The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently awarded 14 municipalities infrastructure project awards through the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Program.
There is at least one project in each MassDOT Highway District.
The program serves more than 875 schools in more than 220 communities. It funded partially for federal fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024 through $15 million in Transportation Alternatives Program funds set aside for the program.
“These 14 awards will ensure that communities from Nantucket to North Adams will have projects to provide safe and healthy transportation options for school children of the Commonwealth,” MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said. “We were very pleased to see such a diverse and competitive group of submissions that all shared great vision on how to improve access to active and safe transportation for schools and communities.”
The program is open to public and charter schools serving kindergarten to eighth grade.
All projects are required to be within two miles of the school and must improve student safety and/or increase the number of students walking and biking to school.
Improvements include ADA accessibility improvements, bicycle accommodations, intersection and crossing improvements, shared use paths, sidewalk reconstruction, sidewalk infill, signage and striping, or traffic calming.