Action Plan Service Award Program Overview

Printable Version of Program Overview (72Kb) Action Plan Guidelines (1.6Mb) Call for Proposal - CLOSED

Action Plan Service Awards provide assistance to
schools or communities beginning a Safe Routes to School program, through the development of a plan.  Any local or regional government agency, tribal government, or school district is eligible to apply.  The Action Plans provide a framework for identifying projects, programs and activities that will make walking and bicycling to school safer and more appealing.  Action Plan Service Award recipients create their plans by working with
a consultant, designated and directly contracted by NCDOT, who is trained to develop a SRTS Action Plan.  Plans may encompass one or two schools in close proximity or any three to five schools within a community or school district.  The NCDOT has $300,000 of SRTS funds set aside for the Action Plan Service Award program.

The following program overview was compiled to provide prospective applicants with supplemental information about the SRTS Action Plan Service Award. If additional assistance is needed, please contact the NCDOT Sarah O'Brien, Safe Routes to School Interim Coordinator, (919) 807-0774 skworth@unity.ncsu.edu

 

Action Plan Service Award Program Overview Sections:

Program Overview

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Action Plans are a great way to begin your local Safe Routes to School program.  By developing an Action Plan, you pull together a group of individuals committed to making the changes required to get more children walking and biking to school.  The Action Plan provides a framework through which you can systematically identify obstacles to safe travel, then identify solutions and prioritize their implementation.  Perhaps most importantly, it provides the structure needed to keep your SRTS program going, even as members of the original SRTS School Team move on.

Services Awarded

To encourage the development of SRTS Action Plans, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has set aside funds to assist communities in preparing Action Plans.  This competitive program is unique among the SRTS grant programs offered by NCDOT in that it is a service award, rather than a cost reimbursement grant.  Applicants selected to receive an Action Plan Service Award will be assigned a qualified consultant under contract with NCDOT to work with you to prepare your Action Plan.  The NCDOT will have a limited number of qualified consultants under contract to perform services related to Action Plan development.  The NCDOT will compensate the consultants directly based on a scope of work and agreed upon fee.  It is anticipated that the Action Plan fees will range between $15,000 and $30,000, paid directly to the consultants, depending on the number of schools addressed and the detailed level of effort contained within each scope of work.

The specific scope of work for each school or community’s Action Plan will be developed jointly by the assigned consultant, the lead agency (program applicant), and the Safe Routes to School Coordinator.  The scope of work for each Action Plan will be based on the Safe Routes to School Action Plan Guidelines prepared by the NCDOT.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Guidelines before completing this application.

Each “School Team” and lead agency will be active participants in the preparation of their Action Plan.  For example, the lead agency may be asked to lead and coordinate public meetings, provide start-up materials such as maps, provide meeting venues, and assist with data collection activities.  If additional work tasks are desired from the consultant beyond the scope of work needed for a SRTS Action Plan, the lead agency may contribute local, supplementary funds to the effort.  The NCDOT SRTS Program will fund only those activities that specifically plan for improvements and programs that promote safe, active travel to school and are included in the signed agreement between NCDOT and the recipient.

Action Plan Service Award Timeline*

October 22, 2007	Solicit Call for Proposals
January 14, 2008	Applications due to NCDOT Division of Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) office by 5:00 pm
March 2008	Eligible applications distributed to review committee for scoring
April 2008	Review committee makes recommendations
June - July 2008	Board of Transportation approves consultant contracts and applicants are notified of award
Aug. - Sept. 2008	Scoping meetings with award recipients, SRTS Coordinator, and Consultants

Applicant Eligibility

Any local or regional agency, federally recognized tribal government, school or school district that can demonstrate an ability to meet the requirements of the federal SRTS program is eligible to apply for an Action Plan.  A Resolution of Support and Administration from the lead sponsoring agency or organization (award applicant) must be attached to the application indicating support of the Action Plan proposal. The lead agency must commit to acting as the program manager for the preparation, management, and completion of the Action Plan.  This sponsor will also be the NCDOT’s primary contact if awarded the service grant and will work closely with the assigned consultant.

Other members of the community with a strong interest in and support for the development of a SRTS Action Plan are strongly encouraged to partner with the lead agency to develop and support the application.  A letter of support from the principal of each school that will participate in the development or implementation of the Action Plan must be attached with the application.  If the school district is not the lead agency, it may also supply an endorsement if it chooses.

To stimulate creative approaches to implementing the SRTS Program, communities are encouraged to develop relationships among diverse stakeholders.  Letters of support from these other stakeholders may be attached to the application.  Partners who may be contributing funds or resources to the development of the Action Plan must supply a resolution or letter indicating support in the application.  For projects that are within a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), resolutions of support from the respective MPO must be obtained and attached to application.  Resolutions of support from respective Rural Planning Organizations, although not required, are strongly encouraged.   A list of MPOs and RPOs and their respective contact information can be found on the NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch web site. 

Projects, Programs and Activities within an Action Plan

Each SRTS Action Plan must address the “five E’s”:  engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation.  The federal SRTS guidelines are flexible to encourage innovation and creativity.  However, some restrictions do apply.  The Action Plans must address active travel to schools serving grades K – 8, although they may indirectly benefit high school students or the general community, as well.  Infrastructure improvements and engineering treatments identified through a Plan must occur within a two-mile radius of the schools.  This represents the maximum distance most children are likely to bicycle to school.

Infrastructure projects identified through an Action Plan should improve the safety for bicycling and walking to school along identified school routes so that students are enabled to walk or bike to school.  Sidewalk improvements, traffic calming and speed reduction improvements, pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements, on-street bicycle facilities, off-street bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and traffic diversion improvements are all infrastructure-related projects that can be considered in an Action Plan. 

Non-infrastructure programs and activities consist of programs and activities that, when implemented, aim to shift community behavior, attitudes and social norms through education, encouragement and enforcement strategies.  These projects identified through a Plan should also support increased safety and convenience for children to walk and/or bicycle to school.  Public awareness campaigns and outreach to media and community leaders; traffic education and enforcement in the vicinity of schools; student sessions on bicycle and pedestrian safety, health, and environment are all types of non-infrastructure related programs and activities that should be addressed through an Action Plan.

Applicants may apply for a SRTS Action Plan that allows for needs to be addressed at one or two schools in close proximity (like an elementary school and adjacent middle school) or at multiple schools.  A “multiple school” Action Plan is limited to three to five schools within a community or school district. 

Inappropriate Action Plan Components

Although SRTS Programs are flexible to allow for creative partnerships and solutions, there are certain activities and projects that do not meet the spirit of the Program.  Actions Plans should exclude addressing:

• Programs and activities that do not specifically serve the stated purposes of the SRTS Program (see Purpose of SRTS ).

• Projects that focus on pick-up and drop-off areas or procedures in order to make it more convenient for the drivers rather than to improve child safety and/or walking and bicycling access.

• Education programs that primarily focus on bus safety.

• Engineering improvements that focus on bus stops.

Selection Criteria and Review Process

The NCDOT staff will conduct a preliminary review of all applications for eligibility, completeness and general appropriateness.  Applications that pass the initial screening will then be reviewed by the Review Committee.  This group is likely to include Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) staff, Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) staff, representatives from public education and public health agencies, law enforcement representatives, and individuals with professional experience related to developing, administering and/or implementing bicycle- and pedestrian-related plans, programs and activities. Representatives from MPO’s, RPO’s, and Councils of Government (COG’s) will serve on the Review Committee.  The Review Committee will examine the applications and evaluate them based on how well the proposals meets the selection criteria outlined below and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funding guidelines.  The Federal Highway Administration must approve all selected applicants.

Because the Action Plan Service Award is available at two geographic levels, applicants will only compete with other applicants proposing Plans at the same level.  These levels are described as follows:

• One or Two Schools:  Applicants from this level include an individual school or two schools in close proximity that may share neighborhoods, pools of students, or similar problems or needs that can be addressed in one Action Plan. 
• Multiple Schools:  This category includes three to five schools within a municipality or school district that can be targeted through an Action Plan.

Successful applications will:

• Exemplify the purpose of SRTS Program.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the value in developing education, enforcement, and encouragement initiatives, and demonstrate a need for an Action Plan to fulfill these initiatives.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the particular modal user (child bicyclist or pedestrian).
• Recognize the need to serve school populations as a whole, if applicable (i.e. students who live too far to walk, those with disabilities, etc.).
• Assure assignment of an appropriate contact person within the sponsoring lead agency or organization to work with NCDOT and the assigned consultant during the development of the Action Plan.
• Demonstrate widespread local support:
  • Include Resolution of Support and Administration from lead sponsor (required)
  • Include Letter of Support from each school directly identified through the Action Plan (required)
  • Include Letter of Support/Resolution from all financially contributing partners (required)
  • Include Letter of Support from school district(s) (encouraged)
  • Include resolution from MPO (required) or RPO (encouraged)
  • Include letters of support and endorsements from other stakeholders and partners (encouraged)
• Identify valid partnerships with local stakeholders and/or address the need to develop a SRTS committee or task force.
• Build on existing school, local, regional or statewide initiatives as they relate to SRTS.
• Identify realistic objectives to evaluate the success of programs/activities that will be implemented through the Action Plan.
  
  

Conditions of Action Plan Service Award

The lead sponsoring agency demonstrates its commitment to support the preparation of an Action Plan through the resolution of support contained within its application. The sponsoring agency must submit a SRTS committee/task force member list to NCDOT. The lead sponsoring agency must be willing to work with the consultant assigned to them by NCDOT.

Expenses incurred or work done on plan development before receipt of a Notice to Proceed are not reimbursable and any such costs must be absorbed by the contracting agency/organization (lead agency). 

Service Award recipients will have twelve (12) months to complete their Action Plans, starting from the date of receipt of a written Notice to Proceed. 

Service Award recipients must collect baseline evaluation data at each school participating in this Action Plan using the Student In-Class Travel Tally and the Parent Survey.  The time period for collecting this data will be defined in the contracting agreement.  An evaluation component must also be addressed through the Action Plan. 

NCDOT must be credited for participation in documents, materials, press releases and other announcements and promotional materials related to the development of the Action Plan.

All electronic files, maps, technical illustrations, etc. produced with these funds will become the property of NCDOT-DBPT and the award recipient.
















08/20/08