Municipal Aid Applications Being Accepted for Nearly $165M from NJDOT

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) April 27 announced the grant solicitation period for NJDOT’s Fiscal Year 2022 state aid programs, including Municipal Aid, as well as the Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs, is open, with applications being accepted starting April 27 through July 1.
“The New Jersey Department of Transportation is committed to maintaining and improving local roads and bridges by providing financial assistance, technical expertise and training for municipal and county transportation initiatives,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti stated. “Municipal Aid grants, along with funds provided through our Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs, allow our cities and towns to make needed safety and quality-of-life improvements to enhance our local transportation infrastructure, without the need to burden local property taxes.”
According to a release, NJDOT, in 2019, shifted the grant cycle to better allow municipalities to incorporate awarded projects into upcoming municipal budgets. This provides more certainty for local governments and helps get important infrastructure projects to construction sooner. 
Grant awards are expected to be announced in November. 
The following is a brief description of each grant program:
· Municipal Aid – This $151.25 million program has been a significant resource in funding local transportation projects. All municipalities are eligible. The department continues to encourage municipalities to consider using the Municipal Aid Program to fund projects that support walking and biking in their communities, especially now that additional funds are available. An additional $10 million is provided in Urban Aid, for a total of $161.25 million.
· Transit Village – This $1 million program provides grants for traditional and non-traditional transportation projects that enhance walking, biking and/or transit ridership within a half-mile of the transit facility. Only New Jersey municipalities that have been designated as Transit Villages by the Commissioner of Transportation and the inter-agency Transit Village Task Force are eligible to apply. The eligible town list can be found at:  http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/localaid/transitvillagef.shtm
· Bikeways – This $1 million program is intended to fund bicycle projects that create new bike path mileage. It is available to all counties and municipalities. 
The department continues to work toward the goal of achieving 1,000 miles of dedicated bikeways in New Jersey. Special consideration will be given to bikeways that are physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier, but on-road bike lanes and other bike routes and facilities are also eligible for funding.
· Safe Streets to Transit – This $1 million program intends to encourage counties and municipalities to construct safe and accessible pedestrian linkages to transit facilities, in order to promote increased usage of transit by all segments of the population.
The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. The Local Aid Resource Center provides a central warehouse for local government managers by providing hands-on resources for the application process, raising awareness of grant cycles and proactively communicating program information.