U.S. Department of Transportation announces over $6 million in grant awards

DOT awards grants to TriMet and King County Metro for COVID-19 response.

U.S. Department of Transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced approximately $6.2 million to nine projects in seven states to support comprehensive planning efforts to improve access to public transportation. Funding is provided through FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning, which helps communities examine ways to improve economic development and multimodal connectivity, and encourages mixed-use development near transit stations.

“This $6.2 million in federal grants will help transit and public transportation in communities in seven states,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

The Pilot Program for TOD Planning funds comprehensive planning projects near public transportation that improve access, encourage ridership and spur economic and mixed-use development. Planning projects were selected for funding based on criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

“We are proud to support local transit agencies as they plan for TOD that better connects residents to jobs, education and essential services,” said FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. “This funding will encourage economic development and capture the value transit brings to communities as they respond to and recover from the public health emergency.”

Examples of selected projects are below. A list of all selected projects is available online.

• Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in Florida will receive $877,068 in funding to plan for TOD at four stations in the initial phase of the proposed 38.4-mile First Coast commuter rail project in Northeast Florida.
   
• Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia will receive $360,000 in funding to plan for TOD at five stations of the proposed four-mile King of Prussia rail extension of the Norristown High Speed Line.
   
• The Town of Chapel Hill Transit Department in North Carolina will receive $592,500 to plan for TOD at 16 stations of the proposed 8.2-mile North-South BRT project, which will run along one of the town’s busiest and most vital thoroughfares stretching from Eubanks Road in the north to the Southern Village in the south.

FTA’s TOD Pilot Program was established under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) in 2012 and amended by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act in 2015.  The program is authorized through fiscal year 2020, and extended one year by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act.