Announcing New Complete Streets Funding Program

 The new Complete Streets Funding Program, authorized by the 2014 Transportation Bond Bill, offers Massachusetts municipalities incentives to adopt policies and practices that provide safe and accessible options for all travel modes – walking, biking, transit and vehicles – for people of all ages and abilities. Online Portal MassDOT has launched an interactive web portal to assist municipalities through the policy development, prioritization planning, and project approval steps of the application process. In addition, a Complete Streets Funding Program Guidance document, explaining the program requirements, model policy guidance and scoring system, and eligible infrastructure, is available online.
 Primary Requirements To be eligible for up to $50,000 in technical assistance and up to $400,000 in construction funding, a municipality must meet three primary requirements:
 • Attendance of a municipal employee at a Complete Streets training
 • Passage of a Complete Streets Policy that scores 80 or above out of a possible 100 points (Tier 1)
 • Development of a Complete Streets Prioritization Plan (Tier 2)

MassDOT offers technical assistance to conduct a needs assessment, network gap analysis, and/or safety audit to determine a targeted investment strategy for Complete Streets infrastructure. Upon completion of these requirements, a municipality is eligible for construction funds (Tier 3). Reimbursement for technical assistance and project funding will be managed by the appropriate Highway District Local Aid Office. Available Funding: $12.5M total for FY16 and FY17 (must be spent by June 30, 2017). Community Compact Cabinet Four points will be automatically added to the policy scores of all Community Compact Cabinet members, and any Community Compact member that has selected Complete Streets as one of its best practices will receive an additional four points. For more information and to register to become a Complete

From Mass. DOT site

Jeff Bennett