More Stimulus Money Available for Bike/Ped

State DOTs have extra stimulus money to spend, and that might mean a few bike/ped projects have a second chance for approval.

Due to the recession, many bids for transportation projects are lower than expected. This means that many state DOTs have ended spending much less than their original estimates on stimulus projects and are going back to the drawing board to find more projects to fund.

Here’s a template letter our friends at Smart Growth America put together that you can send to your state DOT.

We suggest asking your DOT as publically as possible for specific projects you want funded.

Develop a list of specific examples of projects, or pull from the Ready To Go List of projects.

Mobilize other organizations to join you as coauthors of the letter.

Share the letter with interested reporters.

** Before you can send the letter, you’ll need to work with your state DOTs and/or other stimulus officials to identify how much stimulus funding has been freed up by contractors’ lower-than-anticipated bids. The ease with which this can be accomplished will likely vary from state to state. However, this information should be either readily available or can be generated, upon request, by state officials. **

These decisions are being made right now. And in most cases they are not being made publicly. So quick movement on this issue is important.

Thanks and good luck.