Flexing and Leveraging Funds for Transit

Funding
As the region’s MPO, DRCOG prepares the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) in cooperation with local governments, CDOT and RTD. Through the TIP, DRCOG selects projects to receive federal congestion mitigation/air quality (CMAQ) funds.

Elements of the CMAQ program adopted in the current TIP include:

• $7.5 million annually to support FasTracks implementation, particularly on rail/bus stations in each corridor.
• $2 million in the next two years to support local government station area planning. Thirteen projects (covering 17 stations, plus one corridor-wide effort) have been selected to date, and remaining funds will be programmed soon. Average local match for the selected projects is 45 percent.
• $6.4 million in the next three years to build bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improving access to existing and new stations. The average local match for these bike/pedestrian projects is 37 percent.

It is an exciting time to be in the Denver metro area as the region undergoes a huge transformation. The collaboration of the region’s local government, business and environmental communities will be key to its success.

Public Transportation and Sustainable Neighborhoods
The preceding authors discussed programs that they employ to influence land uses around major public transportation infrastructure, and the policy origins of those programs. I hope that this discussion of projects and programs will help cities and towns aspire to make public transportation the mode of choice for their citizens. I also hope that the diversity and breadth of these programs will encourage you to consider how public transportation can create, or recreate, vibrant, walkable and sustainable neighborhoods for our children and ourselves.

James S. Simpson is the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
Richard G. Bickel, AICP is director, Division of Planning, for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
Steve Heminger is executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
Jennifer Schaufele is executive director of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG).