Committee backs letter of support for city’s Safe Streets for All grant application

The committee voted to draft a letter supporting the city of Grand Junction’s application for a Safe Streets for All implementation grant administered by the Federal Highway Administration. Staff outlined the application and said the city’s main requests include funding for Phase 2 of the North Avenue enhanced transit corridor, a five-year roadway safety audit (RSA) program, continuation of a regional traffic symposium and a traffic-safety village for children.

"The big things that we are asking for in this grant application is North Avenue enhanced transportation corridor ... we will be asking for funding for phase 2 of that," the Chair said while describing the grant’s components. Chair also said the RSA program would include crash-data reviews, site visits and five years of funding to support a local RSA program.

A committee member moved to develop a letter of support and another member seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. Staff asked for a quick turnaround and will circulate a draft to members with a requested return by next Thursday.

Why it matters: the implementation grant would allow Grand Junction to move from planning to construction on walking, biking and transit improvements along North Avenue and to institutionalize a local RSA program. The proposal also includes outreach and safety-education elements such as short social-media safety videos led by Fire and Police.

What’s next: staff will draft and send the letter of support to committee members for final sign-off; the grant decision timeline was described as similar to last year’s schedule, with applications due in June and awards often announced months later.

Speakers quoted in this article are included in the meeting’s speaker list and appear in the transcript.