Raleigh-Cary Section 5310 Call for Projects March 9 - April 7, 2017

The Section 5310 Call for Projects for 2017-2018 is now open. Interested applicants should review the Call for Projects and Application package. Applications can be submitted online, or by using an alternative application process described at the end of this webpage. The deadline for application submittals is 5pm, April 7, 2017.

Section 5310 funds are available for capital and operating expenses to support the provision of transportation services to meet the specific needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities. For more information, please view the Section 5310 grant application recorded presentation, attend the grant applicant workshop held March 16, and review the information provided below.

  • Grant Application Workshop – 10:00-11:30am; March 16, 2017; GoRaleigh Maintenance and Operations Facility, Training Room 123, first floor, 4104 Poole Road, Raleigh, NC.
  • Recorded Presentation – Audio information is provided in slide show mode.

Call for Projects 2017-2018

GoRaleigh (City of Raleigh) is the Designated Recipient for 5310 funding in the Raleigh-Cary Urbanized Area. As the Designated Recipient, GoRaleigh is responsible for developing a 5310 Program Management Plan and administering a Call for Projects for the available funding. Interested applicants should review the 5310 Program Management Plan or eligibility requirements outlined below.

Eligibility Requirements

Section 5310 funds are available for capital and operating expenses to support the provision of transportation services to meet the specific needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities. All projects must either be situated in the Raleigh-Cary Urbanized Area or may originate in a rural area but must have the final destination situated in an urbanized area within the region to qualify for Section 5310 Urbanized Area funds.  See Figure 1 on Page 9 for a map of the Raleigh-Cary Urbanized Area.

At least 55 percent of any rural, small urbanized area, or large urbanized area’s annual apportionment must be utilized for public transportation capital projects that are planned, designed, and carried out to meet the specific needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities. It is not sufficient that elderly persons and persons with disabilities are merely included (or assumed to be included) among the people who will benefit from the project.

Eligible projects for the required 55 percent of capital projects include the capital cost of contracting for the provision of transit services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities and other specialized shared-ride transportation services. The purchase of rolling stock for or the acquisition of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit service are eligible capital expenses that may also qualify as public transportation capital projects planned, designed, and carried out to meet the specific needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities when public transportation is insufficient, unavailable, or inappropriate, provided the projects are carried out by eligible subrecipients and these projects are included in the area’s Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan.

In addition to the above required capital projects, up to 45 percent of an area’s apportionment may be utilized for additional public transportation projects that:

  1. Exceed the ADA minimum requirements,
  2. Improve access to fixed-route service and decrease reliance by persons with disabilities on ADA-complementary paratransit service, or
  3. Provide alternatives to public transportation that assist elderly persons and persons with disabilities with transportation.

Such projects must be targeted toward meeting the transportation needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities, although they may be used by the general public. It is not sufficient that elderly persons and persons with disabilities are included (or assumed to be included) among the people who will benefit from the project. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) encourages projects that are open to the public as a means of avoiding unnecessary segregation of services.

Recipients must clearly identify the projects that are part of the required 55 percent capital projects as part of the grant activity line item narrative descriptions. Many projects may be eligible under both the required and optional criteria, but a discrete set of projects that meet the required criteria constituting at least 55 percent of the grant amount, exclusive of administrative expenses, must be identified. Alternatively, the grant application may assign less than the required 55 percent to such projects if other grants in the same fiscal year utilize more than the required 55 percent, so long as at least 55 percent of the total annual apportionment will be used for required projects. In such cases, a list of the other grants and the funding amounts must be included within the new grant application.

Application Process

Completed applications (Parts I-III of the 5310 Funding Program Application should be submitted online or provided to the GoRaleigh contact information below.  Mailed applications should be delivered in an electronic format on a CD or flash drive. Mailed applications must be received at the address provided by the April 07 deadline. Applications submitted online are preferred.

Applications can be completed either as a Microsoft Word Document or a scanned PDF.