The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $343 million through the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) to eight transit agencies in eight states to retrofit some of the nation's oldest and busiest rail transit systems to make it easier for Americans to access public transportation.
The investment, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will use the funding to make rail stations more accessible and in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards by installing elevators, renovating platforms for level boarding, improving signage and enhancing visual and audio systems.
"We are not only modernizing our nation’s infrastructure, we are doing so in a way that makes it more accessible for older Americans, people with disabilities and all transit users," said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "This initiative, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is retrofitting old rail stations with elevators, ramps and more to make sure that our public transportation is more accessible for millions of Americans going about their daily lives."
FTA notes that inaccessibility is a significant hurdle for riders using rail systems built before 1990, known as legacy systems. More than 900 transit legacy stations are not fully accessible today.
"Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, great strides have been made in improving accessibility but there is still a lot of work to accomplish," said FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool. "By modernizing rail systems across the country, the ASAP program provides funding to address these overdue improvements. We want to ensure that all customers can use transit systems with ease and reliability, including people with disabilities, those using mobility devices and other users needing more accessible spaces."
The selected ASAP projects include:
- San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was awarded $4.69 million to construct platforms, wheelchair ramps and make other accessibility improvements at five Muni light-rail stops on the J- Church line and three Muni stops on the M-Ocean View line. The improvements will reduce gaps between the platform and railcar, improving accessibility for the thousands of mobility-impaired residents who are currently unable to use the system.
- New Orleans Regional Transit Authority will receive $5.49 million to redesign and upgrade the St. Charles Streetcar route. Features of the project include completing the design and construction of ADA-compliant stops and conducting traffic studies along the historic corridor.
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will use its grant of $67.6 million to upgrade station platforms at 14 stops along the Green Line's light-rail B and C branches that are not accessible to riders with disabilities: Chestnut Hill, Chiswick Road, Packard's Corner, South Street and Sutherland Road stations on the B line and Brandon Hall, Dean Road, Englewood Avenue, Fairbanks Street, Hawes Street, Kent Street, Saint Paul Street, Summit Avenue and Tappan Street stations on the C line. Improvements will focus on improving safety, including installing accessible platforms for level boarding.
- Maryland Department of Transportation/Maryland Transit Administration was awarded $1.4 million to conduct engineering and design work to make the College Park MARC station on the Camden Line fully accessible. The work will allow riders to easily board and depart from the station using new 600-foot, low-level platforms. It will also add safety protections in and around the station that will directly meet the needs of passengers with disabilities.
- New Jersey Transit Corporation will receive $83.3 million to improve accessibility at the Brick Church station on the Morris and Essex Line, which serves as a crucial rail link connecting New York Penn Station, Newark and communities in Morris and Essex counties. Improvements to the century-old station will focus on enhancing safety, including installing accessible platforms for level boarding, adding elevators and a new public address system and renovating a pedestrian tunnel and stairways.
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority will use its $156.5 million award to improve accessibility at the Wakefield-241st St., Kingsbridge Road, 167th St., 145th St. and 110th St. stations. Modernization work will include installing elevators, updating platforms to reduce gaps, adding tactile platform edge warning strips, making stairway repairs, improving signage, and enhancing visual and audio announcement systems.
- Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will invest its $16 million grant in the rehabilitation of eight stations to make the entire Blue Line accessible for people with disabilities. Station upgrades will include replacing the 40-year-old platforms with new concrete platforms with tactile warning panels, installing redesigned ramps, elevating a platform section to access trains, and improving parking stalls with curb ramps to access the stations.
- Pittsburgh Regional Transit was awarded $8 million to make its Palm Garden, Dawn, Hampshire, Stevenson, Poplar, Arlington, Smith Road, Casswell, Highland and Dorchester stations along the Red Line accessible to people with disabilities. Upgrades will include replacing platforms with level boarding, installing canopies to provide shelters for the platform, designing a clear, accessible path to the upgraded platforms and installing accessible signage.
Projects were selected for funding based on criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). In December 2022, FTA announced $686 million in Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 funding to 15 projects in nine states through the ASAP program.
In response to the NOFO, FTA received nearly $1.1 billion in funding requests for the $343 million available this year.
