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DOT announces funding to be available for TIGER program

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On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that $527 million will be available for the third round of the highly successful TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) competitive grant program. TIGER grants fund innovative transportation projects that create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.

For this round of grants, projects will be selected based on their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, improve energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and improve the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. DOT will also focus on projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and spur rapid increases in economic activity.

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Tell your story: 15.5 million seniors will have poor or non-existent transit access in 2015. How will it affect you?

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Crossposted from Transportation for America

By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent. That number will continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation “ages in place” in suburbs and exurbs with few mobility options for those who do not drive.

How will we address the shrinking mobility options of baby boomers who wish to stay in their homes and age in place? What happens when people in the largest generation in American history outlive their ability to drive for everything?

We want to know how the lack of transit access or other options affects you. Whether you’re a senior or have a parent or grandparent getting older in places with poor transportation options, we want to hear real stories of how this will affect real people in the coming years. We’re partnering with AARP to gather stories about how you or someone you know is or will be affected by the lack of transportation options.

Share your story with AARP today, which is joining with T4 America to gather compelling stories to share with Congress.

With Congress set to introduce a transportation bill that will determine how to spend our transportation money for the next 6 years, we need to make it clear to Congress how their decisions will impact real people.

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After 55 years, it's time to invest in road preservation and repair

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The Interstate Highway System turned 55 years old yesterday, and many roads across the country are showing their age. Crumbling concrete, cracks and potholes not only mean a rougher ride for America’s drivers – they pose a huge threat to the country’s transportation budget.

Repair costs rise as roads age, and deferring needed repairs means spending much more in the future. Research shows that spending $1 on repair today averts $6 to $14 of cost later, and at a time when public funding is already stretched tight the U.S. can’t afford to incur those future costs.

A new bill in the Senate would make upkeep of our roads and bridges a top national priority – and we need your help to see it through. Better investments in repair will benefit of the national budget, businesses that rely on freight and drivers everywhere.

Tell your Senators to support the Preservation and Renewal of Federal-Aid Highways Act: click here to take action.

In a report in early June, Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense revealed that states expose themselves to huge financial liabilities by failing to adequately fund road repair and preservation. Despite this risk, many states continue to add to the road systems they are already struggling to maintain – and costs will only go up as roads age.

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"Advocacy Training 101" webinar materials now available online

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Thank you to everyone who attended Smart Growth America’s Sustainable Communities Network webinar last week, “Advocacy Training 101.” Telling members of Congress about the benefits of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a crucial part of supporting these valuable federal programs.

Christopher Coes, Manager of LOCUS, discussed tools and tips about how to effectively advocate for the Partnership. This webinar explains the skills and tools you need to engage Congressional representatives one-on-one or with a group, including the most effective methods of communication, messaging and how to respond to decision makers’ concerns.

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Save the date: 11th annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

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“San Diego light rail station.” Photo by EPA Smart Growth via Flickr.

Save the date! Join smart growth leaders from across the country for the 11th annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, to be held from February 2-4, 2012 in San Diego, California.

New Partners for Smart Growth is a national, multi-disciplinary smart growth conference presented by the Local Government Commission. In these tough economic times when communities everywhere are struggling for fiscal survival, this timely conference will identify innovative ways to finance smart growth, explore creative techniques for reducing infrastructure and service costs, and provide concrete ideas for employing smart growth as a tool for community economic vitality.

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FTA announces funding available through Bus Livability Program

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The Federal Transit Administration has announced up to $150 million of funding available through the Bus Livability Program, which provides money to purchase or replace buses and to build bus-related facilities. The grants are part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communies’ livability funding. From www.grants.gov:

The Bus Livability Program makes funds available to public transportation providers to finance capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, including programs of bus and bus-related projects for assistance to subrecipients that are public agencies, private companies engaged in public transportation, or private non-profit organizations.

The Bus Livability Program will be funded using at least $150 million in available discretionary Bus and Bus Facilities Program funds, authorized by 49 U.S.C. 5309(b) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, August 10, 2005. FTA may use additional Bus and Bus Facilities funding that becomes available to further support this initiative. The Notice in FR DOC # 2011-16015 includes priorities established by FTA for these discretionary funds, the criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious projects for funding, and describes how to apply.

Places where people have access to affordable housing and different forms of transportation are communities that are economically competitive, and the places where businesses thrive and people want to live. FTA’s livability grants will go a long way toward helping create those communities through jobs, lower transportation costs, and economic development.

For more information about this funding opportunity visit www.grants.gov or www.federalregister.gov.

Want to receive alerts like this straight to you inbox? Click here to join Smart Growth America’s Sustainable Communities Network.

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Land Bank Act passes New York legislature; awaits Governor Cuomo’s signature

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Late last week, in a victory for smart growth advocates across the state, the New York State legislature passed the Land Bank Act (A373A/S663A). Now awaiting signature into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the legislation would allow towns and cities in New York State to create land banks – entities that can hold and manage vacant and abandoned properties and return them to productive use.

New York’s Land Bank Act would provide major benefits to local economies by reversing cycles of decline and improving property values in communities across the state. Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, the bill’s lead sponsor in the Assembly, described the positive economic impacts land banks can provide in a recent press release about the bill:

“Just as one vacant building can set off a cycle of contagious blight, with declining property values leading to further abandonments, a smart redevelopment plan, implemented by a land bank that can acquire, hold and assemble parcels of land for development, green space, or public works projects can reverse this non-virtuous cycle. Their work adds value to surrounding properties and strengthens local real estate markets.”

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Now accepting proposals: FTA's Transit Climate Change Adaptation Assessment pilots

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The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is now soliciting proposals for transit climate change adaptation assessment pilots. The pilots will fund transit agencies or partnerships with transit agencies to assess the vulnerability of transit agency assets and services to climate change hazards such as heat waves and flooding. The pilots will also assess initial adaptation strategies and link these strategies to transit agency organizational structures and activities, and one of the pilots will focus on demonstrating the integration of adaptation assessment within an asset management system.

FTA contemplates making approximately four cooperative agreement awards, ranging from $50,000 to $175,000 each. Total funding available is $525,000. Eligible recipients are either 1) a public transportation provider or, 2) a university, non-profit, private, or public entity working in partnership with a public transportation provider.

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HUD Secretary Donovan announces second round of Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants

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In a press release today, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that HUD will be investing an additional $67 million towards creating stronger, more sustainable communities that connect housing to jobs while fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy through its Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program. From the release:

The second round of Regional Planning grants will soon be made available through a Notice of Funding Availability. The grants will be awarded competitively to multi-jurisdictional and multi-sector partnerships as well as regional consortia consisting of state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), educational institutions, non-profit organizations and philanthropic organizations. This year’s funding was approved by Congress in HUD’s 2011 budget, as part of $100 million devoted to the agency’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers regions to consider how all of these factors work together to bring economic competitiveness and revitalization to a community. The program will place a priority on partnerships, including the collaboration of arts and culture, philanthropy, and innovative ideas to the regional planning process.

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