Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP)

The federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) provides funding for surface transportation projects such as on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities, environmental mitigation and safe routes to school projects.

Funding for this program is authorized as a set-aside of the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding program under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which authorizes federal transportation funding.

Additional eligibility information may be found in the FHWA TAP Program Guidance.

Applying for Funding

Statewide Funding

Applications for funding are only accepted during an open application cycle. A sample application can be viewed from this web page or the forms library (TC 20-36). However, the application form is updated for each application cycle and the appropriate application must be completed and submitted during a cycle to considered for funding.

Application (TC 20-36) and instructions.

Submitted projects must:

1. Have a surface transportation relationship

2. Promote connectivity and accessibility

3. Be based in one of the eligible activity areas

4. Include the submission of the Application for Federal Assistance (Form 424) along with the application; see below.

Funding is available to:

Areas with a population of less than 5,000
Areas with a population of 5,001 to 200,000
Flex funding that can be used in any area

All projects receiving federal funding must complete an Application for Federal Assistance (Form 424) with the Kentucky State Clearinghouse. Once this has been submitted, the project will be assigned a State Applicant Identifier (SAI) number. Applicants must submit Form 424 on the eClearinghouse website and provide the SAI number as part of this application. CFDA #20.205

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Funding

Funds for areas with a population over 200,000 are suballocated to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for that area. The MPO is responsible for holding their own competitive application cycle. Once projects are selected and eligibility is determined, the projects are then administered through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The MPOs may select projects from any community within their planning boundaries, even if the community's population is less than 200,000. Please contact your MPO for questions related to the suballocated TAP funding and scheduling of application cycles.

The MPOs receiving suballocated funding are:

Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Planning Authority Council of Governments (OKI) (Boone, Kenton, Campbell)

Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency (KIPDA) (Bullitt, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby)

Evansville MPO (Henderson)
Lexington Area MPO (Fayette, Jessamine, Scott)
KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission (KYOVA) (Boyd, Greenup)

Resources ‭[1]‬

FHWA TAP Website
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) website for the Transportation Alternatives Program.

FHWA Transportation Alternatives Program Guidance
FHWA Transportation Alternatives Set Aside Implementation Guidance. (March 30, 2022) This includes definitions of eligible applicants and activities under the program.

KYTC Tools to Develop a Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan

The KYTC Division of Planning offers assistance to communities interested in developing comprehensive bicycle/pedestrian plans. This site provides links to resources and contact information.

Local Roads Mapping Site: https://maps.kytc.ky.gov/localroads/