Send the COJ Council to TOD training. Here is the money.
Per Trains:
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2016/04/18-fta-offers-$20-million-in-improved-public-transit-grant-program (http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2016/04/18-fta-offers-$20-million-in-improved-public-transit-grant-program)
FTA offers $20 million in improved public transit grants program
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration is offering $20.5 million in competitive grant funding for projects that improve access to public transit in communities. The agency says the grant funds are being provided through the transit-oriented development planning pilot program.
"Public transit plays a critical role in connecting Americans to jobs, education and opportunity," says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "When we plan housing, jobs and services centered around transit lines, we build a strong foundation for the economic development that our growing nation needs — and reduce pollution, congestion and carbon emissions at the same time."
The program will provide grants for communities that are working on new public transit projects.
The agency says it awarded $19.5 million to 21 projects in 17 different metropolitan areas last year as part of the program. Last year, the grants helped support comprehensive planning efforts for an economic analysis for communities along a planned light rail extension in Durham, N.C., as well as an infrastructure assessment and affordable housing plans for areas along a planned streetcar route in Sacramento, Calif. Funds were also used to update zoning codes, an agency news release says.
The program was established under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and amended by recent transportation infrastructure legislation known as the FAST Act. The program helps local communities plan improved access to transit, jobs, education, and service, while helping communities attract new businesses in the process.