CDOT Offering $4 Million in Grants to Promote Public Health & Economic Activity

DENVER – Communities wanting to make creative modifications to state roadways or other public spaces as a way of promoting public health during the COVID emergency, through socially-distant active transportation and economic development opportunities, can now apply for a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation.  The initiative is supporting the Can Do Community Challenge, as part of the Can Do Colorado campaign.  

Revitalizing Main Streets is offering small-scale grants for low-cost, immediate actions to help safely improve the economy and enhance healthy activities in cities and towns across Colorado. This could include changes like temporarily reducing traffic in a downtown area or providing for more bicycle and pedestrian access along the state highway system to ensure that Coloradans are able to enjoy vibrant communities while maintaining social distancing.   

“Through this program, we will partner with local governments across Colorado to support them as they work to safely reopen sectors of our economy as well as improve the health and vitality of communities across the state,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “Since many of our roads are part of the ‘Main Street’ environment through towns and cities, this is an opportunity for us to do our part for healthy communities and a healthy economy.”

CDOT is providing a total of $4.1 million in grants for its Revitalizing Main Streets program. The grant application is now available at: https://www.codot.gov/programs/communitychallenge.

For projects on the state’s right-of-way, temporary special use permits will be required, including safety plans that address traffic flow for vehicles, bike, pedestrians, freight/delivery and detour plans. More information on these permits can be found here: https://www.codot.gov/business/permits/utilitiesspecialuse/online-permit-application.

More information about the Can Do Colorado campaign is at: www.CanDoColorado.org.