Miles SmithThe Department of Transportation has awarded $45 million in grants for projects in 13 states and Puerto Rico that will improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and people accessing public transit.
The grants, which were awarded through the DOT’s Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP), will be used to plan, design and construct projects for connected networks that lead to destinations and make communities safer for bikers and pedestrians while increasing access to public transit.
Awards include:
- $13.7 million for Philadelphia to close a gap in the Schuylkill River Trail by constructing the Wissahickon Gateway Trail and the Passyunk Connection adjacent to historically disadvantaged communities in the southwest section of the city, completing a 39-mile off-road, riverside, multi-use trail between Pottstown in Montgomery County and Southwest Philadelphia.
- $10.5 million for Detroit to build a portion of the Joe Louis Greenway (JLG), including an off-street segment of the greenway between Woodward Avenue and Dequindre Street, on a former rail corridor now owned by the city. The JLG is a 27.5-mile regional greenway connecting 23 Detroit neighborhoods to Dearborn, Hamtramck and Highland Park.
- $9.4 million to Metropolitan Government of Nashville-Davidson County in Tennessee for its “East Nashville Spokes” project that will connect a historically underserved neighborhood with the economic opportunities of downtown Nashville and the massive East Bank redevelopment by providing safe transportation options and connections across I-24 and the Cumberland River.
- $2 million to the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works to plan and design an improved active transportation network in the Hato Rey neighborhood of San Juan which will include pedestrian and non-motorized connections linking jobs, schools, services, and recreational facilities to each other and the Tren Urbano rail system.
- $1.4 million for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in California to design the Santa Ynez Valley Active Transportation Regional Connector, an 8.7-mile active transportation spine that will fill gaps in the Valley’s active transportation network and adapt the region to expanding bike-tourism.
- $1.2 million to the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission in Massachusetts for its “Reimagining the 110” project, which will develop a strategic planning and design process for a 24-mile transportation spine in the upper portion of the Merrimack Valley connecting Methuen, Lawrence, Haverhill, Merrimack, and Amesbury to provide safe active transportation options that improve mobility, access, and connectivity.
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