Second Set of Revitalizing Main Street Grants Awarded

News Release

September 22, 2020 - Statewide News - Grants have been awarded to 41 entities.

DENVER — A second round of grants have been awarded to 41 entities working to promote public health through the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Revitalizing Main Streets program. 

The grants support cities, towns and public education institutions that want to make creative modifications to state roadways or other community spaces as a way of promoting social distancing and economic activity during the COVID crisis through the fall and winter.

 
Grantees include: 

  • La Junta – Create a downtown park with covered seating, bike racks, benches, and outdoor meeting space ($49,815). 
  • Fort Morgan – Implement signage and road markings as part of a downtown Share the Road campaign. Includes installation of bike racks and adding pedestrian outdoor seating ($45,000). 
  • Palisade – Repurpose selected parking areas along Main and Third streets for parklets in the city’s prime commercial area, increasing space for socially distant outdoor seating and dining ($50,000).
  • Idaho Springs - Install permanent improvements for multimodal access and wayfinding on Miner Street, building on COVID-19 mitigation efforts that began in June 2020. These improvements support efforts to establish an on-going bike and pedestrian-friendly summertime "marketplace" on Miner Street ($50,000).
  • Mountain Village - Expand “pedestrian plazas” created in the spring to increase social distancing in the central commercial district, including plaza winterization equipment such as covered seating and heaters ($50,000). 
  • Colorado State University – Enlarge the width of Lory Trail to accommodate increased social distancing and improve safety for active transportation.  This corridor is a “main street” through campus and currently is a constricted multi-purpose trail/sidewalk ($44,867).

A list of the other grantees is available here.

The $4.1 million initiative is providing grants up to $50,000. To qualify, entities are required to provide an additional 10 percent match. 

“As we pass the halfway point of the program, we are excited to get over two million dollars out to communities as quickly as possible," said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. "Some of our awarded projects create economic opportunity in downtown areas, improve accessibility of outdoor spaces, and build multimodal improvements. We encourage any interested community to reach out for additional information and help with their application." 

For awarded projects on the state’s right-of-way, temporary special use permits will be required, including safety plans that address traffic flow for vehicles, bicycles, 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.

Revitalizing Main Streets is supporting the Can Do Community Challenge, as part of the Can Do Colorado campaign.  Another CDOT “Can Do” initiative is the Community Telework program, which builds on the existing efforts to offer healthy and safe transportation options for employees who can work from home.