Cape May Receives Grant Funding for Improvements

CAPE MAY – The City of Cape May received notification of approved grant funding from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for two competitive grant applications, both geared towards the improvement and betterment of the City. The funding will cover expanded bike safety pathways and road reconstruction.
Grant #1: State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation
Grant Amount: $250,000
Description: Cape May City Bikeway Network Expansion Project, Phase II
Details: The City was one of only four communities in the State to be awarded a Bikeway Grant in 2016. The funds will go towards a bike path from the Cape May Elementary School, through Lafayette Street Park to a wetlands overlook and end at the Cape May City Transportation Center on Broad Street.
This grant is detailed as Phase II for the City as it continues to expand its bikeway system. Funds in the amount of $350,000 were awarded in 2015 to build a safe bikeway between the Cape May City Elementary School and the Coast Guard Base.
“This is part of a comprehensive effort to provide a safe bikeway network throughout Cape May City,” says Mayor Edward J. Mahaney, Jr. “The funding for Phase I and Phase II will end up providing for a 2.6-mile bike path from the Coast Guard Training Center to the Transportation Center.”
More than 60% of the children currently attending the Cape May City Elementary School live in the vicinity of the Coast Guard Training Center. For this competitive grant application, only $1 million in funds was released. Rutala Associates, a local planning firm, prepared and submitted the applications for the City.
Mayor Mahaney noted, “While this is a wonderful addition to the City’s bicycle network, there are more improvements to come.” Moving forward, the City is currently working in cooperation with the State, County and Cape May Point to additionally develop a comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Plan for both communities. The plan is being completed by Parsons-Brinckerhoff Engineering Services, and is being fully funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
The comprehensive bicycle/pedestrian path system planning and installation is set to begin in 2016, and will be completed and opened in phases. The full system is planned to be operational in 2019.
Grant #2: State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation
Grant Amount: $179,000
Description: NJDOT Fiscal Year 2016 Municipal Aid Program for Reconstruction
Details: The City was also recently awarded funding in a competitive grant application for the paving of the southern side of the 1200 block of Cape May Avenue (between Reading and Trenton Avenues). The City will use the funds to reconstruct the block and include installation of new utilities, curbing along homefronts, improved Stormwater drainage and reconstruction of the entire street bed.
“These annual competitive grant awards from the NJDOT Municipal Road Aid Program allow for the City to completely reconstruct all related aspects of a municipal street for the long-term societal benefit, while reducing the burden on the taxpayer through the usage of grant funding,” says Mahaney.
The project is set to begin construction in January 2017 with a completion date set before Memorial Day 2017.