The federal government has awarded the City $1 million to make Milton’s roads safer for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists – culminating a long-sought effort to obtain this outside funding to make a positive impact.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced that $817 million would go out as part of 385 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants issued nationwide. Not only is our City among those communities to earn such grants, no other Georgia government got more funding than Milton, which received $1 million out of the $7.1 million awarded statewide overall.

Milton’s SS4A grant will be used to:

• Pilot traffic calming devices at several single-lane roundabouts, including potential entry-and-exit modifications as well as other measures
• Identify physical obstacles that limit individuals with disabilities’ accessibility at public City-owned facilities (including buildings, park facilities and programs, and public right-of-way), then develop plans to address them
• Conduct road safety audits on two key corridors, specifically Freemanvile and Hopewell roads – the two main, City-controlled north-south routes in Milton

The corridors mentioned in the third item are specified in Milton’s Local Road Safety Plan, which you can learn more about at www.miltonga.gov/RoadSafety. This came about after extensive study, analysis, and public input before its approval by City Council in August 2022.

An advantage of putting together a Local Road Safety Plan is that it increased Milton’s likelihood of earning a Safe Streets for All grant. This application was bolstered by the Mayor and Councilmembers’ passage of a “Vision Zero” goal to have zero annual traffic-related serious injuries or fatalities in Milton within 10 years.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked billions in federal dollars for local governments to make transportation improvements, much of that through the Safe Streets for All program. Milton applied initially in September 2022, then again in June 2023.

“This federal funding will help us make Milton more accessible and safer, in line with the views often expressed by citizens and City leaders,” said Public Works Director Sara Leaders. “Our community also wins because we’re able to tackle these important initiatives while saving taxpayers money.”