Examples of Grant Applications

Narrative/Project Summary

Good Example of a Narrative/Project Summary:

Current Status of the New Jersey Scenic Byways Program

New Jersey currently has five existing byways and two byways that are in the final stages of filling out the state scenic byway application for scenic byway designation. The byways are as follows: 1) The Delaware River Scenic Byway, designated in 1996, was originally sponsored by NJDOT and used as a model for future scenic byways. It is approximately 34 miles in length, and it has recently completed a revised corridor management plan. 2) The Millstone Valley Scenic Byway, designated in 2001, is approximately 27 miles in length. Its sponsor is the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition, and a draft Corridor Management Plan was completed in February 2008 through a National Scenic Byway Discretionary Grant. 3) The Southern Pinelands Natural Heritage Trail, designated in 2005, is approximately 130 miles in length. Its sponsor is the Pinelands Commission, and the Corridor Management Plan is presently being completed through a 2006 National Scenic Byway Discretionary Grant. 4) The Palisades Interstate Parkway, designated in 2005, is approximately 19 miles in length. Its sponsor is the Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission, and a technical proposal is underway to hire a consultant to prepare a Corridor Management Plan through a 2007 National Scenic Byway Discretionary grant. 5) The Upper Freehold Historic Farmland Byway, designated in 2006, is approximately 24 miles in length. Its sponsor is the Upper Freehold Township Vision/Scenic Byway Committee Commission, and a technical proposal is underway to hire a consultant to prepare a Corridor Management Plan through a National Scenic Byway Discretionary grant awarded in 2007.

Additionally, two proposed byways are in the final stages of development before applying for designation as state scenic byways. Route 57 is being advanced by the NJDOT-Planning Division with assistance from a consultant. This proposed byway is developing its corridor management plan concurrently with its Scenic Byway Application. The Bayshore Heritage Byway is located in an area that has already been designated as part of the NJ Coastal Heritage Trail by the National Park Service. It received National Scenic Byway grant money in 2003 and permission was given to use it on the development of the byway. Both of these proposed byways will complete their applications by Fall 2008.

The Scenic Byways Program is currently located in the NJDOT Bureau of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Solutions. The present State Scenic Byways Coordinator took over the program in Fall 2006. The Program was never fully developed by previous coordinators.

The Development/Update of the existing state scenic byways program will include the following:

• Revisions/Updates to outdated material and guidelines
  • Revise/Update/Print "The New Jersey Scenic Byways Program" manual originally printed in Feb 95 – NJ has since revised its program to a two step program.
  • Minor updates, layout, and printing of "New Jersey Scenic Byways Application"
  • Development of guidelines manual
• Technical Assistance
  • Workshops, conferences, and seminars
    • Meeting materials and facilities
    • Speaker expenses
  • Education to various groups and organizations about the State of New Jersey Scenic Byways Program
• League of Municipalities, state departments, counties, and MPOs
  • Preparation of educational material
  • Display material for exhibits
  • Update of existing exhibit material
• Potential sponsors
  • Development of a more dynamic NJ Scenic Byways Website
  • Development of a "how to" CD that could assist a grassroots group in assessing the possibility of developing a state byway, and in the process for applying to the state for scenic byway designation.
• Continuing education - Costs associated with attending conferences, seminars, and classes that can assist with better development of the program and better assistance to the byways.

Revisions/Updates to Outdated Material

The New Jersey Scenic Byways Program was first "developed within the context of a formal, comprehensive and integrated framework of State policy." Considered as a "fit" with the State Planning Act which the Legislature of the State of New Jersey adopted in 1985, the NJDOT Planning Division took the lead role in the development of the Scenic Byways Program. "The Act established a State Planning Commission to establish the statewide planning process and to adopt and periodically update the State Development and Redevelopment Plans (SDRP)." The first SDRP was adopted by the State Planning Commission in June 1992. The New Jersey Scenic Byways Program was approved by the Federal Highway Administration in October 1993, and was "a synthesis of existing Federal and State policies, existing and proposed programs in New Jersey and other states, New Jersey’s existing laws and institutions, state of the art planning and design practice and, ultimately, the unique circumstances and experience of New Jersey."
(See Manual) A manual was collaboratively written by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Office of State Planning and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It was printed in February 1995 and discussed a complicated process for becoming a state designated byway that was daunting to grassroots groups. Before designation could occur the sponsor was required to submit the following: a nomination letter, schematic map, videotape of the travel experience, documentation of the sponsor’s authorization to submit the nomination, inventory, assessment, site evaluation, completion of a corridor management plan, and public meetings. At various stages during this process, there were reviews by the state advisory committee before they gave a recommendation to the Commissioner at the end of the process for designation.

Route 29 was selected for use as a model for the designation process and was sponsored by NJDOT. The byway was designated in 1996. In 1998, the program was placed with the NJDOT Landscape Architecture Unit. The process for becoming a byway was revisited and made more user friendly for the grassroots sponsors. A "Scenic Byway Application" was written so that the sponsor could become a state byway before completing the corridor management plan. This process is as follows:
In the first step, the sponsor fills out the application package for their proposed byway. When the application is completed, the sponsor makes a presentation to the State Scenic Byways Advisory Committee which reviews the application and gives a recommendation to the NJDOT Commissioner. A positive recommendation leads to the designation of a NJ Scenic Byway. The byway then has five years to produce the Corridor Management Plan, the second step in the NJ Scenic Byways Program.

Further byway designation did not occur until 2001 after the process had changed to become more user friendly for the grassroots sponsors. Although the application was written in 1998 and used by grassroots groups, it was not officially approved until 2004.

Although the manual gave a list of 25 potential Advisory Committee Members, a determination was never finalized on who would actually serve on the Committee. As a result, there is no written policy regarding the Advisory Committee Members. Presently, the Scenic Byway Advisory Committee is comprised of the following: a person from the Office of Smart Growth, three people from NJ Department of Environmental Protection (one from Green Acres, one from the Office of Resource Development, and one from the NJ Historic Preservation Office), three from NJ Department of Transportation (one from the Bureau of Statewide Planning, one from the Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs, and the Scenic Byways Coordinator from Landscape Architecture and Environmental Solutions), a person from the Secretary of State, a person from NJ Department of Commerce-Tourism, and a person from the Department of State. The Regional FHWA representative is also invited to all meetings. The Advisory Committee consists of people from departments that represent the intrinsic qualities as well as Tourism. The current Scenic Byways Coordinator is trying to strengthen this partnership and meetings now occur twice a year.

"The New Jersey Scenic Byways Program" manual and the "New Jersey Scenic Byways Application" are the only two written documents for the New Jersey Scenic Byways Program at this time. Since the existing manual does not reflect the revised designation process or the finalized scenic byway advisory committee members, a new manual is needed reflecting these changes. A finalized "NJ Scenic Byway Application" will also be printed as an official document. Due to minimal staffing of this program, a consultant will be hired to produce these documents, and they will require approximately a year to complete. (All completed products will acknowledge the funding source-America’s Byways logo.)

As other milestones are reached within the program, new questions arise and other decisions must be made. Recently, the issue regarding marker signs again came to the forefront. Once the Corridor Management Plan is completed the Scenic Byway Application states that "New Jersey Department of Transportation supplies the sponsor with the scenic byway marker signs. It is the responsibility of the roadway authority managing the byway to install, maintain and replace these signs." Since two of the byways have completed or nearly completed their corridor management plans, marker signs are needed for the signage of these byways. A proposed marker sign was designed but never finalized. With the assistance of the America’s Byways Resource Center, NJ held a teleconference call in late March 2008 and will hold a Byway Workshop in June. Discussions on the byway marker sign and how to mark a byway will also continue to occur during Spring 2008 as a committee is formed to address this issue. This committee will continue to meet until a decision is reached. At that time, a state funded byway project will hire a consultant to assist with the development of a signage manual.

Other guidelines such as the necessity of billboard ordinances are also being developed as issues arise during byway designation and the completion of the corridor management plans. A set of guidelines needs to be developed to address these issues and will take the form of an additional document for the NJ State Scenic Byways Program to use. Due to minimal staffing of this program, a consultant will be hired to produce these documents and they will require approximately 12 months to complete. (All completed products will acknowledge the funding source-America’s Byways logo.)

Technical Assistance

In October 2007, sponsors for existing and potential byways, byway advisory committee members, county planners working with existing byways, and consultants working on potential or existing byways were invited to attend New Jersey’s first Statewide Workshop. A byways specialist from the America’s Byways Resource Center led the workshop, and it was the first opportunity for all of the existing and proposed byway sponsors to meet. The workshop was extremely well received, and participants have asked that New Jersey sponsor workshops or other forms of discussion once or twice a year to assist them with their byways and give them an opportunity for peer-to-peer exchange. Grant money will assist with the expenses incurred for the meeting materials, meeting facilities, equipment, and possible speakers needed to hold annual State Byway conferences/workshops. The current issue of the marker sign was the Spring 2008 conference call, and this issue will continue in the form of workshops or teleconference calls until a resolution is made.

Currently, there are few people in NJ that are aware of a New Jersey State Scenic Byways Program, and educating the public about this program is critical for moving it forward, strengthening its importance in the role of the NJ tourist industry, and gaining support for further designations. Education will occur several different ways. Informational meetings will be given to explain the Program to various groups and organizations such as the League of Municipalities, other State Departments, Counties, and MPOs. Education of potential sponsors will occur through presentations about the program and about the process for becoming a byway. The development of a more dynamic website for usage by the public, and the development of a "how to" CD/website information that can assist grassroots groups in assessing the possibility of developing a state byway and in the process for applying to the state for scenic byway designation will also be developed for use as education tools.

An exhibit has been prepared showing the existing byways with the year they were designated, their sponsor, their location within the state, and the length of the byway. An additional exhibit board will soon be needed when the two byways working on their applications are designated. Updated material regarding the program is also needed for this exhibit. Training and educational literature has never been prepared and needs to be included in the package of information developed for presentations and distribution. The training and educational literature will be developed in-house and it will require approximately six months to complete this information.

The material found on the New Jersey Scenic Byways web page has been limited by NJDOT restrictions until recently. A more dynamic New Jersey Scenic Byways website will help in the promotion of the byway program. (It will provide a link to the National Scenic Byways Program website and will meet accessibility requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C 794 (d).) The development of a "how to" CD will assist the grassroots group interested in becoming a NJ byway. It will assist the group in assessing the possibility of developing a state byway and also with step by step directions on how to fill out the application. An on-line application for designation is also an important part of this on-line tool kit. Due to minimal staffing of this program, a consultant will be hired to work with the Scenic Byway Staff to create this website. The documents which will be done in-house will require approximately 12 months to complete.

Additionally, information about the NJ Scenic Byways is not available on the NJ Tourism Website and the Byway Coordinator is trying to change this. "The New Jersey Scenic Byways Program" manual states that the "sponsor will also be responsible for the promotion of the byway through brochures or pamphlets" but "the state will show the designated scenic byways on state maps and in the New Jersey Travel Guide." Up until this point, this has not been done, but the State Scenic Byway Coordinator is trying to establish dialog with New Jersey Tourism to develop this information. A set of guidelines on this process must also be developed by the State Scenic Byways Coordinator and the advisory committee. Coordination/links also need to be developed between state websites regarding information on the Scenic Byways Program. (It will provide a link to the National Scenic Byways Program website and will meet accessibility requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C 794 (d).)

Continuing Education

The NJ Scenic Byways Program will better assist the existing and potential byways through continued education on various subjects that affect the byway sponsors such as grant writing, preservation easements, funding sources, etc. that can assist the sponsors in advancing the sustainability of individual byways or potential byways. Continuing education for the Scenic Byways Coordinator will include scenic byway conferences, other possible conferences, seminars, regional workshops, and classes that will allow the Byway Coordinator to obtain knowledge on these topics, to partake in peer-to-peer exchanges, and to gain insight in moving this program forward so that more assistance can be given to the byways.

This project benefits the byway traveler in a number of ways. By providing assistance to NJ in the advancement of their existing program, there will be more information on the existing byways for the byway traveler. Education to the public about the program can lead to possible future designations. Assistance to the potential/existing sponsors in the development of their byways will make the traveler’s experience more enjoyable, educational and user friendly. This project will also provide assistance with continuing education and training associated with advancing the statewide byway program through classes, peer-to-peer exchanges, regional workshops, and national conferences.

New Jersey has great potential regarding the creation of byways that have not yet been developed. The six intrinsic qualities and the stories along the roadways are untapped but waiting to be told. New Jersey is steeped in history. Some buildings date back to pre-Revolutionary days, and New Jersey played a key role in the Revolutionary War and the battles that made us the United States of America. Recreation is located from the "Jersey Shore" on the east and south side of the state to the Delaware River and the "Water Gap" on the west and north side of the state. New Jersey is critical to the migratory birds traveling from Canada and the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pinelands is the largest body of primarily forested open space on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond and Boston and is a natural and cultural environment unique to the world. Although New Jersey does not have the Rocky Mountains or pristine mountain fed pools of clear blue water, it does have the Wachung Mountains in the northwest portion of the state and the Palisades that rise 550 feet above the Hudson River. NJ offers a multitude of experiences for byway users interested in all six of the intrinsic qualities. Located between Philadelphia and New York City, it is within driving distance to a huge number of people located on the east coast of the United States. By providing assistance with this project, there is a potential of benefiting a large number of byway travelers.