DOT sets $293 million for new transit solutions, economic development

A $293-million investment announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood means that residents in dozens of communities nationwide will soon enjoy major transit improvements, including new streetcars, buses and transit facilities.

The nearly $300-million
investment is part of the Obama Administration’s livability initiative to
better coordinate transportation, housing and commercial development
investments to serve the people living in those communities. It is being made
through two competitive grant programs, the Urban Circulator Grant Program and
the Bus and Bus Livability Grant Program.

"This investment by the
Obama Administration in our nation’s communities will create jobs, boost
economic development and recovery, and further reduce our dependence on oil,"
Secretary LaHood said. "Our goals are to provide cleaner, safer, and more
efficient ways to get around."

Secretary LaHood, along
with Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, announced the winners of the
two competitive grant programs during a press conference call in Washington.
Six new streetcar and bus rapid transit projects will be funded with $130 million
from the Federal Transit Administration’s Urban Circulator Program, and 47
additional projects aimed at upgrading bus services and facilities are slated
to receive more than $163 million from the FTA’s Bus and Bus Livability
Program.

"Streetcars are making a
comeback because cities across America are recognizing that they can restore
economic development downtown – giving citizens the choice to move between
home, shopping and entertainment without ever looking for a parking space," said
FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. "These streetcar and bus livability projects
will not only create construction jobs now, they will aid our recovery by
creating communities with the potential to be more prosperous and less
congested."

The City of St. Louis received
$24,990,000 to help build a two-mile, nine-stop urban streetcar route. This
catalyst project would connect a neighborhood in need of revitalization with a
thriving college village and a major regional destination. The circulator route
would connect University City, Forest Park and the City of St. Louis together
and tie into an existing light rail line. A mix of public and private
investment is envisioned.

The City of Charlotte,
N.C., received $24,990,000 to help build a 1.5-mile streetcar starter route
with six stops and three replica trolleys, in advance of a future 10-mile
streetcar route. The project would be implemented on a reconstructed street
already built with a double-track for streetcar vehicles and pedestrian and
urban design enhancements along part of the alignment. The operating agency
already has the streetcars and will provide the all of the vehicles required to
operate the project.

The City of Cincinnati was
awarded $24,990,000 to construct a six-mile streetcar route with 18 stops and
six streetcars for operation on one-way pairs of downtown Cincinnati streets.
The Cincinnati Streetcar Project will reconnect the central business district
to two redeveloping neighborhoods just north of downtown: Over-the-Rhine, a
low-income, minority community, and Uptown, the region’s second largest
employment center. The city proposes that the streetcar would enable Cincinnati’s
core to grow into a more walkable, livable and affordable community with a
healthy mix of land uses, housing units and income groups.

The City of Fort Worth and
the Fort Worth Transportation Authority will use a $24,990,000 grant to construct
a 2.5-mile one-way streetcar loop with between 20 and 25 stops and three
vehicles to connect a Trinity Railway Express commuter rail station and
Intermodal Transportation Center with the central business district. This will
be the hub of a planned streetcar network connecting six designated "urban
villages" targeted for redevelopment to the city’s major employment centers,
such as downtown and the Near Southside Medical District. Ultimately, the
streetcar system will connect residents in four economically disadvantaged
areas to job opportunities in major employment centers, while stimulating the
redevelopment of walkable urban neighborhoods with a variety of housing
choices.

The Dallas Area Rapid
Transit Authority (DART) will use a $4,900,000 to help build a 0.65-mile urban
streetcar track extension to an existing system. This project would link the
current McKinney Trolley to the existing DART light rail St. Paul Station and
to the McKinney Trolley Olive Street Extension in the heart of Downtown Dallas.
The connection to the Olive Street extension would form an entire reversing
loop for the trolley, making operations safer and more efficient, while
connecting downtown destinations such as the Dallas Museum of Art and the
Nasher Sculpture Center to Uptown Dallas.