FTA announces $25.8M for transit planning in communities nationwide

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced today the availability of $25.8 million in grant funds to support transit planning efforts in communities across the country. The competitive grant funds are provided through FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning. A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) appears in today’s Federal Register. 

"It is important for communities and transit agencies to comprehensively plan their public transportation systems to improve mobility and access to transit," said FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams. "This program is an excellent opportunity for cities and towns to maximize transit-oriented development around their transit systems and ensure they are capturing the value associated with transit."

The Pilot Program for TOD Planning provides funding to integrate land use and transportation planning efforts along eligible transit projects. The grants will fund comprehensive planning to support transit ridership, multimodal connectivity, and mixed-use development near transit stations. The Pilot Program for TOD Planning supports identification of infrastructure needs, engagement with the private sector and development of financial tools to encourage TOD implementation such as value capture.

Eligible applicants include FTA grantees that are either a project sponsor of an eligible transit project or an entity with land use planning authority in an eligible transit capital project corridor. To ensure that planning work reflects the needs of the local community, transit project sponsors and entities with land use planning authority must partner to conduct the planning work. The application period will close on July 23, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

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

About FTA

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems, including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, trolleys and ferries. FTA also oversees safety measures and helps develop next-generation technology research.