Transportation Enhancements Program

The RPA currently receives an annual allocation of approximately $167,000 in federal transportation funding under the STP program that is earmarked for transportation enhancements.  These funds are distributed within the RPA through a annual grant program managed by the Area 15 Regional Planning Commission.  The annual deadline for applications is the beginning of January each year.

 Eligible activities for Enhancement funding include the following:

• Provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Provision of safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites. 
• Scenic or historic highway programs, including tourist and welcome center facilities.
• Landscaping and other scenic beautification.
• Historic Preservation.
• Rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities, including historic railroad facilities and canals.
• Preservation of abandoned railway corridors, including the conversion and use for pedestrian and bike trails.
• Control and removal of outdoor advertising.
• Archaeological planning and research.
• Environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway runoff or reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity.
• Establishment of transportation museums.

 In addition to being one of these twelve activities, the project must have a relationship to surface transportation, and cannot be related to aviation or military transportation.  This relationship can be through the project’s use in transportation or its connection to a person or event significant in the development of surface transportation.  The RPA has an application system where projects are submitted to the Area 15 Regional Planning Commission for a review of eligibility.  Eligible projects are then reviewed and scored by the TAC. The TAC then makes a recommendation to the Policy Board on whether to fund a project and the funding level based upon the project’s score.  The Policy Board reviews the TAC’s recommendation and holds a public hearing before making its decision on a project.  Projects approved by the Policy Board are included in the region’s Transportation Improvement Program, which becomes part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.