The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced the awarding of more than $1.3 million in funding for the Shared Streets and Spaces program Friday.
The Shared Streets & Spaces program was launched on June 10 to provide technical and funding assistance for Massachusetts cities and towns that seek to make tactical changes to curbs, streets, on-street parking spaces and off-street parking lots in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce.
The funding, the fourth of its kind, provides funding to projects in 17 municipalities, 64 percent of which are Environmental Justice communities, or those communities with a block group of residents whose annual median income is equal to or less than 65 percent of the state median income of $62,000; or where 25 percent or more of the residents identify as a race other than white; or where 25 percent or more of the households in the community have no one over the age of 14 who speaks English very well.
The grants range from as little as $5,000 to as much as $300,000 for municipalities to quickly launch changes to improvement projects. The improvements can be intentionally temporary or can be pilot programs for potentially permanent changes to streets and sidewalks.
Among the municipalities receiving funding, in Adams, Mass., officials received $22,500 to fund the installation of tables, chairs, umbrellas, dividers, and hand-sanitizer stations at two central locations within the town. The tables will be open for use by anyone, and the town will provide historic and tourist information there.
Another municipality, Great Barrington, received $69,955 to erect temporary barriers and signage on Railroad Street, in a project that would eliminate all on-street parking along the street and essentially turn the street into an outdoor dining and entertainment area.
In Medford, officials received $223,000 to improve transit access to the MBTA Orange Line in Environmental Justice areas that would help essential workers and vulnerable populations access jobs and healthcare. The project would create a dedicated inbound bus lane from Medford to Somerville.