The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the award of $5,318,845.57 in the fifth round of funding from the Baker-Polito Administration’s Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program.
The program, which was launched on November 10, provides technical and funding assistance to help Massachusetts cities and towns conceive, design, and implement tactical changes to curbs, streets, and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce, with a special focus on the challenges of winter.
The awards made will provide funding to 36 municipalities and two public transit authorities for 40 projects. Of the awarded municipalities, 50% are designated Environmental Justice communities and 18% are considered high-risk for Covid infections. A total of 58% of today’s winners have never received a Shared Streets and Spaces award before.
Since the inception of the program in June of 2020, the Commonwealth has invested $26.4 million in municipal Shared Streets projects.
The Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program provides grants as small as $5,000 and as large as $500,000 for municipalities and transit authorities quickly launch changes for safer walking, biking, public transit, recreation, commerce, and civic activities. These improvements can be intentionally temporary or can be pilots of potentially permanent changes. MassDOT is particularly focused on projects that respond to the current public health crisis and provide safe mobility for children, for elders, to public transportation, and to open space and parks.
The local list of cities and towns awarded Shared Winter Streets and Spaces grants in this funding round are:
•Chelsea received $148,500.00 to implement new bicycle- and pedestrian-oriented roadway treatments along Division Street and Winnisimmet Street, as well as the deployment of mobile barriers at Winnisimmet Street to block vehicular traffic during community events.
•Winthrop received $40,000.00 to purchase and install four new bus shelters.