Dear Interested Party

State of New York Department of Transportation Region Eight 4 Burnett Boulevard Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 www.dot.ny.gov

William J. Gorton, P.E. Joan McDonald Acting Regional Director Commissioner

Dear Interested Party:

On May 2, 2013, New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald announced that applications are available for transportation projects, such as construction of bicycle paths and streetscape improvements, through the federally-funded Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP). Municipalities and non-profit incorporated groups are eligible to apply for funding. (Not-for-profits will require a governmental entity to sponsor their projects.)

TEP is a federal reimbursement program administered by NYSDOT that helps finance projects not generally eligible for funding through traditional transportation programs, including projects that emphasize sustainability and focus on the transportation system. This application round will be the last under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) surface transportation act, which was signed into law in August 2005.

With Congress’ passage of a new surface transportation act, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), in the summer of 2012, TEP was formally ended as a separate program.

This letter constitutes our request to you to develop and forward your project proposals for what will be the last round of funding under SAFTEA-LU.

For this application round, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) will accept applications for five (5) eligible activity types for projects to be funded with TEP dollars. Project types eligible for funding include (1) facilities for bicycles and pedestrians; (2) scenic or historic highway facilities; (3) landscaping and other scenic beautification; (4) preservation of abandoned railway corridors and conversion to use as pedestrian and bicycle trails; and (5) environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway runoff.

The TEP Guidebook provides detailed information about the specific types of projects eligible for this program as well as the application process. This guidebook and Application Form are available at the NYSDOT website at https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/tep. A two-page pamphlet providing a concise summary of the program can also be found at the above-mentioned website.

1 The following dates signify major program milestones:

 Announcement of Application Round: May 2, 2013  Workshops: May – June 2013  Application submission deadline: August 16, 2013  Eligibility/feasibility reviews complete: August 30, 2013  Rating and prioritization complete: September 27, 2013  Recommendations and selection complete: October 2013  Announcement of awards and non-awards October 2013

Prospective applicants and sponsors are required to attend a TEP workshop and a Federal Aid 101 Workshop:

TEP Workshops will be held in the Hudson Valley at:

Poughkeepsie Town Hall 1 Overocker Rd. Poughkeepsie, NY Wednesday June 12, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. (followed by the Federal Aid 101 Workshop)

The 1887 Building 124 Main St. Goshen, NY Tuesday May 28, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.

Red Hook Town Hall 7340 South Broadway Red Hook NY Tuesday June 4, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.

And, as a webinar from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council on:

May 14, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. http://tinyurl.com/NYMTC-TEP-5-14-13 May 16, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. http://tinyurl.com/NYMTC-TEP-5-16-13

Federal Aid 101 Workshops will be held in the Hudson Valley at:

Poughkeepsie Town Hall 1 Overocker Rd. Poughkeepsie, NY Wednesday June 12, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. (following the TEP Workshop)

And, as a webinar from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council on: May 22, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/430183439

Failure of an applicant to attend, or show evidence of having attended, a Federal Aid 101 workshop will disqualify the application from consideration. See the attached “2013 Fed_Aid_101_Workshop_Notice_2013.doc” for more information about these workshops.

2 TEP submissions must include two paper copies and five compact disks (CDs) in PDF format for each project application, and must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Friday August 16, 2013. Send submissions to:

Tom Weiner, TEP Coordinator NYSDOT Region 8 4 Burnett Boulevard Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Questions regarding this TEP solicitation may sent by email to [email protected] or phone (845) 431-5723.

Finally, if your project is selected for funding you will receive further guidance from Region 8 pertaining to project development and implementation. Any funds expended prior to formal approval of a selected project are not eligible for reimbursement. Acquiring real estate or taking other project actions prior to approval could jeopardize federal participation. Please check with the Region 8 Local Project Unit before taking actions connected with a potential project.