News  MassDOT Announces $5.3 Million in Shared Winter Streets & Spaces Program Funding Awards

Boston — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the award of $5,318,845.57 in the fifth round of funding from the Baker-Polito Administration’s Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program.  The program, which was launched on November 10, provides technical and funding assistance to help Massachusetts cities and towns conceive, design, and implement tactical changes to curbs, streets, and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce, with a special focus on the challenges of winter.

The awards made today will provide funding to 36 municipalities and two public transit authorities for 40 projects. Of the awarded municipalities, 50% are designated Environmental Justice communities and 18% are considered high-risk for COVID-19 infections. A total of 58% of today’s winners have never received a Shared Streets and Spaces award before.

Since the inception of the program in June of 2020, the Commonwealth has invested $26.4 million in municipal Shared Streets projects.

The Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program provides grants as small as $5,000 and as large as $500,000 for municipalities and transit authorities to quickly launch changes for safer walking, biking, public transit, recreation, commerce, and civic activities. These improvements can be intentionally temporary or can be pilots of potentially permanent changes. MassDOT is particularly focused on projects that respond to the current public health crisis and provide safe mobility for children, for elders, to public transportation, and to open space and parks.

The list of cities and towns awarded Shared Winter Streets and Spaces grants in this funding round are:

• Acton received $285,730.36 to create new connections to the Nathaniel Allen Recreation Area and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail by building a sidewalk on the north side of Harris Street connecting the new North Acton Fire Station to the existing sidewalk on Main Street.
• Alford received $24,002.00 to construct the Seekonk Brook Wetlands Trail Project, an off-road, ADA-compliant 500-foot walking trail on the southern portion of the Parsonage, a Town-owned historic property.
• Ashland received $300,000.00 to improve 1,175 linear feet of sidewalk adjacent to shops, restaurants, the Public Library, and the Farmers Market.
• Barnstable received $245,000.00 to install planters, lighting, benches, and concrete barriers to create a safe and expanded pedestrian walkway along Main Street to Hyannis Harbor.
• Brimfield received $254,275 to install pedestrian paths, lighting, and seating areas to make the downtown area more accessible and safer.
• Brookline received $199,835.00 to convert two seasonal BlueBike bike share stations into year-round stations.
• Chelsea received $148,500.00 to implement new bicycle- and pedestrian-oriented roadway treatments along Division Street and Winnisimmet Street, as well as the deployment of mobile barriers at Winnisimmet Street to block vehicular traffic during community events.
• Clinton received $101,830.00 to purchase tables, chairs, shading devices, way-finding, and vegetative buffers to allow downtown businesses and restaurants to extend into the public way.
• Fall River received $229,256.55 to install new bike lanes; pedestrian crossings, ADA-compliant ramps, and safety flashing beacons; and new wayfinding directed at bicyclists, in order to create better connections to the future East Coast Greenway and the existing Quequechan Rail Trail.
• Foxborough received $27,121.00 to pilot curb extensions using traffic delineators, with the possibility of future permanent construction.
• Franklin Regional Transit Authority, in partnership with Greenfield, received $44,649.28 to implement improvements at the Franklin Regional Transit Authority bus stop on Elm Street at Elm Terrace in Greenfield, to include a new section of sidewalk, new passenger waiting areas, crosswalks, signs, and ADA-compliant curb ramps.
• Gloucester received $275,320 to install ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps, crosswalks, and walkways at key pedestrian connections in its downtown.
• Hanson received $176,624.00 to install three new ADA-compliant crosswalks with flashing safety beacons along the route between the Middle School and the Elementary School.
• Hingham received $150,837.00 to add flashing safety beacons to four existing pedestrian crossings, providing safe routes to East Elementary School, South Elementary School, Plymouth River Elementary School, Hingham Middle School, Hingham High School, and Wompatuck State Park.
• Holyoke received $72,000 to purchase three new bikeshare stations, to add to the current nine stations, through the ValleyBike program. 
• Ipswich received $157,850.00 to repurpose a parking lot into a year-round riverfront outdoor dining and gathering space, including crosswalk improvements, new lighting, bike racks, and wayfinding to support downtown commerce.
• Malden received $102,009.60 to repurpose curb space and narrow vehicle travel lanes in order to install a two-way separated bike facility along the northwest side of Willow Street, as well as install crosswalk upgrades, flashing safety beacons, and a median island.
• Marlborough received $178,700.44 to construct an on-road extension of the Assabet River Rail Trail to Main Street in Marlborough.
• The MBTA received $29,301.58 to fund ‘bus boxes’ at bus stops in Boston, Somerville, Arlington, Lynn, Quincy, Malden, and Salem, in order to increase the visibility of bus stops and reduce illegal parking.
• The MBTA received $87,545.00 to install five new bus shelters in Boston, Brookline, and Medford.
• The MBTA, in partnership with the Town of Brookline, received $387,301.00 to install dedicated bus lanes and transit signal priority equipment in the Gateway East, as well as an area for outdoor dining.  Pending consensus on final design.
• Merrimac received $30,000.00 to install ADA-compliant curb ramps between two schools.
• Natick received $78,750.00 to install street furniture, decorative lighting, and public art for permanent outdoor shared spaces on public roadways in Natick Center to make the area more welcoming for visitors traveling by foot, bike, and Commuter Rail.
• Needham received $57,200.00 to install two modular parklets to increase safe space for outdoor dining.
• Norfolk received $32,775.50 to install benches at Town Hill and detectable warning surfaces throughout the heart of Norfolk’s pedestrian network.
• Northborough received to $59,609.00 to install flashing safety beacons at crosswalks, new pavement markings, new ADA-compliant ramps with tactile warning strips, and new bicycle racks.
• Orange received $27,401.29 to improve accessibility in the downtown area and create new safe connections to the North Quabbin Trail, Town Hall, Council on Aging, District Court, and Franklin Regional Transit Authority, and Montachusett Regional Transit Authority bus stops by adding new crosswalks and narrowing Main Street.
• Pittsfield received $162,880.82 to create two quick-installation parklets to be available to local businesses and restaurants and buffered bike lanes on both sides of the street along a 0.7 mile long corridor.
• Quincy received $114,735.56 to reconstruct pedestrian facilities, including ramps, and improve traffic signals adjacent to both low-income and senior housing developments.
• Rockport received $86,990.00 to create ADA-accessible outdoor dining for businesses in and around Dock Square, including new signage and traffic calming.
• Sandwich received $70,815.84 to construct new ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps, install flashing safety beacons, and construct a new sidewalk to connect to a new recreation area that includes a skateboard park, pickleball courts, tennis courts, and walking trails.
• Sherborn received $36,000.00 to install a flashing safety beacon and temporary traffic calming island to provide safe access to playing fields and hiking and biking trails ahead of a major road paving project.
• Sterling received $170,000 to realign a roadway to create a new safe public gathering space and implement new pedestrian and bicycle facilities to make key connections to open space and parks.
• Sturbridge received $32,000 to install a new sidewalk to connect Tantasqua Regional Junior High School to Brookfield Road, providing safe passage not only for students but for members of the public who use both the school building and bike trails behind the school.
• Townsend received $182,981.25 to upgrade crosswalks, install wayfinding, and add bike lanes, bike racks, public benches.
• Wayland received $102,614.00 to create a new outdoor dining area, including lighting, street paint, pavement markings, temporary pedestrian ramps, outdoor heaters, play areas for children, and public seating.
• Westwood received $237,254.50 to install ADA-compliant ramps, pedestrian signage and flashing safety beacons in various locations proximate to five schools, the Westwood Council on Aging, shopping, and the Commuter Rail/Amtrak station.
• Weymouth received $75,550.00 to restrict on-street parking, install a buffered bike lane, and install a two-way shared bike path.
• Winchendon received $243,600.00 to create a safe, ADA-compliant walking route connecting Murdock High School, Memorial Elementary School, Broadview Assisted Living Center, and key bus stops to the downtown commercial, to include high-visibility crosswalks, safety beacons, and new ADA-compliant ramps.
• Winthrop received $40,000.00 to purchase and install four new bus shelters.

Types of eligible projects under the Shared Winter Streets and Spaces grant program include:

• Main Streets: Investments in local downtowns and villages that repurpose streets, plazas, sidewalks, curbs, and parking areas to facilitate outdoor activities and winter programming, including but not limited to facilities for eating, shopping, play, and community events and spaces for all ages.  Grant Limit: up to $300,000
• Reimagined Streets: Creation of safe spaces for people walking and biking by implementing low-speed streets, ‘shared streets,’ new sidewalks, new protected bike lanes, new off-road trails, new bicycle parking, new crosswalks, new traffic-calming measures, and new ADA-compliant ramps.  Grant Limit: Up to $300,000
• Better Buses: Establishment of new facilities for public buses, including but not limited to dedicated bus lanes, traffic-signal priority equipment, and bus shelters.  Grant Limit: Up to $500,000
• Shared Mobility: Support for the capital costs of equipment for new bikeshare and micromobility programs.  Grant Limit: Up to $200,000
• Making Pilots Permanent: Conversion of temporary Shared Streets and Spaces projects to permanent facilities.  Grant Limit: Up to $300,000

Information about the Shared Streets and Spaces Municipal Grant Program, including information about how municipalities can access free technical assistance, can be found at www.mass.gov/shared-winter-streets-and-spaces-grant-program.