Mount Olive receives grant for bicycle, pedestrian sidewalks
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 16, 2017 9:57 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The town of Mount Olive has received a $40,000 N.C. Department of Transportation bicycle/pedestrian planning grant.
The town is one of 12 municipalities and one county from across the state that will receive assistance with bicycle and pedestrian planning, thanks to grants awarded this month.
Town Manager Charles Brown credited the town's success in getting the grant to his executive assistant, Sherry Davis.
The town had been unsuccessful in getting the grant on two previous occasions, but Mrs. Davis continued to work on the application and submitted it for a third time, Brown said.
"She stayed after it, and this time we have been awarded a $40,000 bike and pedestrian planning grant," he said. "We can use it for planning sidewalks, which is probably the first thing that we intend to do with it," he said. "We need some sidewalks designs, and we can use this for the design and engineering on the sidewalks.
"It will be a huge asset to us. We already have ways that we can use that money. So as soon as we can get confirmation that we can go ahead and engage somebody to do the work, we will go ahead and get started."
The town wants to build sidewalks on Church Street from Franklin Street to Nelson Street and then to Hillsboro and possibly over to Center Street, Brown said.
The grant is for the study only, not any sidewalk construction, Brown said.
The town will be able to use state Powell Bill money to construct the sidewalks, he said.
Grant recipients were selected from a pool of 18 applications by an awards committee comprised of representatives from regional planning organizations and councils of government, local government planners, and the DOT staff from multiple units.
Plans funded are not for one specific project, but represent a comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle and pedestrian opportunities within a community state officials said.
These plans address facilities, programs, services and regulations that encourage safe walking and bicycling.
Now in its 14th year, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative has awarded more than $4.5 million for 183 local plans.
The initiative was created to encourage municipalities to develop comprehensive bicycle plans and pedestrian plans.