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Las Cruces Public Schools seeks $700,000 in TAP funds to continue Safe Routes to School program
Summary
At a Mesilla Valley MPO BPAC meeting, Las Cruces Public Schools requested $700,000 in Transportation Alternatives Program funding to continue its Safe Routes to School program from 2026–2028, citing education, outreach and equity work reaching hundreds of students.
Ashley Curry, the Safe Routes to School coordinator for Las Cruces Public Schools and a citizen representative on the MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee, asked the committee to recommend a $700,000 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant request to the MPO governing board.
Curry told the committee the Safe Routes program teaches pedestrian and bicycle safety, runs encouragement events and conducts walk audits prioritized by the social vulnerability index. "Our mission is to make walking and biking viable, enjoyable and safe, a safe option for students in Las Cruces Public Schools," she said, adding the program currently teaches a third-grade curriculum districtwide and offers on-bike instruction and middle- and high-school programs.
The application requests $598,080 from NMDOT with a 14.56% local match from the school district of $101,920 for a two-year period covering 2026–2028. Curry said the program now has three full-time staff, two part-time staff and 45 walking-school-bus leaders and described data-collection efforts including student travel tallies and walk audits.
A public attendee asked whether the presentation was a request or a report; Curry said it was both an account of past work and an application to continue the program with the requested funds.
MPO staff placed the Safe Routes application alongside the Town of Mesilla's TAP application for lighting on a multi-use trail. The BPAC voted to recommend both projects to the MPO governing board. The motion to recommend the two TAP projects carried with the committee voting in favor (motion moved by Longino Bustillos; seconded by Andrew Guerra, NMDOT). The governing board will consider final approval and funding allocations.
The committee did not set program-level conditions in the meeting. Curry said program evaluation results, walk-audit recommendations and continued coordination with city, county and state partners would guide engineering or infrastructure work identified through the Safe Routes activities.
