Safe Streets and Roads for All

Safe Streets and Roads for All is sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). Funding is available to support planning, infrastructure, behavioral, and operational initiatives that deliver immediate, measurable risk reduction to communities vulnerable to natural hazards.

What you need to know about Safe Streets and Roads for All grants in 2026 - Smart Growth America Find out how you can join the movement. Get Involved Memberships & partnerships Sponsorship Smart growth is an approach to community design that connects housing, transportation, and land use to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods.

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All SGA@25 Celebration Equity Summit We offer a library of case studies, videos, and reports to support policymakers, practitioners, and advocates interested in advancing smart growth. What you need to know about Safe Streets and Roads for All grants in 2026 By Raveena John , April 6, 2026 USDOT has made the final round of grants from the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program available .

This final guaranteed round of funding for SS4A looks a bit different from the original version of the program. Here’s what you need to know: SS4A’s historic inclusion in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) allowed local communities to apply directly for federal funds to address the urgent safety and accessibility issues they see on a daily basis, instead of having to go through their state DOTs.

SS4A funds provided communities of all sizes with opportunities to establish safety action plans and programs, gather necessary data, and explore new designs and materials through the use of quick-build demonstration projects . But to win a grant from this year’s pool of funds, your approach to describing your safety efforts may need to change.

This year, about $1 billion is available for SS4A awards: $305 million for Planning & Demonstration and $688 million for Implementation. The program’s priorities have shifted to focus more on “Public Safety Infrastructure” (response and enforcement) than street design improvements that may inconvenience drivers (prevention), but you can still use these funds to make positive change in your community. Here are five things to know: 1.

The basic structure of the grant program is the same The two types of grants available are Planning & Demonstration and Implementation (we will focus mostly on Planning & Demonstration here). Eligible activities are still: develop a new Action Plan, conduct supplemental planning to update an Action Plan, and inform an Action Plan with demonstration activities, all of which can be bundled together to best fit your community’s needs .

As you can tell, the SS4A activities are all centered on the Safety Action Plan , which is meant to help your community implement the Safe System Approach . Merits of this wheel aside (we prefer the pyramid !) , Safe Systems continues to be at the core of SS4A.

2. Priorities in the program have (unsurprisingly) changed With all the anti-pedestrian , anti-bike , and anti-safety moves from the current administration, it is no surprise that SS4A's priorities have changed this year. There’s a notable new priority of “Public Safety Infrastructure.

” This nebulous category includes “hardware, software, systems, technologies, equipment, protocols, facilities, and coordination models” for medical services, fire, and law enforcement to “prevent, respond to, or reduce the severity of roadway crashes.

” While adding these elements introduces a new layer of complexity, we strongly recommend obtaining letters of support from public safety partners—including EMS, fire services, law enforcement, trauma system partners, and first responder labor unions—to elevate this priority in your application.

Prevention is key to safety, and we hope applicants can be creative in partnering with their emergency response teams to test road designs that support public safety by preventing dangerous crashes before they happen. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) also includes a list of “favorable considerations” and “less favorable considerations.

” A few favorable considerations that stand out are: Letters of support, especially from relevant stakeholders and Public Safety Agencies and associated Labor Unions representing First Responders Applicants in a rural area Beautifying transportation infrastructure with context-appropriate design and/or child-friendly elements Rural areas in particular should not overlook this opportunity for safety funding.

Keep these considerations in mind when putting together your application: work with many stakeholders and prioritize children's safety. (For example: automated traffic enforcement is not favorable unless it’s within school zones, so focus on your school zones!) The “less favorable considerations” in this year’s NOFO are similarly unsurprising.

Any perception of taking away space from cars, impeding vehicular flow, or generally harshing on drivers’ vibe is not going to be well received. When you propose strategies that make roads safer by slowing down cars, be sure to emphasize the known safety benefits for everyone on the road. Check back soon for more ideas to keep safety at the heart of your application.

3. You should apply for a Planning & Demonstration grant! USDOT anticipates awarding a little over $305 million in this category, which will be somewhere between 400 and 700 awards ranging from $100,000 to $5 million each.

SS4A is unique in that federal funds go directly to cities and other local jurisdictions, bypassing state DOTs, which usually are in charge of funneling transportation money down from the feds. This is also the easiest federal grant application you will ever see: a two-page narrative if you’re requesting less than $1 million in Planning & Demonstration funds, a three-page narrative if you’re requesting $1 million or more.

Prior awardees in either category are eligible to apply for additional funds, even if an Action Plan is still in development. There is still a lot of funding available in this program, and the 20 percent local match can be made in cash or in-kind. Go for it!

4. Quick-builds are still eligible demonstration projects Even with the less favorable considerations for projects that could be perceived as anti-car, quick-builds and temporary street installations were referenced in the NOFO and should still be included in your applications.

We know that street design is the most effective strategy to improve safety for everyone, and quick-build projects are a way to get near-term improvements to your community through an SS4A Planning & Demonstration grant. Your application doesn’t have to go into your demonstration project proposal in great detail—you can determine the specific sites and designs as part of the work if your project is awarded.

Just be sure to frame your project in terms of the priorities described above and use the data you collect for your project to inform or update a Safety Action Plan. 5. These are (still) not serious people USDOT is demonstrating once again that it is still clearly not serious about actual safety improvements that will result in fewer deaths and injuries.

The way that safety improvements must take a back seat to preserving vehicle capacity at all costs is just yet another perfect example of how safety is a priority in words only, and regularly loses out when it has to compete with other “priorities. ” The slow roll of grant agreements and the threat of existing grants being pulled show as much, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn't keep safety at the center of our applications.

With “beautifying transportation infrastructure” and “child-friendly elements” listed as favorable SS4A considerations, you might expect they’d mean murals, street trees, narrow lanes, protected crosswalks, and separated bike lanes, but we see USDOT cutting funding for and removing these truly wonderful parts of street design across the U.S. We will see how the DOT’s incongruous priorities lead to actual safety improvements, but that won’t stop us from putting together great plans for real outcomes.

Smart Growth America has already helped communities secure over $8 million in SS4A funding and is now offering limited support to help more communities succeed in what may be the final round. Learn more about the opportunity here. Applications are due Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 5 pm EDT.

Voters agree: U.S. would benefit from better roads, improved public transportation options A new survey by the Rockefeller Foundation about transportation infrastructure has found that two out of three voters say making improvements to the country's transportation infrastructure is very important, and most voters say that in its current state the nation’s transportation system is barely adequate according to.

The new survey, released yesterday, finds that there is wide agreement among voters - even across partisan lines - that leaders in Washington...

By Smart Growth America • February 16, 2011 Survey shows Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit and highway maintenance, less on new roads Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community. Nearly three-quarters of Americans are concerned about the role growth and development play... By Nicholas Chang • October 26, 2007 How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

A crew from the Virginia Department of Transportation fills potholes. Photo by VDOT via Flickr. How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

Most likely the answer to that question is “a lot. ” In some cases, state DOTs could spend their entire annual budget on repair and maintenance and still have work left to do. So why are many states making the problem even worse by...

By Smart Growth America • February 27, 2014 HUD releases Notice of Funding Availability for Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today in a press release that HUD will be investing $95 million to support stronger, economically competitive communities through their Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

From the release: This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers...

By Jessica Holmberg • July 29, 2011 Webinar: TIGER II Discretionary Grants and HUD Community Challenge Planning Grants Webinar: National Infrastructure Investments (TIGER II Discretionary Grants) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Challenge Planning Grants Date/Time: Thursday, July 1 at 2:00pm EDT The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and HUD have issued a joint solicitation for the two planning grant programs in order to better align transportation, housing, economic development, and land use planning and to improve linkages between the agencies’ programs.

Speakers will include:... By Shelly Hazle • June 25, 2010 The Challenges of "Completing" Rural Roads Today's post was written by Nadine Lemmon, the Albany Legislative Advocate at New Jersey/New York/Connecticut's Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and originally appeared on their blog last week. Thanks to Nadine and Tri-State for allowing us to republish it here.

The term “complete streets” can evoke a bustling urban or town center, with streets that sport colored bike lanes, tree-lined sidewalks, and other investments in infrastructure. How to apply this term to... By Admin • November 10, 2010 Taking a Step for Earth Day: Replacing Our Roads University Place, WA helps the planet by giving residents and visitors safe, environmentally-friendly transportation options.

Photo: Dan Burden, Walkable and Livable Communities Institute The Earth Day celebrations in the popular media tend to focus on individual actions – turn off the lights, use your own bags when shopping, or, if you are really committed, buy a Nissan Leaf or a Prius. Yet we all know that a more sustainable future... By Barbara McCann • April 25, 2011 Where roads are dangerous by design Pedestrian safety is too often overlooked.

Photos via Seattle DOT and SvR Design. Every day, in communities across the country, people are killed while walking to school, to work or to the store. Many of these lives could be saved by building and operating streets that work for everyone who uses them.

On Tuesday, May 20, Smart Growth America's National Complete Streets Coalition will release Dangerous by Design 2014, a... By Craig Chester • May 5, 2014 Where we’re going, we DO need roads — and Congress can make them safer, smarter, and closer to transit We might not have trash-powered flying cars yet, but we CAN invest in a transportation system of tomorrow.

Congress is considering the next federal transportation bill this week — tell them to make it a forward-looking one. The U.S. House of Representatives introduced their proposal for a new federal transportation bill last week, and Representatives will mark up and vote on the bill in committee tomorrow. This gives us a...

By Alex Dodds • October 21, 2015 New survey shows Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit and highway maintenance than new roads Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey released today by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community, and the results may surprise you on some issues. As evidence of...

By Steve Davis • October 25, 2007 Voters agree: U.S. would benefit from better roads, improved public transportation options A new survey by the Rockefeller Foundation about transportation infrastructure has found that two out of three voters say making improvements to the country's transportation infrastructure is very important, and most voters say that in its current state the nation’s transportation system is barely adequate according to.

The new survey, released yesterday, finds that there is wide agreement among voters - even across partisan lines - that leaders in Washington...

By Smart Growth America • February 16, 2011 Survey shows Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit and highway maintenance, less on new roads Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community. Nearly three-quarters of Americans are concerned about the role growth and development play... By Nicholas Chang • October 26, 2007 How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

A crew from the Virginia Department of Transportation fills potholes. Photo by VDOT via Flickr. How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

Most likely the answer to that question is “a lot. ” In some cases, state DOTs could spend their entire annual budget on repair and maintenance and still have work left to do. So why are many states making the problem even worse by...

By Smart Growth America • February 27, 2014 HUD releases Notice of Funding Availability for Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today in a press release that HUD will be investing $95 million to support stronger, economically competitive communities through their Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

From the release: This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers...

By Jessica Holmberg • July 29, 2011 Webinar: TIGER II Discretionary Grants and HUD Community Challenge Planning Grants Webinar: National Infrastructure Investments (TIGER II Discretionary Grants) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Challenge Planning Grants Date/Time: Thursday, July 1 at 2:00pm EDT The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and HUD have issued a joint solicitation for the two planning grant programs in order to better align transportation, housing, economic development, and land use planning and to improve linkages between the agencies’ programs.

Speakers will include:... By Shelly Hazle • June 25, 2010 The Challenges of "Completing" Rural Roads Today's post was written by Nadine Lemmon, the Albany Legislative Advocate at New Jersey/New York/Connecticut's Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and originally appeared on their blog last week. Thanks to Nadine and Tri-State for allowing us to republish it here.

The term “complete streets” can evoke a bustling urban or town center, with streets that sport colored bike lanes, tree-lined sidewalks, and other investments in infrastructure. How to apply this term to... By Admin • November 10, 2010 Taking a Step for Earth Day: Replacing Our Roads University Place, WA helps the planet by giving residents and visitors safe, environmentally-friendly transportation options.

Photo: Dan Burden, Walkable and Livable Communities Institute The Earth Day celebrations in the popular media tend to focus on individual actions – turn off the lights, use your own bags when shopping, or, if you are really committed, buy a Nissan Leaf or a Prius. Yet we all know that a more sustainable future... By Barbara McCann • April 25, 2011 Where roads are dangerous by design Pedestrian safety is too often overlooked.

Photos via Seattle DOT and SvR Design. Every day, in communities across the country, people are killed while walking to school, to work or to the store. Many of these lives could be saved by building and operating streets that work for everyone who uses them.

On Tuesday, May 20, Smart Growth America's National Complete Streets Coalition will release Dangerous by Design 2014, a... By Craig Chester • May 5, 2014 Where we’re going, we DO need roads — and Congress can make them safer, smarter, and closer to transit We might not have trash-powered flying cars yet, but we CAN invest in a transportation system of tomorrow.

Congress is considering the next federal transportation bill this week — tell them to make it a forward-looking one. The U.S. House of Representatives introduced their proposal for a new federal transportation bill last week, and Representatives will mark up and vote on the bill in committee tomorrow. This gives us a...

By Alex Dodds • October 21, 2015 New survey shows Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit and highway maintenance than new roads Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey released today by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community, and the results may surprise you on some issues. As evidence of...

By Steve Davis • October 25, 2007 Voters agree: U.S. would benefit from better roads, improved public transportation options A new survey by the Rockefeller Foundation about transportation infrastructure has found that two out of three voters say making improvements to the country's transportation infrastructure is very important, and most voters say that in its current state the nation’s transportation system is barely adequate according to.

The new survey, released yesterday, finds that there is wide agreement among voters - even across partisan lines - that leaders in Washington...

By Smart Growth America • February 16, 2011 Survey shows Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit and highway maintenance, less on new roads Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey details what Americans think about how development affects their immediate community. Nearly three-quarters of Americans are concerned about the role growth and development play... By Nicholas Chang • October 26, 2007 How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

A crew from the Virginia Department of Transportation fills potholes. Photo by VDOT via Flickr. How much would your state need to spend to repair its roads?

Most likely the answer to that question is “a lot. ” In some cases, state DOTs could spend their entire annual budget on repair and maintenance and still have work left to do. So why are many states making the problem even worse by...

By Smart Growth America • February 27, 2014 Upcoming public events: Join us! 1350 I St NW Suite 425 Washington, DC 20005 Livable places. Healthy people.

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