RALEIGH – Six North Carolina municipalities and two counties have been awarded a total of $401,000 in state and federal transportation grants to help develop bicycle and pedestrian plans.
The N.C. Department of Transportation's Multimodal Planning Grant program helps North Carolina communities develop a comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle, pedestrian and public transit facilities. The program also helps improve the safety of the state's transportation network.
The program and grants are paid for through $112,000 in state funds, and $289,000 in federal State Planning and Research Funds. NCDOT selects projects to receive grants using criteria that assess the level of detail in the application, the demonstration of local need and level of support for plans and projects. This year all grant applications submitted were approved.
Grant recipients this year include:
- Alexander County (multimodal network plan)
- Lenoir County (pedestrian plan)
- City of Salisbury (multimodal network plan)
- Town of Erwin (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
- Town of Mount Gilead (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
- Town of Pilot Mountain (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
- Town of Oak Island (bicycle plan)
- Town of Southport (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
The planning grant initiative is sponsored by NCDOT's Integrated Mobility Division and the agency's Transportation Planning Division. Since the program began in 2004, the grant program has awarded approximately $9 million to fund plans for 266 North Carolina municipalities and eight counties.
Within the last decade, these plans have generated about 220 projects that were submitted for funding in the State Transportation Improvement Program, a 10-year capital improvement plan that identifies state transportation projects for funding.
Plans funded represent a comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle, pedestrian and transit opportunities. These plans address facilities, programs and policies that encourage safe walking and bicycling and transit accessibility.
For more information on the Multimodal Planning Grant Program, visit NCDOT's website.
To learn more about the Integrated Mobility Division, visit NCDOT.gov and follow Integrated Mobility on Twitter/X @NCDOT_IMD and LinkedIn @NCDOT Integrated Mobility Division.