Eligible organizations can submit their project proposals from Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. CT to Friday, February 13, 2026 at 11:59p.m. CT. Please note that project proposals for the $60,000 GM on Main Street Grant should be feasible to complete and be usable by the public by Monday, November 30, 2026. 

Grantees will be selected by a review panel and alerted of their award by late April 2026.

Grant recipients will each receive $60,000 to implement their project and will have seven months to complete their projects (May 1 – November 30, 2026). Recipients will be required to submit progress reports at the three- and six-month mark following the grant disbursement, and a final report will be due just after the full seven-month implementation period. All reports are to be completed using a template provided. Recipients will be required to attend three cohort meetings (to be scheduled with the group of grantees once selected). 

• Applicants must be located within an eligible county. Eligible counties feature or are adjacent to a GM Facility. View the list of eligible counties.
• Applicants must be non-profit organizations or local governments.
• Applicants may submit up to one (1) application per organization. 
• Previous GM on Main Street grantees are eligible to apply again for the 2025 – 2026 grant cycle.
• Previous GM on Main Street grantees must demonstrate successful completion of their prior grant project in their application.

• Transform your downtown’s road safety and traffic infrastructure
• Improve pedestrian safety, walkability, and accessibility
• Implement innovative and forward-thinking projects that encourage downtown traffic safety and walkability and boost economic vitality 

Requested funding must be for a physical road safety project.

Eligible Grant Uses:

• Construction/​installation supplies and materials
• Equipment
• Labor costs for construction/​rehabilitation/​installation/​artist fees
• Artist’s supplies and fees associated with a community engagement design process (i.e. artful bike racks or traffic calming features informed by facilitated community discussions) 
• Other physical items
• One-off event costs/​programming for initial activation of the space
• Engineering and architectural plans or fees (up to 20% of $60,000 grant budget)

Ineligible Grant Uses:

• Staff salaries (labor beyond initial construction/​rehabilitation/​installation costs)
• Operational and maintenance expenses
• Reimbursement for projects that are already completed

All proposals must demonstrate how the project would actively improve road safety or provide traffic calming in the corridor.

• Add or enhance a crosswalk in an important location 
• Curb extension
• Median island
• Pedestrian refuge island
• Crosswalk signage
• Mini circle
• Signage
• Digital speed signs alerting drivers of their speed
• Speed trailers
• Speed bumps
• Speed tables
• Public art that actively improves road safety or provides traffic calming in the corridor
• MUTCD-compliant crosswalk art — Decorative crosswalk
• Gateway treatment at the entrance of a district, using landscaping, trees, or something else, that signals to drivers that they are entering a walkable commercial district
• Planter beds
• Smaller reconstruction projects – Neighborhood Main Streets are a nexus of neighborhood life, with high pedestrian volumes, frequent parking turnover, key transit routes, and bicyclists all vying for limited space. Main street design should limit traffic speeds and create a narrower profile with frequent, high-quality pedestrian crossings. You might propose a project that involves one or several components of a reconstruction or reconfiguration that improves road safety and/​or traffic calming. Below are a couple of examples:
  • Example #1: Say that a community has a four-lane street with parallel parking. The community could propose a grant project that would use paint to change the parallel parking spots into angled parking spots for two blocks of downtown. The project would need to be coordinated with the department of transportation and local city government.
  • Example #2: Implement components of a bicycle boulevard – Change stop signs or yield sign configurations to force traffic to turn left or right, diverting traffic away from cyclists and creating safer biking conditions. You might put together a package of five interventions on one street to turn it into a bicycle boulevard.
• Interim design strategies are a set of tools and tactics that cities can use to improve their roadways and public spaces in the near-term. They include low-cost, interim materials, new public amenities, and creative partnerships with local stakeholders, which together enable faster project delivery, and more flexible and responsive design. Whether setting a parklet along a curb, pedestrianizing a narrow corridor, or redesigning a complex intersection, cities have the opportunity and the responsibility to make the most efficient use of valuable street space. An interim design can serve as a bridge to the community, helping to build support for a project and test its functionality before going into construction. 
• Alternative uses of parking spaces/​driving lanes for a pedestrian-oriented parklet, bike corrals, traffic-calming planter beds, or accessibility improvement 
• Interim public plazas transform underutilized areas of roadway into public spaces for surrounding residents and businesses. Using low-cost materials, such as epoxied gravel, movable planters, and flexible seating, interim public plazas reconfigure and revitalize intersections that might otherwise be unsafe or underutilized.
• Bike safety infrastructure
• Sustainability upgrades such as installing or enhancing electric vehicle charging stations.

Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Road Safety and Traffic Calming Focus: Proposed idea must be a local initiative located in a publicly accessible location in the downtown or commercial district, and projects must focus on road safety and/​or traffic calming measures. Projects should elevate GM’s and MSA’s priorities to promote pedestrian safety and traffic calming initiatives and to improve quality of life in our Main Streets. 
• Innovation: Proposed idea represents innovative, experimental, creative and/​or entrepreneurial approaches to road safety and traffic calming on Main Street.
• Inclusivity and Accessibility: Main Street America believes that Main Streets are for everyone. The proposed idea must consider community needs and intentionally include the local community in project design and execution.
• Feasibility: Proposed idea is feasible given grant amount and program timeline. Project must be completed and usable by the public by November 30, 2026.
• Replicability: Proposed idea is something that could be modeled and/​or scaled for other Main Street programs to adopt and implement.

• Choose a project that is innovative and unique, while also ensuring that it is manageable to complete within the implementation period and within your budget. 
• Submit a clear and detailed budget. Make sure to include the cost of labor in your budget. If your total project cost is more than the $60,000 GM on Main Street grant amount, be sure to specify which elements of your total project this grant would be covering. For costs beyond this grant, specify the source(s) of additional funding and whether this additional needed funding is already secured or pending. Avoid submitting projects with significant funding gaps, as GM on Main Street grant projects must be completed and ready to use by the public by the November 30, 2026 deadline.
• When developing your project timeline, make sure to include time up front for any anticipated local approval processes that may be required in your community.
• Demonstrate in your proposal how the community was/​is involved in your project design and discuss how the project site will be activated once the project is complete.
• Look for opportunities to incorporate environmental sustainability and/​or climate resilience in your project proposal.
• Seek design inspiration from your local culture, history, and/​or environment. Art and landscaping can be a component of many road safety and traffic calming interventions. Proposals must demonstrate how the project would improve road safety and/​or traffic calming.

• Applications Open on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. CT
• Applications Close on February 13, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CT
• Grant Recipients Notified by late April 2026
• Grant Funds Disbursed to Selected Recipients by May 1, 2026
• Project Implementation Period: May 1 – November 30, 2026
• Final Grant Reports Due: December 7, 2026 

Eligible organizations can submit their project proposals from Wednesday, November 19 at 12:00 p.m. CT through Friday, February 13, at 11:59 p.m. CT. Applications will be evaluated by a review panel, and grantees will be alerted of their award by late April 2026.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at GMonMain@​mainstreet.​org.