OCEAN COUNTY MUNICIPAL SIDEWALK GRANT 2026

The Ocean County Municipal Sidewalk Grant Program is a competitive program that will allocate up to $5 million for the installation of sidewalks along County roads in our local communities.

Program Highlights:

• Funding: The County will cover 75% of construction costs.
• Municipal Responsibility: Municipalities are responsible for all soft costs (engineering, permitting, property acquisition, and future maintenance).
• Grant Limits: To ensure equitable distribution, funding is capped at $500,000 per project (or per project phase).
• Phased Projects: You may apply for multiple phases of a larger project separately; however, please note that the County may only award funding for a single phase depending on overall program demand.

Project Details

• Department: Engineering
• Department Head: Mark Jehnke (County Engineer)

Important Dates

• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-08-10T18:30:00.000Z — https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/291101661550729?p=Vgecl7e1DbpzXKrPn6

Evaluation Criteria

• Constructability & Readiness (20 pts) —

  Completed design, secured permits, and clear County right-of-way

• Demonstrated Need (20 pts) —

  Documented pedestrian activity

• Walkability & Connectivity (30 pts) —

  Ability to connect destinations, close sidewalk gaps, or enhance pedestrian networks

• Cost Estimate (10 pts) —

  Quality, reliability and completeness of cost estimate

• Safety Impact (20 pts) —

  Improvement to pedestrian safety, accident history, or traffic conflict mitigation

Submission Requirements

• Name of Municipality (required)
• Municipality's Address (required)
• Federal Tax ID Number (required)
• Name of Person in Responsible Charge (required)
• Phone Number of Person in Responsible Charge (required)
• E-mail Address of Person in Responsible Charge (required)
• Proposed Project Location (required) —

  County Road where sidewalk is to be installed

• Proposed Project Limits (Nearest cross streets) (required) —

  Start and Stop location of Project

• Project Location (required) —

  Map of proposed project location

• Statement of Need (required)
• Project Priority —

  If applying for funding for multiple projects, please rank in priority order. (#1 for highest priority)

• Accident History (required) —

  History of accidents for the area of proposed sidewalk construction

• Documented Pedestrian Activity (required) —

  Photos of toe paths, certifications, petitions, etc

• Sidewalk Gap Analysis (required)
• Distance From Nearest School (required)
• Total Anticipated Construction Cost (required)
• Requested Grant Amount (required) —

  Shall not exceed 75% of total construction costs

• Are all required permits acquired? (required)
• If permits are not acquired, when are they anticipated to be complete?
• Project Files (required) —

  Please upload the following documents here : 

  1. Location Map
  2. Project photos with aerial
  3. Preliminary Engineering Cost Estimate 
  4. Project Design Plans (if available)
• Confirm Grant request is for new sidewalk construction projects located within requested municipal boundary and within the right-of-way of a County road. (required)
• Confirm Grant request is for 75% of construction cost only. (required)
• Confirm understanding that the following costs are not subject for grant reimbursement: engineering and design, surveying and inspections. (required)
• Confirm project construction must commence within 12 months of award. (required)
• Confirm requesting municipality understands it is fully responsibility for ongoing maintenance, repair, snow removal, and replacement. (required)
• Confirm requesting municipality is solely responsible for maintenance, repair, or long-term liability and a maintenance ordinance must be provided within forty-five (45) days of Notice of Grant award. (required)
• Confirm proposed sidewalk is proposed based on the Ocean County Masterplan road width, in anticipation of future growth. (required)
• Confirm that within forty-five (45) days of Notice of Award, the Municipalty will provide an ordinance requiring all new developments on County Roads will require sidewalk along the entire frontage. (required)