• Bike to the Sea project receives state grant.
“ The Patrick Administration announced that 22 trails projects across the commonwealth will receive grant funding under the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Recreational Trails Grants Program. The DCR program, which is part of the national Recreational Trails Program funded through the Federal Highway Administration, is awarding total of $465,000 in grants to local communities and nonprofit organizations to fund the trails projects.”
Tags: Bike to the Sea, Federal, FHA, grants, Mass DCR
State ranks last, tapping 37% of grants since 1991
from The Boston Globe
By Alan Wirzbicki
April 14, 2009
WASHINGTON – Despite a recent declaration by Governor Deval Patrick that encouraging bicycling is a priority for his administration, Massachusetts ranks last in the nation among all states in requesting federal funds for bike lanes, rail-trails, and similar improvements and has failed to use more than $80 million set aside for the state.
Since 1991, the state has only spent about 37 percent of its share of the funding designated by Congress for such projects, a far lower rate than in any other state, according to federal statistics. By comparison, Connecticut and Rhode Island have spent 99 percent of their federal funding.
Massachusetts has been allocated $135 million for bike and pedestrian funding since 1991, and has used $51.1 million. Critics blame the gap on a cumbersome application process that requires cities and towns to pay for planning and engineering studies, submit applications to two state agencies, and then wait, sometimes for years.
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Tags: Cycling, Federal, grants, Massachusetts
