Austin seeking $25M to fund bike, pedestrian improvements

The City of Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department will submit a grant to seek $25 million in funding from the Texas Department of Transportation to support mobility upgrades, including those near schools.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department will submit a grant to seek $25 million in funding from the Texas Department of Transportation to support mobility upgrades, including those near schools.

The funds are available through TxDOT's 2023 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program and support projects "to fill in small- to medium-sized sidewalk, bikeway, and shared-use path gaps, remove Americans with Disability Act barriers, and make Safe Routes to School improvements on and near TxDOT right-of-way," per city documents.

Projects will be selected based on high-priority areas within the city's Sidewalk, Bike and ADA Transition Plan, as well as the Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Report, per documents. Should the city be awarded the funding, Austin would be required to contribute $5 million -- or 20% -- in matching funds, available through the 2018 Mobility Bond and the 2020 Safety and Active Transportation Bond.