Federal Transit Administration Announces $16.6 Million to Improve Transit Access

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced that it has awarded a total of $16.6 million to 20 organizations around the country to support comprehensive planning projects that improve access to public transportation. The funds are made available through FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning, which assists communities that are developing new or expanded mass transit systems.  

“Convenient and safe access to public transportation can improve mobility,” said FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams.

The Pilot Program for TOD Planning provides funding to project sponsors who will integrate land use and transportation planning efforts with eligible transit projects. The grants will fund comprehensive planning to support transit ridership, multimodal connectivity, and mixed-use development near transit stations.   

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

A list of grant award recipients is below: 

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority in Florida will receive $800,000 for a planning study along a proposed fixed guideway transit corridor between downtown Tampa and the University of South Florida.

Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Florida will receive $1,015,280 to plan for TOD along the proposed Ultimate Urban Circulator, which is the planned modernization of the existing Skyway monorail system in Jacksonville into an autonomous circulator.

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in Florida will receive $1,200,000 to plan for TOD along the proposed Central Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, an 11-mile BRT line connecting downtown St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach.

Chicago Transit Authority in Illinois will receive $1,480,000 to plan for TOD along a proposed 5.3-mile southern extension of the Red Line.

Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) in Indiana will receive $320,000 to support planning along the Blue Line Rapid Transit project, a planned bus rapid transit line that will link downtown Indianapolis, the airport and the Town of Cumberland.

Maryland Department of Transportation will receive $2,000,000 to plan for TOD along the Maryland Purple Line, a 16.2-mile light rail project under construction linking Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) in Michigan will receive $696,000 to plan for development along the Silver Line Bus Rapid Transit line, which opened in 2014 and connects Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming, Michigan.

The City of Rochester in Minnesota will receive $765,000 to develop TOD plans for the proposed Rochester Downtown Transit Circulator, a 3.5-mile exclusive guideway bus rapid transit line proposed for downtown Rochester.

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) in Missouri will receive $250,000 to plan for TOD along the Rock Island Railroad Corridor, a 17.7-mile corridor where a fixed guideway project is being planned to connect three major cities in the Kansas City region.

The City of Jackson in Mississippi will receive $1,000,000 to reshape development along the ONELINE project, a bus rapid transit system running from Fondren through downtown to Jackson State University.

The City of Charlotte in North Carolina will receive $920,000 to plan for development along the proposed LYNX Silver Line, a light rail extension from Gaston County to the airport, Uptown Charlotte, Mathews and Union County.

The City of Winston-Salem in North Carolina will receive $1,000,000 to develop a comprehensive plan for the 5.4-mile corridor along the North-South Urban Circulator, a proposed streetcar connecting colleges, jobs and the city's downtown area.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada will receive $300,000 to develop a TOD plan for an 8.7-mile fixed guideway project proposed to run along Maryland Parkway into downtown Las Vegas.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority in New York will receive $777,943 to zone for mixed-use development along the Amherst-Buffalo Corridor Light Rail Extension project, which is a proposed extension of the area's light rail system.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Ohio will receive $336,000 to plan for TOD along the MetroHealth Line, a bus rapid transit line connecting downtown Cleveland, health facilities and residential and employment areas.

Metro in Portland, Oregon, will receive $1,076,000 to work with the City of Portland to identify affordable housing, economic development and business stabilization opportunities along a proposed 2.3-mile streetcar extension to Montgomery Park.

Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments in South Carolina will receive $880,000 to develop a TOD plan for 18 station areas along a proposed 23-mile bus rapid transit line from Summerville to Charleston.

Greenville County in South Carolina will receive $355,000 to plan for TOD along a high capacity transit project being planned for the Laurens Road corridor between downtown Greenville and Mauldin.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Texas will receive $600,000 to support TOD planning along the MetroRail Green Line, a proposed 15-mile commuter rail service between the cities of Austin and Manor.

VIA Metropolitan Transit in Texas will receive $825,000 to work with the City of San Antonio to plan for TOD along the North-South/Central Rapid Transit Corridor Project, a 27-mile fixed guideway alignment between the Stone Oak and Brooks areas of the city.

In Fiscal Year 2018, FTA has awarded more than $15 billion in funding through both formula and competitive grant programs to support public transportation.