NCDOT Awards 2015 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants Franklin Among Recepients

The NCDOT has warded a grant to ten municipalities across the state to assist with bicycle and pedestrian planning, and Franklin is one of them. AT the November 2014 meeting fo the town board, the town voted to apply for $36,000 in grant monies at a 10% match. According to the NCDOT, the funds will be awarded in June.

The Franklin Town Board will be meeting tonight for their regular April 2015 meeting. More on that at this link.

Here is video of the segment of the meeting where the vote took place:

Here is the press release:

PRESS RELEASE
NCDOT Roadside Environmental Unit
APRIL 6, 2015


RALEIGH- A group of 10 municipalities from across the state are slated to receive assistance with bicycle and pedestrian planning, thanks to grants awarded this month by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Now in its twelfth year, the grant program helps North Carolina cities and towns develop a comprehensive overall strategy for expanding bicycle and pedestrian opportunities within a given community.

The municipalities selected are scattered across various regions of the state. Recipients were selected from a pool of 26 applications by an awards committee comprised of transportation planners from across the state, including representatives of regional planning organizations and councils of government, local governments and NCDOT staff from multiple units.

Recipients this year include:
• Canton (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
• Fairmont (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
• Franklin (joint bicycle/pedestrian plan)
• Hendersonville (bicycle plan)
• High Point (pedestrian plan)
• Lenoir (bicycle plan)
• Newport (bicycle/pedestrian plan)
• Rutherfordton (bicycle/pedestrian plan)
• Wendell (pedestrian plan)
• Windsor (bicycle/pedestrian plan)

The planning grant initiative is jointly sponsored by the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and NCDOT’s Transportation Planning Branch. To date, approximately $4,332,000 has been awarded to 164 communities through the planning grant program.

Plans funded are not for one specific project, but represent a comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle and pedestrian opportunities within a given municipality. These plans address facilities, programs, services and regulations that encourage safe walking and bicycling.

For more information on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative; contact NCDOT’s Division of Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation or visit the Planning Grant Initiative website.