BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Several communities in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley are getting a boost to help with projects like pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, trails and outdoor recreation education.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) announced the award recipients for its Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) and Recreational Trails Program (RTP).
A full list of this year’s recipients can be found here.
The competitive program takes applications each spring from communities like cities, counties, school districts, universities, nonprofits and tribes.
When a community’s project is selected for the program, the federal grants will cover up to 80% of the project cost, with the communities providing the remaining 20%. ARDOT requires that the project will be completed in about two years.
While many of the recipients’ projects involve construction and expansion, some, like the City of Bella Vista, are putting the funds toward education.
“It’s not necessarily a construction project that's out there constructing a sidewalk or trail, but more of an educational [program],” said Minghua Qiu Miller, who helps oversee the TAP and RTP programs.
“Different types of educational programs that we have [are] … how to be a trail builder, teaching kids how to ride bikes [and] recycle bikes for kids. These are all educational programs that we have funded in the past, but this year, we have funded Bella Vista, their community, their communications and their education outreach program about trails and their sidewalks,” Miller said.
Applications are open for the programs every spring.
In the future, Miller said she hopes to see more rural communities apply.
“We are wanting projects throughout the state, not just some of the urban areas,” Miller said. “Yes, Northwest Arkansas, you talk about our biking culture and our pedestrian culture – it's up there. But in some of these rural areas, we want to encourage that, too. A lot of our rural communities have lots of areas they can put a trail in, and that's great for tourism.”
When it comes to submitting a strong application, she said the best strategy is to tell a story about why the project is important for the community.
“We want a community that really thinks about what the connectivity is, what their vision is for the community, and how we can help make that vision a reality,” Miller said.
To learn more about this program, click here.