I. PURPOSE The purpose of the Rule is to prescribe procedures for application and disbursement of federal funds to political subdivisions of the State, for projects to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists in School Areas, as authorized by § 43-1-1601 through 1604 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

II. STATEMENT OF BASIS AND SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORITY The Rule is promulgated by the Department pursuant to the specific statutory authority of Sections 43-1- 110 (2) and 43C.R.S. Copies of the Statement of Basis, Specific Statutory Authority, and Purpose shall be available for copying or public inspection during regular business hours from the Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Colorado Department of Transportation.

III. DEFINITIONS A. Advisory Committee: means the committee appointed by the Executive Director as established in Section IV. of these rules.

B. Applicant: means a political subdivision of the state of Colorado that applies for an award under these rules.

C. Commission: means the Colorado Department of Transportation Commission.

D. Department: means the Colorado Department of Transportation.

E. Executive Director: means the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

F. Hazard Elimination Program: means the Federal program outlined in the United States Code in Title 23, Section 152.

G. MPO: means a Metropolitan Planning Organization.

H. Non-system road or trail: means a road or trail that is not part of the State highway system.

I. On-system road: means a road that is part of the State highway system.

J. School Areas: means the area within a two mile radius of a school.

K. STAC: means Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee as created in § 43-1-1104, C.R.S.

L. Urbanized Area: means that area within the boundary of a metropolitan area having a population of fifty thousand or more as determined by the United States bureau of the census in its latest census and as included on the Urbanized Area map approved by the Department.

IV. ADVISORY COMMITTEE A. The Executive Director shall appoint an Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the Commission, which shall award grants under the Safe Routes to School Program. The Committee shall have no more than nine members, who shall receive no compensation for service on the Committee. Members serve at the pleasure of the Executive Director but shall be appointed for two-year terms. The Committee shall include at least one person from a statewide organization representing each of the following groups:

1. Educators;

2. Parents;

3. Bicyclists;

4. Pedestrians; and 5. Law Enforcement Personnel B. In addition, the Advisory Committee shall include representatives of the STAC, who shall rotate memberships for each project selection cycle. The STAC shall choose their designees each year, with the approval of the Executive Director. STAC representatives to the Advisory Committee shall consist of:

1. Two STAC representatives of Metropolitan Planning Organizations or their designee;

2. Two STAC representatives of rural Transportation Planning Regions or their designee.

V. APPLICATION INFORMATION A. The Department will notify city and county governments, schools, and school districts of the potential availability of Safe Routes to Schools funds, requirements for requesting an application package, and the deadline to submit an application to the Department for Safe Routes to Schools funds.

B. The application package, to be developed and periodically updated by the Advisory Committee, will contain instructions and guidelines for completion of the application, as determined by the Advisory Committee and the Department. Instructions and guidelines may not be in conflict with § 43-1-1601 through 1604, C.R.S.

VI. THRESHOLD CRITERIA FOR APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY The purpose of this section is to describe the threshold criteria the Department and Advisory Committee will use to determine if an Applicant will be eligible for funding. The threshold criteria shall be more fully described in the guidelines adopted by the Advisory Committee and approved by the Transportation Commission. An Applicant must comply with all threshold criteria.

A. Applicants must be political subdivisions of the state.

B. A political subdivision of the state that receives money under this Part 16 of Article 1 of Title 43, may not use such moneys as a substitute for funds currently being used to support similar activities.

C. In order for the Department to approve a political subdivision as eligible for the funds, the political subdivision must show that it has established an agreement with the school in the area where the project will occur. Such agreement of the improvement project must be documented and signed by an official of the school.

D. An Applicant must submit the application to the Advisory Committee through CDOT’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, who will forward the application to the appropriate CDOT Region and MPO (if applicable) for comment.

E. If the project request is greater than $100,000 and located in an Urbanized Area, the application must be certified by the MPO. The certification shall demonstrate that all actions necessary to include the project(s) in the Transportation Improvement Program for that Urbanized Area will be taken before the application may be approved.

F. An Applicant must ensure that all forms, assurances, and resolutions required by the application are signed by the appropriate officer or individual with authority to legally bind the Applicant.

G. An Applicant requesting funding for items requiring continuous or periodic upkeep must demonstrate in the application the ability to provide funding for future project costs, including a 50% match if the project is On-system, or 100% of the maintenance if the project is on a Non-system road or trail. A letter from the political subdivision pledging necessary funds to upkeep the project is necessary.

H. An Applicant must demonstrate that the local match will be available when required.

I. On-system projects must not conflict with the State and Regional Transportation Plans.

J. Applicant eligibility is contingent upon compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations. Applicants that fail to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations and requirements will not be considered eligible under these rules. Compliance by an Applicant with all threshold eligibility criteria does not obligate the Department to award funds, but only allows the Applicant to be evaluated by the Department and Advisory Committee for consideration for available funding based upon the evaluation criteria described in Section VII. of the Rules.

VII. EVALUATION CRITERIA The purpose of this section is to describe the basic evaluation criteria used by the Department to determine whether an eligible Applicant will be funded and to assist in determining the level of funding to be awarded. Guidelines, instructions, and details concerning such evaluation criteria shall be described fully in the application package.

A. The Advisory Committee shall create a scoring procedure utilizing the criteria described in this section.

B. The Department and Advisory Committee will include the following criteria to evaluate eligible Applicants:

1. The demonstrated need of the Applicant;

2. The potential of the proposed project to reduce injuries and fatalities among children;

3. The potential of the proposed project to encourage walking and bicycling to school;

4. The extent to which the application identifies existing safety hazards;

5. The extent to which the application identifies existing and potential walking and bicycling routes and the extent to which the proposed project would improve or connect them;

6. Support for the proposed project from local school-based associations, traffic engineers, elected officials, law enforcement agencies, and school officials;

7. The goal of funding projects throughout the state in proportion to the geographic distribution of the student population; and 8. Other criteria allowed or required by applicable federal laws or regulations. VIII. FUNDING A. The Department shall allocate to the Safe Routes to School Program any funds received from the federal government under any federal safe routes to school program or other new federal program that designates funds for such program.

B. Applicants applying for funds through the Safe Routes to School program may also be eligible for other federal Hazard Elimination Program funds, but must compete for those funds using the criteria established under that program.

C. Costs of the Project exceeding the amount of the grant shall be borne by the Applicant.

D. Project funds that have not been encumbered within 2 years shall lapse. Remaining funds shall be reprioritized by the Advisory Committee.