I am happy to share that the solicitation period for the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) Fiscal Year 2021 State Aid programs, including Municipal Aid, as well as the Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs, is now open with applications being accepted through July 1, 2020.

Municipal Aid grants provide funding to our cities and towns to make needed road, bridge, safety, and quality-of-life improvements on local roads. These grants, along with funds provided through our Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs, help maintain the state’s comprehensive transportation network in a state of good repair and demonstrate our Commitment to Communities.

In 2019, we shifted the grant cycle to better allow municipalities to incorporate awarded projects into upcoming municipal budgets. This provides more certainty for local governments and helps get important infrastructure projects to construction sooner. Grant awards are expected to be announced in November. The following is a brief description of each grant program:

• Municipal Aid - This $151.25 million program has been a significant resource in funding local transportation projects. All municipalities are eligible. The Department continues to encourage municipalities to consider using the Municipal Aid Program to fund projects that support walking and biking in their communities especially now that additional funds are available. An additional $10 million is provided in Urban Aid for a total of $161.25 million.

• Transit Village - This program will award grants totaling $1 million for traditional and non-traditional transportation projects that enhance walking, biking and/or transit ridership within a half mile of the transit facility. Only New Jersey municipalities that have been designated as Transit Villages by the Commissioner of Transportation and the inter-agency Transit Village Task Force are eligible to apply. The eligible town list can be found at: http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/localaid/transitvillagef.shtm

• Bikeways - This $1 million program is intended to fund bicycle projects that create new Bike Path Mileage. It is available to all counties and municipalities. The Department continues to work toward the goal of achieving 1,000 miles of dedicated bikeways in New Jersey. Special consideration will be given to bikeways that are physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier, but on-road bike lanes and other bike routes and facilities are also eligible for funding.

• Safe Streets to Transit - The intent of this program is to encourage counties and municipalities to construct safe and accessible pedestrian linkages to transit facilities in order to promote increased usage of transit by all segments of the population. A total of $1 million is available for grant awards.

The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. The Local Aid Resource Center, created last year, provides one-stop shopping for local government managers by providing hands-on resources for the application process, raising awareness of grant cycles and proactively communicating program information.

Improving the quality of life for New Jersey’s taxpayers is still the mission of the NJDOT. So it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure we award as many grants as allowable, and that the projects funded by these grants are successfully completed.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please feel free to share it with your colleagues. For more information about the Local Aid Resource Center, visit www.njdotlocalaid.com or call 609-649-9395. Our experts are here to help you.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this difficult time.