A $375,025 sidewalk project is reported for Orchard Road in Skaneateles, while Manlius has proposed an Enders Road sidewalk district.
The money comes from a $97.1 million statewide release of Transportation Alternatives Program funding covering 35 projects, according to a post from NYSDOT
on X crediting Governor Kathy Hochul's leadership in advancing the funding. The program is administered by NYSDOT.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council
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Manlius Proposes Enders Road Sidewalk District
In Manlius, a proposed sidewalk district would cover Enders Road.
The NYSDOT post announced the statewide funding total and project count under the Transportation Alternatives Program, which the agency administers. State officials say the project is designed to create safer walking routes for elementary and middle school students.
Skaneateles Sidewalk Project on Orchard Road
The Village of Skaneateles has a $375,025 sidewalk project on Orchard Road.
How the Grant Money Gets Approved
Securing the funding wasn't automatic. NYSDOT opened a $97.4 million TAP application window in November 2025, giving local governments through March 2026 to submit proposals, reporting from The Leaflet by AASHTO shows. The agency then screens applications against criteria that include cost-effectiveness, geographic balance across the state, and alignment with New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, linking sidewalk and trail projects to the state's broader greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Individual project awards under the program typically run between $500,000 and $7 million, the same report notes. Municipalities that win TAP awards aren't off the hook financially, either: federal funding covers up to 80% of eligible project costs, but local governments must commit at least a 20% match from their own budgets to actually use the grant.
That match requirement, layered on top of the years-long path from identifying a local need to winning a competitive state award, underscores how long these sidewalk projects can take to materialize. Manlius residents were already asking for Enders Road sidewalks in 2021, and Skaneateles officials started engineering work on East Lake Street in 2023 — both years before Wednesday's funding announcement finally put state dollars behind the plans.
