Shoreline receives grant funding for sidewalks in Briarcrest and the Aurora Corridor Project

From the office of the Shoreline City Manager

The passage of the State’s Transportation Budget brought good news regarding two funding programs that the City applied for in 2010.

As part of the 2011-2013 Transportation Budget, the State awarded the City $385,000 in Safe Routes to Schools program funding. 

The money is to be used to build sidewalks near Briarcrest Elementary and implement a program to encourage safe walking and biking to school. The City also received $6,357,839 in Regional Mobility Grant Program funding for the Aurora Corridor Project.

The purpose of the Safe Routes to Schools program is to improve safety and mobility for children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school. Funding from this program is for projects within two-miles of primary and middle schools (K-8). It is a highly competitive funding program; only 29 projects of the 124 submitted from throughout the state were selected for funding.

The City developed the application cooperatively with the Shoreline Police and the Shoreline School District, who also provided additional financial support. It is anticipated that the project will begin in the fall of 2011, with construction in the summer of 2012.

The Regional Mobility Grant Program supports local efforts to improve transit mobility and reduce congestion on Washington State’s most heavily traveled roadways. The $6,357,839 was awarded for the Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes to be constructed on Aurora from N 192nd Street to N 205th Street. It is the largest amount funded among the 16 statewide projects awarded funding.

Design and right-of way acquisition for this segment of Aurora is currently underway. Additional grant funding will continue to be pursued to complete construction between N 192nd and N 205th Streets. Construction on this segment could begin as early as the summer of 2012. The City anticipates completing the three (3) miles of Aurora improvements with approximately 90% of the funding coming from county, state and federal grants.

Through its aggressive grants program, the City continually looks for ways to leverage local taxpayers’ dollars.