CHANUTE, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday that the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission (SEKRPC) is among 12 Kansas organizations to receive a combined total of $5 million in federal funds through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program to produce local transportation safety plans to identify and address transportation safety concerns.
The SEKRPC, headquartered in Chanute, was the lead applicant for a successful multijurisdictional application to obtain $800,000 in SS4A funding. The funds will enable development of a safety plan for Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Labette, Linn, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.
State funding provided by a new Kansas SS4A Match Pilot Program will contribute 15 percent of the SEKRPC’s local match as required of grant recipients.
“The Safe Streets and Roads for All grant will enable our member counties and communities to start planning safer streets, roads and walkways,” said SEKRPC Lead Planning and Development Consultant Carey Spoon, adding that the organization is thankful to its community partners and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) for its support in helping to secure the funding. The grant money will allow for improvements to safety and expansion of mobility options for decades to come, Spoon said.
“These grants directly support communities across Kansas to improve roadways and save lives,” Gov. Kelly said in a press release. “I commend these local governments for leveraging federal and state funding to create safety plans for city streets and county roads.”
On behalf of Kansas communities applying for SS4A federal funds, KDOT sent 22 letters of support for this first round of SS4A applications. The 12 projects awarded in Kansas are for “action plan grants” to assist communities that do not currently have a roadway safety plan in place.
Other Kansas communities securing SS4A grants include the cities of Lawrence, Leavenworth, Olathe, Salina, Valley Falls, Dodge City and Garden City, along with Cowley County, Leavenworth County and Wyandotte County. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is also among the SS4A grant recipients.
To encourage participation in the program, KDOT agreed to contribute anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of the total local match requirement. To receive the full 20 percent, applicants had to represent a rural area of the state and had to apply for a multijurisdictional planning effort, to encourage regional collaboration. SS4A projects are 80 percent federally funded, requiring a 20 percent local match.
“Local commitment and regional collaboration were instrumental in bringing Safe Streets and Roads for All funds to Kansas,” said Acting Secretary of Transportation Calvin Reed. “KDOT’s help with local matching funds is indicative of the importance the agency places on safety and our long-term goal of reaching zero roadway fatalities.”
Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, SS4A is a five-year, $5 billion competitive grant program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program supports the U.S. DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, a comprehensive approach to make roadways safer for everyone, including drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and emergency and construction workers, Gov. Kelly’s office said. SS4A plans stress responsible driving, safer roadway designs, appropriate speed-limit setting and improved post-crash care, among other strategies.
