Funding & Grants

Every two years, following a call for projects, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) submits a report to the legislature on the recommended Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Pedestrian/Bicyclist Program (PBP) grants. The 2019-2021 report explains the selection process, reports on past grant awards, and provides a prioritized list of applicants for funding in the next cycle.

Starting in 2019, Metro will offer grants to support existing and new efforts in the region’s schools aimed at educating children to walk, bike or roll safely to school. The grant cycle opens January 1, 2019.

Updated: Oregon applications now due 1/9/19. Special opportunity for organizations, agencies, and communities in Oregon: With funding from the Oregon Health Authority, one rural, suburban, or urban community in Oregon will be funded, in addition to the ten Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities grantees.

The Oregon Legislature passed a transportation package in 2017, which dedicated $10 million per year in funding for street safety fixes within a mile of schools, increasing to $15 million per year in 2023. The ODOT Safe Routes to School Competitive Infrastructure Grant Program runs in two-year cycles with the first round of funds awarded in 2019.

Are you ready for increased funding dedicated to Safe Routes to School in Oregon? It is coming in 2019! Below are two great upcoming opportunities for making your community safer for students and others who walk and roll (or want to). Stay tuned for more information coming soon about how to get your school, district, city, or county ready to apply for these SRTS program funds.

The STIFAC held lengthy discussions on the importance of a free Youth Pass for the region and received impactful testimony from youth who rely on, but often can’t afford to ride the bus. Working within strict time constraints, a free youth pass would have required a major shift in Cherriots’ proposed projects (including weekend and evening services requested by the community), and was unattainable in the current application cycle. At the last meeting, the STIFAC agreed with Cherriots staff to revisit a free Youth Pass in the next STIF application period, and approved the following proposed youth rates as a “starting point” for the initial biennium:

Every two years, Complete Streets Awards are awarded by the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) to cities and counties who work to make streets safe for people who bike, walk, drive, and use transit. This grant program was established (but unfunded) by state legislation in 2011. Then in 2015, the Washington State Legislature allocated $105 million over 16 years through the Washington State Transportation Package to support the grant program.

ODOT workshops to be held June-August 2018. Learn how to apply for the new ODOT Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant Program funds. Take our survey to find out more about Technical Assistance for this grant cycle.