December Update: In early December, the Oregon Transportation Commission approved full recommended list of $28.3 million for Oregon SRTS Infrastructure Grants across the state.

In October, the Oregon Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee recommended funding $28.3 million for ODOT’s Safe Routes to School Competitive Construction Grant Program, for 43 projects located across the state which will all focus on under-resourced communities and safety improvements around schools.

The committee selected these projects from 99 applications totaling $73 million in requests, and projects were screened with the following committee-approved criteria:

1) those with the highest safety risk;

2) those that addressed barriers for students at low-income schools; and

3) those that had a high probability of project completion within five years.

Check out the proposed projects on this interactive map.

What's next?

On December 1, the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) will review the SRAC recommendations for discussion and decision-making.

On December 3, anyone interested in details about the project selection process or specifics about individual applications are encouraged to attend an online meeting from 2 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Please register in advance. This meeting is open to the public.

The next solicitation for SRTS Competitive Construction Grants will open in 2022 with an allocation of approximately $26 million for 2023-2024 time period.

The Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee (SRAC) consists of approximately 15 volunteers who have been appointed by the ODOT Director. The members represent topics and organizations like health, ADA, equity, Safe Routes to School Practitioner, School district pupil transportation, Oregon Department of Education, League of Oregon Cities, Association of Oregon Counties, Metropolitan Planning Organization, each ODOT region, law enforcement, ODOT, small city, Oregon Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and Oregon Transportation Safety Committee.