National Bike to School Week runs from May 7 to may 11 and New York State Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald announced that applications are available for $23.9 million in federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funding for infrastructure improvements and public education campaigns across the state.

McDonald

Projects located within two miles of a primary or middle school are eligible to participate in the program. Projects must also be located on municipal right-of-way, benefit the public and address one of the five SRTS categories. They include engineering or infrastructure efforts, education, enforcement, encouragement and evaluation of program impact.

About 70-90% of funding will be used on targeted infrastructure improvements that could include the installation of traffic signals or crosswalks, construction or rehabilitation of sidewalks and traffic mitigation measures, NYSDOT says. The remaining 10-30% of funding will go towards non-infrastructure public-education and public-outreach projects in an effort to help children adopt a more active lifestyle in a safe, appealing transportation alternative, NYSDOT says.

“This federal funding provides a way for us to invest in our communities and create more sustainable infrastructure that is in harmony with the needs of local families and schools,” says McDonald.

Applications for the SRTS program will be accepted through October 5, 2012 and the awarded projects will be announced by the end of the year.