US Dept of Transportation Awards $10.2 Million to the East Bay Bicycle and Pedestrian Network

The East Bay Regional Park District has received a $10.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete its East Bay Bicycle and Pedestrian Network.

“We are pleased to see that a number of projects we worked on for many years are now being funded by the Park District,” stated Rick Rickard, Acting Executive Director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. “With our focus on Safe Routes to Transit, we are especially pleased to see that the Park District is prioritizing projects that get people walking and bicycling to regional transit. These projects will close critical gaps in our bikeway network.”

The East Bay Pedestrian and Bicycle Network will close several critical gaps in the nearly 200-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail system serving the 2.5 million residents of Contra Costa and Alameda counties in California. The project will separate bicycle and pedestrian traffic from automobile traffic, and connect to transit facilities. TIGER II funds will alleviate congested roads and highways by providing access to alternative commuting options, including local and commuter buses and the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.

List of Projects for Green Transportation Initiative

San Francisco Chronicle Article

Streetsblog Coverage of the Bike/Ped TIGER II Grant Awards

Bay Citizen coverage of the TIGER II Grants

Your Bicycle Coalition leaders in the news:

• “The East Bay is about to get a lot more walkable and bike-friendly,” stated Dave Campbell, Program Director for the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. “These projects are needed segments of our commute routes and will encourage many more cyclists to ride to transit.”
• “The East Bay Pedestrian and Bicycle Network is an excellent example of how trail networks connect the places people live, work and play,” said Rails-to-Trails Western Region Director Laura Cohen. “This regional effort creates green jobs and healthy lifestyles, and is an incredibly cost-effective way of improving transportation choices and enhancing the livability of our region.”
• “The East Bay Greenway will build out a safe and continuous east-to-west corridor through the city of Oakland for both bicyclist and pedestrians.” said Kassie Rohrbach, Executive Director of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland. “This funding will build a critical pathway that connects Oakland’s neighborhoods and cities across the East Bay.”

Project applications had to show multiple benefits, with priority given to these criteria: 1) that projects improve the condition of existing facilities and systems, 2) contribute to the economic competitiveness of the U.S. over the medium- to long-term, 3) improve the quality of living and working environments for people, 4) improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit the environment, and 5) improve public safety.

“Almost all of these projects have two things in common,” said James Corless, the director of Transportation For America. “They all will create desperately-needed jobs while building critical transportation infrastructure, and they have a hard time getting funded under the outdated structure of the current federal transportation program.”

The U.S. DOT “TIGER II” awards are competitive grants for innovative transportation projects that address economic, environmental and travel issues. A complete list of TIGER (Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery) recipients can be found here on the DOT website: www.dot.gov/affairs.

Transportation for America (T4 America) is the largest, most diverse coalition working on transportation reform today. Our nation’s transportation network is based on a policy that has not been significantly updated since the 1950’s. We believe it is time for a bold new vision — transportation that guarantees our freedom to move however we choose and leads to a stronger economy, greater energy security, cleaner environment and healthier America for all of us. We’re calling for more responsible investment of our federal tax dollars to create a safer, cleaner, smarter transportation system that works for everyone.

Shannon Tracey

Northern California Field Organizer

Transportation For America Campaign

Caltrans Press Release

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Contact: Olivia Alair

Tel: (202) 366-4570

Secretary LaHood Announces More Than 70 Innovative Transportation Projects Competitively Funded Under TIGER II

Requests Top $19 Billion for $600 Million Program

Forty-two capital construction projects and 33 planning projects in 40 states will share nearly $600 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s popular TIGER II program for major infrastructure projects ranging from highways and bridges to transit, rail and ports, Secretary Ray LaHood announced today.

Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II received nearly 1,000 construction grant applications for more than $19 billion from all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The tremendous demand for TIGER II project dollars follows a similar demand for TIGER I project dollars. On February 17, 2009, the Department announced 51 grant awards from nearly 1,500 applications for TIGER I grants nationwide. The TIGER I requests were for almost $60 billion worth of projects, 40 times the $1.5 billion available under that program. TIGER I dollars were made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

“These are innovative, 21st century projects that will change the U.S. transportation landscape by strengthening the economy and creating jobs, reducing gridlock and providing safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable transportation choices,” said Secretary LaHood. “Many of these projects could not have been funded without this program.”

Roughly 29 percent of TIGER II money goes for road projects, 26 percent for transit, 20 percent for rail projects, 16 percent for ports, four percent for bicycle and pedestrian projects and five percent for planning projects.

An example of projects funded is $47.6 million to the City of Atlanta to construct a new streetcar line connecting many of the most important downtown residential, cultural, educational and historic centers, demonstrating the Department’s commitment to improving quality of life in major metropolitan areas.

TIGER II also provided $20 million to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to replace the deteriorating Memorial Bridge that connects Portsmouth, NH, with Kittery, ME. The bridge is at the end of its service life and has a bridge sufficiency rating of six out of 100. Safety concerns recently required a maximum three-ton weight restriction on the bridge, causing all truck traffic to be detoured. The project demonstrates the Department’s commitment to bringing the nation’s aging road and highway infrastructure to a state of good repair.

In addition, TIGER II funds are being used to support a $546 million TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loan for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Line, a key piece of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 30/10 initiative to construct 12 major transit projects in 10 years rather than 30, exemplifying the Department’s commitment to bold, regional transportation projects that create jobs in the short term while reinvesting in long term economic competitiveness and livability.

Under TIGER II, more than $140 million is reserved for projects in rural areas.

As a competitive program, TIGER II is able to fund the best projects from around the country. Using merit-based evaluation criteria allows the Department of Transportation to address some of the nation’s most critical challenges like sustainability and economic competitiveness.

This marks the first time that the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have joined together in awarding grants for localized planning activities that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing and urban development. Almost 700 applicants sought up to $35 million in TIGER II planning grants and up to $40 million in HUD Sustainable Community Challenge Grants. HUD’s funds can be used for localized planning efforts, such as development around a transit stop and zone or building code updates and improvements. The two Departments, along with assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, participated in the evaluation of the planning grant applications.

To ensure the important investments made by the Recovery Act continue, President Obama recently announced a comprehensive infrastructure investment plan that would be front-loaded with $50 billion to expand and renew America’s roads, railways and runways. To learn more about President Obama’s infrastructure investment plan, click here.

TIGER II grants were awarded to projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a region or metropolitan area. The projects chosen demonstrate their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and/or enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The Department also gave priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity.

A complete list of capital grant recipients can be viewed at: http://www.dot.gov/docs/tiger2grantinfo.pdf

A complete list of planning grant recipients can be viewed at: http://www.dot.gov/docs/tiger2planninggrantinfo.pdf