Funding Supports Goals of New York’s Nation-Leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and Emphasizes Activities that Address the Mobility Needs of All Users and Abilities
Assists Municipalities in Meeting the Requirements of the Clean Air Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $110 million in new funding is available to support community-based investments designed to strengthen the cultural, aesthetic, and environmental aspects of local and regional transportation systems, while promoting safety and mobility. This initiative funds projects that create new and enhance existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to schools, convert abandoned railway corridors to pedestrian trails and help reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. In addition, these funds may be used by municipalities to support activities that meet requirements of the Clean Air Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
«As we reimagine, rebuild and renew for the post-pandemic future, we must recognize that safety and mobility are essential for our diverse regions to grow and prosper,» Governor Cuomo said. «These community-based projects reaffirm New York’s nation-leading commitment to protecting the environment while facilitating local economic development and improving public health.«
Projects will be selected through a competitive solicitation process and rated based on established criteria that include public benefit, air quality improvement, and finance and/or delivery innovation. Projects must be related to the surface transportation system and provide full access to the public. Applications for funding may be developed by any municipality or non-profit incorporated group, but projects must be sponsored either by a municipality, a state agency or public authority eligible to administer federal transportation funds. Eligible project activities include:
- Constructing new/enhancing existing pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
- Constructing new/enhancing existing ADA accessible sidewalks, installing pedestrian safety features and adding streetscaping/corridor landscaping.
- Converting abandoned railroad corridors into multi-use recreational trails.
- Preserving/rehabilitating historic transportation facilities.
- Implementing environmental mitigation measures to address stormwater management, control, and water pollution prevention or abatement related to highway runoff.
- Reducing vehicle-caused wildlife mortality or to restore and maintain connectivity among terrestrial or aquatic habitats.
- Enhancing traffic signals or intersections that improve traffic flow; and
- Providing travel demand programs intended to shift traffic demand to non-peak hours or other transportation modes.
The funds, made available to the State through the Federal Highway Administration and administered by the New York State Department of Transportation, are provided through the Transportation Alternatives Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. These programs will provide up to 80 percent of project-related cost, with the remaining 20 percent provided by project Sponsors. The New York State Department of Transportation will be accepting applications for this funding opportunity through September 29, 2021. The application, program guidance and workshop schedules are located at dot.ny.gov/tap-cmaq.
Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, «This program is a great example of how New York State DOT is continuing to advance policies and programs that afford all New Yorkers safe and environmentally sound mobility opportunities for work, recreation and social connectivity. These critical community-based investments provide positive impacts for our downtown business districts and enhance the overall safety and quality of life for our State’s residents and visitors.»
New York State’s Nation-Leading Climate Plan
Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieving its mandated goal of a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy-wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York’s unprecedented ramp-up of clean energy including a $3.9 billion investment in 67 large-scale renewable projects across the state, the creation of more than 150,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector, a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035, and 1,800 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while meeting a goal to deliver 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities, and advancing progress towards the state’s 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs in end-use savings.