We wondered at first if this was a good fit for inclusion here, but with several bicycle and/or pedestrian-oriented projects identified in the Gorge Master Plan, we’ll say it fits perfectly.

In any case, our contacts at Washington State’s office of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) sent this item recently, and we thought we’d spread the word to our bike/ped friends at the City and of course to Friends of the Centennial Trail.

It’s an $11-million dollar pot of money now available from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), to be distributed through two grant programs related to non-auto transportation. One’s about safe routes to school, but the other program could have implications for area-wide trails and bike lanes, maybe even in the Spokane River Gorge. Called the “Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant Program,” the source is all about “...funding projects that improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, and may include “engineering solutions and educational programs.”

It seems the grants have to be issued through a public agency like the City of Spokane, but efforts - especially from groups - that help identify and assist with grant applications are usually welcome at the City.

Design work for the trail through the Kendall Yards area? Work to improve safety along that nasty stretch of the Centennial Trail running along the Government Way and Fort George Wright zoom-ways? Maybe so.

Check out the press release for the grants, downloadable below.

WSDOT Bike/Ped Grants (96 Kb, Acrobat® file)