NACTO announces 10 winners of Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery grants

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, has announced the 10 winners of Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery grants, which provide short-term funding and technical assistance to cities to help them adapt streets in service of communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

The selected cities will receive $50,000 to work with local community partners to transform streets into community assets that aid in pandemic recovery.

“Strong communities create strong streets,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, NACTO chair and principal with Bloomberg Associates in a statement. “Bringing local voices and creativity to local projects helps build trust as put more accessible, resilient and equitable streets on the map.”

“Who knows a place better than the people who live there?” said Corinne Kisner, executive director of NACTO. “This round of grant projects leans into the deep knowledge of community members–and the technical know-how of city staff–to deliver targeted improvements to neighborhood streets. Whether slowing down neighborhood traffic or speeding up economic recovery for local businesses, we can’t wait to see what ingenuity and impact the next round of city-community organization partnerships have.”

The selected projects for 2021 Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery Grants include:

• Baltimore: Creating safer access to parks for people walking and biking by calming traffic and adding art to the street.
• Denver: Building “Jazz Alley,” repurposing a street in Denver’s Five Point community to provide outdoor space for local immigrant-owned businesses.
• Fort Collins, Colo.: Providing support for historically marginalized and underrepresented communities to participate in the city’s new asphalt art program.
• Los Angeles: Creating safer drop-off/pick-up zones for students walking and biking to school in two communities deeply impacted by the pandemic.
• Madison, Wis.: Removing barriers for local street vendors to operate in city parks.
• Minneapolis: Developing an engagement and implementation plan for traffic-calming projects that center the Native American community along 18th Ave.
• Portland, Ore.: Transforming a parking lot in East Portland into a summer food market.
• San Francisco: Enhancing an existing project along Turk Street in the Tenderloin to provide programming and resources for unhoused residents and improve pedestrian safety and walking space.
• Seattle: Extending and programming an open street in the Lake City neighborhood to increase space for outdoor recreation and address community concerns about lack of safety.
• Washington, D.C.: Revitalizing the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, which has been a critical gathering place for unhoused community members disproportionately at-risk during the pandemic.

Awardees and community partners will receive funding, technical assistance, and access to a peer network of cities and consultants to help with project scoping, planning, and execution over six months. Learn more about the program and selected projects at nacto.org/sfprr-grants.