“The Murphy Administration is committed improving safety by providing resources to improve sidewalks
and bike paths near schools,” NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor said. “The Safe Routes to School
program encourages children to stay active by walking and biking to school, and is a great example of
how NJDOT, working with the state’s three regional planning authorities, helps utilize federal funding to
support communities through local transportation projects.”
Infrastructure improvement projects to be funded through this program include sidewalk improvements;
pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements; and on street bicycle facilities.
The SRTS is a federally-funded program to increase pedestrian safety among motorists and
schoolchildren. The program is administered by the NJDOT in partnership with the North Jersey
Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and
the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO).
The program was created to encourage children to walk and bike to school. The goal is to make bicycling
and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, encouraging a healthy and
active lifestyle from an early age. Projects are designed to improve safety, as well as reduce traffic, fuel
consumption and air pollution near schools.
Of the 21 grants being awarded to local governments to make pedestrian safety improvements near K-12
schools, 16 grants totaling $14.0 million are within the NJTPA region, which includes Bergen, Essex,
Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren
counties. Four grants totaling $5 million are within the DVRPC region, which includes Burlington, Camden,
Gloucester, and Mercer counties in New Jersey and five counties in Pennsylvania. The final three grants
totaling $2.1 million are within the SJTPO region, which includes Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and
Salem counties.
Infrastructure improvement projects to be funded through this program include sidewalk improvements;
pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements; and on street bicycle facilities.
