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Section 5317 New Freedom Program The purpose of the New Freedom grant program is to support services and facility improvements to address the transportation needs of persons with disabilities that go beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Funds are available to support the capital and operating costs of new public transportation service targeted toward people with disabilities or public transportation alternatives that go beyond those required by the ADA. The foundation of the New Freedom program is larger fixed-route urban systems that are required to have parallel or “complementary” paratransit systems to meet the needs of disabled individuals. The stereotype project is extended hours or days, or expansion of service area or other operating parameters not available under previous funding mechanisms. For ADOT's program, Section 5317 is distinguished from Section 5310 by its "disabled persons only: focus and providing services not otherwise available through 5310 or other grant programs. Eligible recipients include private nonprofit organizations, State or local governmental authority, and operators of public transportation services including private operators of public transportation services. Activities that could be funded under the program include, but are not limited to:
Matching fund ratios in New Freedom projects (including mobility management) are 80% federal, 20% local for capital, and 50% federal, 20% local for operating assistance. As designated by the Governor of the State of Arizona, the ADOT Multimodal Planning Division administers New Freedom funds for rural areas (less than 50,000 population) and small urbanized areas (50,000 to 199,999 population), regions of the state, including Avondale in Maricopa County. As of this publication, Congressional allocations remain under a “continuing resolution” status, so only partial funding amounts are available. However, ultimate projections for FY 2009 statewide funding for rural areas are expected to exceed $240,000, and $175,000 statewide for small urbanized areas. All projects funded under this program must be derived from a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation planning process. Successful applicants must be included in their Regional Coordination Plan and have participated in related activities. Please contact Ms. Loretta Crimi for Section 5317 assistance.
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