On Monday night, Planning Board members reviewed and unanimously accepted a policy that, if approved by the selectmen, will allow them to seek funding for town center improvements through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Complete Streets Program.
The program provides $50,000 in technical assistance funding and up to $400,000 per year in construction funding for participating municipalities. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development recently denied Harvard’s application for $500,000 to create sidewalks and safer crosswalks in the town center, so these pedestrian safety improvements would have to be scaled back unless an alternative source of funding is obtained.
Town Planner Bill Scanlan said that the town is on track to meet Complete Streets Funding Program deadlines for fiscal 2018 funding. Scanlan said the first step in the process is to obtain technical assistance funding, which will allow the town to augment the 2016 Harvard Town Center Transportation Study and create a prioritization plan that meets MassDOT program requirements. To obtain construction funding for fiscal 2018, a complete prioritization plan must be submitted to MassDOT for approval no later than Sept. 1.
Many of the surrounding communities have elected to seek funding through the program, including Lancaster, Shirley, Ayer, Stow, and Littleton. Neither Bolton nor Maynard are currently involved in the program.
The Complete Streets Program
MassDOT’s Complete Streets Funding Program was created through the 2014 Transportation Bond Bill, which authorized $50 million for the program. In February 2016 the Baker-Polito administration announced the funding program guidelines and launched the program’s online portal. The first round of funding awards, announced in September 2016, went to 11 municipalities and totaled $4.4 million. In January 2017 the administration announced a second round of program grants to 15 additional communities, totaling $5.5 million. Though all 2017 funds have been awarded, MassDOT is accepting fund requests for fiscal 2018.
The Complete Streets Program was designed to reward communities for providing safe and accessible options for all means of travel, including walking, biking, mass transit, and motorized vehicles (auto and freight), for users of all abilities. The ultimate aim of the program is to create more “livable communities” by making travel safer and more convenient. According to program designers, using Complete Streets principles helps communities create more efficient transportation systems by maximizing space, improving access to public transport, and increasing transportation options. The Centers for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department Public of Health support the program as a means to reduce obesity and chronic disease by making non-automobile travel safer, easier, and more appealing. Designers claim that it also generates economic benefits by encouraging residents and visitors to shop locally, increasing business revenues and local property values.
Eligible projects may be large or small in scale, but they must focus on improving safety and pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile mobility. Examples of eligible projects include traffic-calming measures, shared lane markings, and new sidewalks, all of which are proposed in the 2016 Harvard Town Center Transportation Study.
The program offers technical assistance grants of up to $50,000 to perform safety audits or transit network gap analyses and up to $400,000 per year in construction funding. To obtain funding, municipalities must meet specific requirements, which MassDOT has structured into three participation tiers.
The first step in the funding process is to complete Tier 1 activities that are geared toward training and policy development. A municipality’s designated representative must complete MassDOT’s Complete Streets Training program. The town must then create a Complete Streets Policy, which has to be approved by the town’s highest elected official or board with one public meeting. The approved policy is submitted to MassDOT for review. If the policy scores 80 or more points out of a possible 100, MassDOT will accept the policy, and the town will have completed Tier 1 and be eligible for $50,000 in technical assistance funding. This funding is used to perform studies such as safety audits or transit network gap analyses that will help the town create a project prioritization plan.
In Tier 2, participants develop and submit the prioritization plan. In its plan, a community must identify projects that incorporate Complete Streets program elements and rank those projects according to their ability to address the community’s needs. Once the plan has been developed, it is sent to MassDOT for review, and, if accepted, the participant advances to Tier 3.
Tier 3 participants must submit a construction schedule and project cost estimate. To receive final approval and permission to proceed with construction projects, they must prove they are ready to begin work.
