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Pre-applications for the third round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds are due October 3. These merit-based grants support projects that are is multi-modal, non-traditional, and hard to fund through traditional channels.

The funds, totalling $527 million, will be balanced both geographically and modally, with at least $140 million to be used in rural areas. Among the other requirements:

• Grants for urban areas must be between $10 million and $200 million and require a 20% match
• Match requirement can be waived for rural projects
• Funds cannot be used for planning or NEPA
• No more than 25% of the funds ($131 million) may be awarded to projects in a single state

Read the recent League blogs for more information on how to win a TIGER 3 grant for bicycle and pedestrian projects and tips on submitting a TIGER 3 benefit-cost analysis.

Yesterday, the US Department of Transportation held an afternoon seminar on TIGER 3 funding — and Darren Flusche, policy analyst for the League of American Bicyclists was there, taking notes and asking questions about drawing down federal dollars for bike-ped projects.

So what’s TIGER 3? Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds are merit-based grants awarded to communities with “innovative transportation projects that will create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.” In this latest round, $527 million will be doled by the US DOT. And, as Flusche writes: If your local transportation agency has a strong project that is multi-modal, non-traditional, and hard to fund through traditional channels, TIGER 3 might be a viable source of federal dollars.

“Bicycle and pedestrian projects have done well in the first two rounds of TIGER grants,” Flusche notes on the League blog. “Sixty-eight of the 125 successful TIGER grants included bicycle and/or pedestrian components in their project descriptions. Several funded projects were stand-alone bicycle and pedestrian projects, like the Philadelphia Area Bicycle Network and the Indianapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Network funded in the first round. Several Complete Streets projects were also funded.”

With that in mind, Flusche attended the “Lessons on How to Compete for a USDOT TIGER Grant” session. He even got a chance to get specific feedback from the panel experts on questions like:

• What makes a good bicycling and walking project?
• How can you make a project more attractive by including a bicycle/pedestrian component?
• How can you best measure the benefits of bicycle and pedestrian projects?

Read the answers and a wealth of other tips from yesterday’s seminar on the League’s blog.