Intersection of North Monroe Street and Interstate 10 viewed from the north. Source: Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department's North Monroe Corridor Enhancement Plan

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In 2023, the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) conducted a regional analysis and identified safety concerns for the North Monroe corridor. As a result, the CRTPA is now focusing on the specific improvements needed -- upgraded intersections, new sidewalks, safer street crossings, better lighting, etc. -- and plans to apply for a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant to obtain the necessary funding. However, a 20% local match is required, and the matching funds must be designated and held while the application is under review by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Fortunately, the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency has $4.216 million available for its own North Monroe Gateway improvements. If we use these Blueprint funds for the match and the grant is awarded, we'll then have $21 million for the design and construction of the safety improvements. We'd be drawing down $16.8 million in federal funds for North Monroe -- that's a 1-to-5 return on our local Blueprint dollars!
Before the $4.216 million in Blueprint funds can be used as the match, however, the Blueprint Directors must vote to designate it as such. We hope the Blueprint Board of Directors will consider this an excellent opportunity to leverage Blueprint dollars for much-needed safety improvements, but we won't know for sure until their next meeting on February 29th.
With this petition drive, we hope to show widespread community support for this 'Monroe Makeover' plan.

On February 27th, we'll compile all of the petition submissions and business letters received by that date and give them to Blueprint staff. They, in turn, will provide them to the Blueprint Board of Directors for their review prior to the February 29th meeting. These materials will also be made available to the public.
Please note that, per Florida’s Public Records Law (Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes), most written communication to or from local elected officials and their staff regarding government business are public records available to the public and media upon request. This includes the petition submissions and letters from businesses.

Per the U.S. Department of Transportation: "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years, 2022-2026. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Over $3 billion is still available for future funding rounds."
For more information about the SS4A grant application and process, click HERE.

The SS4A grant application is being led by the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency and RS&H, an engineering and transportation consulting firm. Click HERE to review RS&H's SS4A presentation to the CRTPA on January 16, 2024.

The dates are subject to change, but we expect to submit the SS4A application around July 2024 and we may hear the results before the end of the year.

The SS4A grants are competitive, so it’s possible that this first attempt won't be successful. If this happens, the Blueprint Board of Directors could decide to reapply the following year. The SS4A federal grant program was appropriated $5 billion over five years, from 2022 to 2026, and as of February 2024 there remains about $3 billion available for communities like ours.
Alternatively, the Blueprint Directors could decide not to reapply. In that case, the Blueprint funds that had been held for the SS4A's required 20% match would be released, and could be used directly for North Monroe improvements. While it would be unfortunate to not receive an SS4A grant, it's important to note that the local Blueprint funds that had been intended for the 20% match would not be 'lost' -- they would still be available to Blueprint for North Monroe upgrades.

The Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department has created an excellent website that provides a historical perspective of the North Monroe corridor, past improvement projects, and future plans. Click HERE to visit the website.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office has used the 'Monroe Makeover' term for one of their public safety initiatives, and they graciously have allowed us to use it for this project proposal and petition gathering campaign.

Well, thank you! We’re committed to keeping expenses to a minimum, so we (the County District 3 office) developed this website on our own, using the Wix.com website development platform. In fact, the total cost of developing the website, hosting it, and purchasing the domains was only about $380. The logo was drafted using an online logo generator and then modified to suit our needs… it cost $15.