The NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and the Transportation Planning Branch created an annual matching grant program – the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative – to encourage municipalities to develop comprehensive bicycle plans and pedestrian plans. This program was initiated in January 2004 and is currently administered through NCDOT-DBPT.

To date, a total of $2,969,468 has been allocated to 122 municipalities through this grant program. Funding for the program comes from an allocation first approved by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2003 in addition to federal funds earmarked specifically for bicycle and pedestrian planning through the Department’s Transportation Planning Branch.

Planning Guide

The Abbreviated Template below reflects the suggested organization and content for development of a comprehensive municipal bicycle or pedestrian plan. This abbreviated template was developed as a guide to municipalities preparing a plan with funds received through the NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. The Full Template provides more detailed guidance on specific plan content that may be within the elements indicated in the Abbreviated Template.

• Abbreviated Template
• Full Template

Key Dates

The Call for Proposals is currently CLOSED. Awarded municipalities will have 18 months to complete their plan, starting when the Municipal Reimbursement Agreement is executed.

Key dates for the NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative 2012 Cycle are shown below.

Important Dates for the Planning Grant Initiative

Activity	Date
Issue Call for Proposals	September 2, 2011
Application submission deadline - 5:00 pm	December 2, 2011
Awards Committee makes recommendations to NCDOT	March 2012
Board of Transportation gives approval	May 2012
Municipalities notified of award	June 2012
Municipal Reimbursement Agreement (MRA) executed and Notice to Proceed Issued	Within 6 months from notification of award
Plan completion deadline	Within 18 months from execution of MRA

Grant Recipients

Fifteen municipalities were recently notified of their award for the 2011 cycle of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. NCDOT received applications from 23 municipalities from across the state competing for a share of the program funding available in 2011. Since 2004, 122 municipalities have been awarded a planning grant out of 301 total applicants.

• View List of Grant Recipients

Sample Plans

We have made available for review sample bike and pedestrian transportation plans. It is recommended that you also review the Full Template planning guide developed by the DBPT to understand the elements and content that should be addressed in these comprehensive plans. Consultants are expected to work closely with city's staff to provide research, planning, design, public involvement and engineering services in accordance with the subjects outlined in the template.

• View Sample Plans

Request for Consultant Participation

The DBPT is currently assembling a list of consultants with experience in multi-modal transportation planning with emphasis in comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian planning. We will provide this list as a resource to those communities that have received Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants and are looking for help in preparing their plans.

• Read more on how Consultants can participate

Planning Resources

The Web sites listed below and suggested links provide useful information with relevance to bicycle and pedestrian planning. Much of this information may be helpful when developing bicycle and pedestrian plans and programs.

Planning Grant FAQs