Stantec Generation AV - grant support

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grant support

Grant program support and consulting with Stantec GenerationAV

The autonomous vehicle (AV) and transportation mobility experts of Stantec GenerationAV™ are available to provide consulting services for grant applications, as well as partner with you to implement mobility initiatives based on grant programs awarded.

 

We continually monitor the latest grant funding opportunities available at the federal, state, and regional levels to help guide our clients toward a successful AV future. Ready to start your journey? Let’s chat!

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program was established to provide grants to eligible public sector agencies to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

The SMART Grants Program will fund projects that focus on using technology interventions to solve real-world challenges facing communities today.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) discretionary grant program with $100 million appropriated annually for fiscal years (FY) 2022-2026.

According to the SMART Grant Program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), a SMART grant may be used to carry out a project that demonstrates at least one of the following:

  • Coordinated automation
  • Connected vehicles
  • Sensors
  • Systems integration
  • Delivery/logistics
  • Innovative aviation
  • Smart grid
  • Traffic signals

Learn more details about eligible projects when you download the SMART Grant Facts Sheet, as provided by the DOT.

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program provides supplemental funding grants to communities to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems in a variety of communities to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

According to the SMART Grant Program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), eligible entities include: a State, a political subdivision of a State, a Tribal government, a public transit agency or authority, a public toll authority, a metropolitan planning organization, a group of two or more eligible entities (per above) applying through a single lead applicant. There are two stages of grants. Stage 1 grants are for planning purposes and Stage 2 grants (which will be awarded to grantees of Stage 1 grants) are for implementation.

Funds for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 SMART Grants Program are to be awarded on a competitive basis to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart city or community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety, according to the SMART Grant Program notice of funding opportunity. USDOT expects to award between 30 and 50 Stage 1 grants of up to $2,000,000 per award. The first round application for Stage 1 grants closed November 18, 2022. We expect there to be additional rounds for Stage 1 grants which present additional opportunities to eligible entities to apply. We also anticipate the next round of grant applications to open in fall 2023.

The DOT offers a range of examples of projects that could be eligible for the SMART Grants Program. According to the SMART Grant Program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), examples like those summarized below are not comprehensive, nor will projects that match these example use cases necessarily be selected. Projects that meet local needs are welcomed. Categories and examples include:

  • Safety and Reliability
    • Increase worker safety and reduce crashes and traffic incidents using work zone safety technologies such as automated crash attenuators that leverage Advanced Driving Systems (ADS).
    • Protect workers and the traveling public and reduce travel delays through the implementation of the Workzone Data Exchange standard.
    • Enable responsive traffic management with active grade crossing detection.
  • Equity and Access
    • Improve infrastructure for all by using technology to assess infrastructure that supports mobility, including sidewalks, bus shelters, bike lanes, and curb cuts.
    • Improve equity with the integration of climate, public health, and socioeconomic data into transportation operations.
    • Improve responsiveness, flexibility, and efficiency of paratransit services with booking, scheduling, and routing systems.
  • Climate and Resiliency
    • Support local goals such as zero-emission zones or shared streets with digital tools to manage alternative approaches to last-mile delivery.
    • Reduce congestion by leveraging trajectory analysis along a corridor to adjust signal timing to current conditions.
    • Improve mobility and infrastructure resilience with tools that map and monitor environmental conditions, including roadway flooding, air quality, tree canopy, and sidewalk accessibility.
  • Integration
    • Support local economies, improve mobility, and reduce congestion by digitalization of curb management to optimize use across purposes and modes, including freight, pick-up drop-off, and transit usage.
    • Address non-recurring congestion, prioritize investments for pedestrians and cyclists, or other complex problems, leveraging advanced tools such as AI and digital twins.
    • Improve the operation and management of traffic signals and develop evaluation criteria that support agency goals leveraging Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measure (ATSPM)-equipped signals.

The first round application for Stage 1 grants closed November 18, 2022. We expect there to be additional rounds for Stage 1 grants which present additional opportunities to eligible entities to apply. We also anticipate the next round of grant applications to open in fall 2023.

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Discretionary Grant Program was established to fund projects to modernize transportation across the country and make it more affordable, increase safety, and strengthen supply chains.

The RAISE program is a competitive grant program for investments in surface transportation infrastructure that will have a significant local or regional impact, such as road, rail, transit and port projects. The program enables DOT to use a rigorous merit-based process to select projects with exceptional benefits, explore ways to deliver projects faster and save on construction costs, and make needed investments in our Nation’s infrastructure.

RAISE Grant Funds were authorized under the Local and Regional Assistance Program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized and appropriated $1.5 billion to be awarded by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for FY 2023 for Local and Regional Project Assistance Program Grants under National Infrastructure Investments. RAISE Grant Project applications for FY 2023 must be submitted by February 28, 2023.

Read the complete FY 2023 RAISE Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity here.

Recently, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded more than $2.2 billion from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to help urban and rural communities move forward on projects that modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation and make our transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable.

For reference of project types as illustrative use cases, a full list of project awards can be found on the RAISE 2022 Award Fact Sheets.

Read the full U.S Department of Transportation RAISE Discretionary Grants (2022) announcement here.

Eligible applicants for RAISE Grants include:

  • States and the District of Columbia
  • Any territory or possession of the United States
  • A unit of local government
  • A public agency or publicly chartered authority established by one or more states
  • A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority
  • A federally recognized Indian Tribe or a consortium of such Indian Tribes
  • A transit agency
  • A multi-state or multijurisdictional group of entities

RAISE Grant Project applications for FY 2023 must be submitted by February 28, 2023.

The new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program was established to fund regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants for projects to help prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.

The SS4A program supports Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on our nation’s roadways. For details, visit the Safe Streets and Roads for All announcement here.

The fiscal year 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is expected to open in April for the second round of SS4A grants. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) first announced the program in 2022, and in February 2023 announced recipients of grant awards for 510 projects through the first round of funding. View the FY22 selected projects here.

There are two types of SS4A grants: Action Plan Grants and Implementation Grants.

Communities can use Action Plan Grants to develop or complete an Action Plan or to conduct supplemental planning activities. Some examples of activities that could directly assist in the process of developing or updating an Action Plan by conducting outreach, data collection, analysis, and other related tasks include topics ranging from planning and goal setting to safety analysis and equity considerations.

Illustrative examples of activities that could be conducted as part of an Implementation Grant could include infrastructure, behavioral, and operational safety activities identified in an Action Plan, which may range from identifying/correcting common risks and applying roadway safety treatments to promoting the adoption of innovative technologies that promote safety.

Learn more about illustrative examples of activities on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SS4A grant program page.

The SS4A grant program was established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Eligible applicants for SS4A grant funding include:

  • Metropolitan planning organizations
  • Counties, cities, towns, and transit agencies or other special districts that are subdivisions of a State
  • Federally recognized Tribal governments
  • Multijurisdictional groups comprised of the above entities

Eligible activities for the SS4A program include:

  • Developing or update a comprehensive safety action plan (Action Plan)
  • Conducting planning, design, and development activities in support of an Action Plan
  • Carrying out projects and strategies identified in an Action Plan

The fiscal year 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is expected to open in April for the second round of SS4A grants.

The Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP) was created to provide grants to mobility and electrification companies that are seeking to deploy technology solutions in Michigan. The MMFP was launched in September 2021 by the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The platform builds on the success of the PlanetM Mobility Grants.

Through the MMFP, startups and companies have access to over $1 million in funding to help provide opportunities to validate and prove innovative new technologies in Michigan. Individual grant award amounts will vary.

Nearly 30 real-world deployment grants and 19 test-site grants have been awarded through the MMFP. Learn more about the grants announced and the MMFP here.

The MMFP seeks to provide outcomes in the following focus areas:

  • Sustainable Future – Improve environmental sustainability by advancing the adoption of EVs and the buildout of EV charging infrastructure.
  • Equitable Future – Increase access to affordable and reliable transportation options and reduce mobility barriers.
  • Multimodal Transportation – Modernize existing transportation systems to help keep Michigan at the forefront of CAV transportation modes.

Grants will be awarded to subsidize a portion of the cost to plan, deploy, monitor, and report on projects across the state of Michigan. The remaining cost should be covered by the company and/or its project partner(s).

Projects that are interoperable and not proprietary are preferred, particularly when a government agency is the partner.

Projects awarded are expected to deploy within four months of receiving grant award and report results within one month of project completion.

The amount of the MMFP grant will be determined in a negotiation between OFME and each selected grant recipient.

Learn more about MMFP grant award terms and conditions here.

Since launching the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform in 2021, Governor Whitmer has announced five rounds of grant awards. Some examples of awards are provided below as illustrative use cases:

KUHMUTE – KUHMUTE is partnering with the city of Flint, the Flint DDA and Helbiz to support the installation of multimodal charging hubs throughout the city of Flint and encourage the adoption of sustainable first-last mile transit and increase accessibility to public transit and local businesses. KUHMUTE received $89,005 in the first round of MMFP grants, September 2021.

iSmartWays – iSmartWays is partnering with The Connected and Autonomous Driving (CAR) Lab at Wayne State University, WSP USA and Qualcomm to deploy connected intersections on the University’s campus in Detroit’s Midtown area, as well as connectivity technology on the University’s fleet vehicles. The goal of the project is to improve safety, reduce congestion, optimize traffic flow, and improve fleet vehicle arrival times. iSmartWays received $100,000 in the second round of MMFP grants, December 2021

Workhorse Group, Inc. – Workhorse, a manufacturer of medium-duty commercial EVs, all-electric remotely piloted aircrafts and software-driven solutions, is partnering with key organizations to sustainably connect communities and demonstrate new commercial pathways for on-demand and last-mile drone deliveries in West Michigan. Workhorse received $115,000 in the fifth round of MMFP grants, November 2022.

Application dates are not available at this time and will be posted soon.

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How Stantec GenerationAV™ Can Help

The Stantec GenerationAV™ consulting team has the experience and expertise to help city planners, civic organizations, communities, and AV technology businesses address issues related to AVs, mobility, safety, transportation infrastructure.

Our holistic view is beneficial to engineering, operations, and legal departments. As expert AV consultants, we advise city planners and department of transportation (DOT) stakeholders to be preparing now for a successful AV future. Learn more about our range of AV solutions.