozen Montana communities on the connection between health and transportation. The Montana SRTS state network organizer participated in a lunch panel to share Billings’ successful process in passing a Complete Streets policy. An additional two-hour workshop was conducted specifically on Complete Streets. During this workshop feedback was gathered from Montana’s smaller rural communities and this information will be used to create a Complete Streets Toolkit for Montana’s Small/Rural Communities.

School Siting

In 2010, MT's network organizer worked with UNC researcher to establish current practice for school siting. MT School Board Association and MT Association of Superintendents will send out a questionnaire to superintendents and board members to gather baseline information.

In 2011, MT's network organizer and lead network participants worked closely with NPLAN (National Policy and Legal Analysis Network) to develop a model school siting policy. The policy was further reviewed and formatted by MT School Board Association. The model policy was reviewed by many different entities, including school districts (school board members and superintendents), city planning, Smart Growth, transportation, health, housing development, public transit, MT Parent Teacher Association, and realtors. The MT version of the model school siting policy was adopted in September of 2011.