Two grant opportunities for cities & local public health agencies to move Complete Streets forward--one due April 8th, 2020 (extended from March 23rd), the other June 15th, 2020

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has announced two grant opportunities to help cities, local public health agencies, and county health departments who want to move Complete Streets. 

Complete Streets in communities across Missouri--from the largest to the smallest

If you would like to see your community implement projects such as these, please encourage them to apply for one or both grants:

• Bicycle infrastructures/amenities (low-speed shared streets, bicycle boulevards, buffered bicycle lanes, conventional bicycle lanes, protected bicycle lanes, and signed bicycle routes-but do not include multi-use paths)
   
• Pedestrian infrastructure (sidewalks, context-sensitive traffic calming, intersection design, street lighting, and landscaping)
   
• Land use and environmental design (paved or unpaved trails, but does not include sidewalks or side paths)
   
• Public transit (includes bus, light rail, van pool, dial-a-ride, subway, and paratransit)
   
• Implementation of new or improved plans or policies (Complete Streets policies, bicycle and pedestrian master plans)

Grant #1 is open to any Missouri community and the application deadline is March 23rd April 8th.

Grant #2 is open to Missouri communities of population 20,000 or less, and the application deadline is June 15th.

Both grants require a community champion--someone within or outside of City Hall or the health department who is willing to take the lead in getting the project moving.  Maybe you are the champion in your community?

Grant #1 - Complete Streets Planning, application due March 23rd April 8th, funding April-Sept 2020

Grant #1 is for communities that want to develop a Complete Streets action plan between now and September 28, 2020.

The Action Plan is a work plan and timeline for moving forward with adopting a Complete Streets policy in the community, a bike/ped master plan, and/or multimodal design guidelines. 

The Missouri Livable Streets program has been working since 2009 to create better, safer communities for people to walk and bicycle. Click the graphic for more info about Missouri Livable Streets.

The community will not develop all those between now and September 28th.  Rather, they will develop a plan and timeline for doing so.

The grant includes one in-person training and funding for hiring consultans to facilitate developing the Action Plan, holding meetings to work on the plan, and so on.

That grant amounts are $10,000 and may be used for expenses such as hiring consultants and subcontracts to facilitate the Action Plan, holding meetings, and travel.

• Application deadline: March 23rd, 2020 April 8th, 2020

• Who is eligible to apply: Any Missouri city (of any size), local public health agency, or county health department
   
• Grant Application: Download link (note that the application will still mention the March 23rd due date--which has now been extended to April 8th)
   
• Sample Action Plan template: Download link. Each community that receives this grant will complete an Action Plan similar to this template as the end product of this grant, with specific steps and a timeline to work towards adopting a Complete Streets policy, a bike/ped master plan, and/or multimodal design guidelines for their community.

Grant #2 - Complete Streets Implementation, application due June 15th, funding for 1-2 years starting October 1st

Grant #2 is for communities who want to work on implementing Complete Streets, including adopting Complete Streets policies, creating bike/ped mast plans or multimodal design guidelines, and implementing Complete Streets and bike/ped projects.

Seven Missouri communities receive similar grants 2018-2020 and these seven communities have made very considerable progress in moving Complete Streets forward in their communities in just over a year. 

Warsaw, Missouri, was one of the first group of seven communities to receive Active Living Community of Practice Funding 2018-2020

The communities must have a population of 20,000 or smaller and will participate in these activities over the 1-2 years starting October 1st, 2020:

• Create or revise an active living plan for their community.  Active living plans are documents that have been approved by local or regional authorities that strengthen standards related to activity-friendly routes between at least two everyday destinations.
   
• Receive training and technical assistance on evidence-based built environment approaches to increase active living.
   
• Work with consultants to discuss the needs of their community.
   
• Participate in various opportunities to interact and learn from other communities who have already participated in the first ALCP. 
   
• Participate in at least 1-2 face-to-face trainings.
   
• Have the opportunity to receive funding for one year and possibly two years.

Application info & materials:

• Application deadline: June 15th, 2020
   
• Who is eligible to apply: Any Missouri city with population 20,000 or less and local public health agencies and county health departments serving such a community
   
• Grant Application: Download link (.docx)
   
• More information: Background and information about the grant program from the Misouri Department of Health (.docx)

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' work since 2009 to support Complete Streets in Missouri

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service's work to support development of Complete Streets across Missouri has been going on since about 2009, when they received CDC funding to support active living and health programs. 

Example of the Missouri Livable Streets project's work to support Complete Streets across Missouri in communities of every kind. Click the graphic for a resource page for Complete Streets, including the Rural Perspectives guide and many other resources for communities of all types and sizes

Consulting with leaders in the Missouri's health and active living communities, including the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation and other bike/ped/trails organizations across the state at that time, DHSS decided to focus the active living portion of their work on promoting Complete Streets.

Since they time, they have organized a Livable Streets Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of major organizations and agencies with an interest in this work, including Trailnet, PedNet, BikeWalkKC, Ozark Greenways, Missourians for Responsible Transportation, the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, MoDOT, the Department of Health & Senior Services, other state agencies, and many metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning commissions, cities, and counties across Missouri.

In addition the department has hired consultants from major bicycle & pedestrian organizations in Missouri, like PedNet, Trailnet, and Missourians for Responsible Transportation, to work directly with interested communities to provide training, guidance, and support in passing and implementing Complete Streets policies.

The Missouri Livable Streets group has created guidance for citizens and public officials in adopting and implementing Complete Streets and administered several rounds of funding for technical assistance and support for communities who want to develop or implement Complete Streets policies.

Many helpful materials and guides can be found on the Missouri Livable Streets web site.

The work of the Missouri Department of Health and the Missouri Livable Streets Advisory Committee and consultants is one of the primary reasons Missouri has such as strong Complete Streets presence, including

• 43 Complete Streets policies passed by cities, counties, regional planning organizations, and the state legislature
• Over 2.7 million Missourians live in a city or county with an adopted Complete Streets Policy
• Over 3.2 million Missourians live in a Metropolitan Planning Organization boundary that has an adopted Complete Streets Policy

Find out more about Complete Streets in Missouri, which communities and MPOs have already passed Complete Streets Policies, and how you can get your community started down the Complete Streets path on MoBikeFed's Missouri Complete Streets page.

Results from the first round of Complete Streets Implementation grants, 2018-2020

Seven communities received funding in the first round of Active Living Community of Practice, which started in  October 2018 and runs through September 2020.

Here are some of the results:

• One community has already passed a Complete Streets policy, and several more are working towards passing one.
• Three communities are working collaboratively to maximize their active living reach within their county.
• One community is addressing pedestrian movement by installing bike racks and information centers that highlight and mark routes to different destinations within their community.  The routes will have reflective signs and sharrows on the roadways.  They also have lowered the speed limits on streets to 20 mph and have installed new signage to reflect the changes. 
• One community created a new trail connection that links the town to the soccer, baseball, and softball fields, and new park features.  Prior to the completion of this connector, citizens did not have a safe and hazard-free way to these amenities.

More information about Complete Streets/Livable Streets:

• Visit MoBikeFed's Missouri Complete Streets page here
• Visit the Missouri Livable Streets page here

Working to support Complete Streets across Missouri helps us reach all four of the major goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri: Creating a world-class bicycle and pedestrian network across Missouri, encouraging more bicycling and walking across Missouri, improving safety for all road users in Missouri, and supporting and building a movement of people and groups across the state in support of more, better, safer bicycling, walking and trails.

Your ongoing membership and generous financial support helps turn our Vision into reality!