AOT breaks down bike‑ped, stormwater and road grants; officials cite funding variability

Joel Perico, municipal assistance program manager at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation committee on an unspecified date that the agency has seen steady interest in its bike‑and‑pedestrian, scoping, municipal stormwater and Better Roads programs but that annual award totals vary with available formula and federal funding.

Perico said the bike‑ped (BIPED) solicitation is annual and typically announced in spring, with awards in late summer. Large‑scale grants fund design and construction, a separate pool covers additional funding for existing grants, and the agency generally funds scoping applications. “We try to fund all of our scoping applications,” Perico said, adding that scoping produces a preferred alternative — a conceptual layout and estimate that strengthens later design and construction applications.

Why it matters: the allocation and timing of these grants affect whether towns can move short sidewalk or culvert projects from concept…