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House subcommittee introduces bill that cuts funding to Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

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Earlier today the House Appropriations Subcommittee introduced the fiscal year 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The bill slashes funding to programs at both the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by $7.7 billion compared to their 2013 spending levels. At DOT, the budget would eliminate funding for the TIGER grant program and rescind $237 million in unobligated TIGER funding from 2013. The bill would also eliminate funding for high-speed rail and cut Amtrak’s subsidy by a third.

At HUD the bill would cut overall funding by 35% compared to FY 2013, including a 50% cut to Community Development Block Grants and a 30% cut to the HOME Investment Partnership Program. The bill would also zero out funding for HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience, created just this year. President Obama’s FY 2014 budget proposed $75 million in funding for that office.

In response to the proposed bill, Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following statement.

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New workshop available, upcoming congressional briefing – Complete Streets News – June, 2013

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Policy Adoption

On May 21, Hopkins, Minnesota adopted a Complete Streets policy. Hopkins, a densely populated town in the Minneapolis area, will be home to 3 light rail stations in the next few years, Creating safe walking and bicycling connections to those stations are paramount for the city team. The policy draws from national and state best practices, includes specific exemptions and next steps for implementation. Read more >>

The Albany, New York City Council passed Complete Streets legislation on June 3. After two auto-pedestrian accidents in the last year, one of them fatal, community stakeholders and councilmembers want to improve safety for all citizens. “This is about considering all users of the road,” noted Alderwoman Leah Golby, who proposed the law. “It’s time for our code to reflect the way people live today.” The ordinance applies to “all street construction, reconstruction, resurfacing or repaving projects that are undertaken by the City and not covered under the New York State Complete Streets Law.” Read more >>

The Common Council of White Plains, New York adopted a Complete Streets resolution on June 3. The resolution directs the City’s Department of Public Works to “consider all modes of travel within its projects” and includes specific exceptions. Read more >>

Complete Streets Local Leaders Council

Watch the live video stream of tomorrow's Complete Streets briefing on Capitol Hill

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Tomorrow at 2:30 EDT the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute will host a briefing for members of Congress and their staff about national and local trends in Complete Streets policies, and how a fiscally-sound federal transportation policy can support the creation of safer streets in communities across the country.

Anyone interested in streets that work for everyone, including Complete Streets advocates and design professionals, are invited to listen in and join the discussion. The video below will be live as of 2:20 EDT on Thursday, June 20. Join us here tomorrow to watch the briefing as it happens live.

Complete Streets

Video: Bill Fulton speaks on planning for economic and fiscal health in Fairfax, VA

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As part of Smart Growth America’s free technical assistance program for local governments, Smart Growth America’s Vice President of Policy Development and Implementation Bill Fulton gave a presentation on “Planning for Economic and Fiscal Health” to community members and government officials in Fairfax, VA on June 6, 2013.

Technical assistance

Cuyahoga County, OH hosts public workshop on Complete Streets

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[caption id="attachment_29143" align="alignnone" width="700"]Photograph Courtesy OzinOH (via Flickr) Cuyahoga County Courthouse Photograph courtesy OzinOH (via Flickr)[/caption]
Cuyahoga County officials and local residents met with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 1 and 2, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Cuyahoga County strategies to create a built environment that focuses on better and more accessible transportation options for all residents.

“Providing a multi-modal transportation network is a key component to Cuyahoga County’s guiding principles of designing a place-based development strategy. Under the leadership of County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, the County also recognizes the momentum of the City of Cleveland’s efforts to implement a Complete and Green Streets policy and embraces this opportunity to explore the concept of Complete Streets on the regional level,” said Glenn Coyne, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

Complete Streets Technical assistance

Congressional Complete Streets Briefing on June 20

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On June 20 at 2:30 pm, the National Complete Streets Coalition and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute invite you to join local, state and national experts at a Congressional briefing to discuss national and local trends in Complete Streets policies and how a fiscally-sound federal transportation policy can support the creation of safer streets … Continued

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Partnership in the News: EPA Smart Growth Assistance recipients announced

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Three areas across the country will receive assistance to implement smart growth strategies from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The State of Rhode Island; Mississippi County, Arkansas and Kelso, Washington hope to strengthen their local economies while protecting public health and the environment through intentional planning efforts.

Technical assistance

Partnership in the News: West Virginia recognized for Brownfields Redevelopment

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Ranson and Charles Town, West Virginia were recently recognized for their joint brownfields redevelopment efforts at the National Brownfields Conference in Atlanta on May 16, 2013.  The cities were awarded a Phoenix Award for Excellence in Brownfield Redevelopment in recognition of the ongoing redevelopment of the Ranson & Charles Town Commerce Corridor, a 1.5 mile former industrial stretch of land across both cities. Between the two cities, the corridor is marked by at least 15 significant brownfields sites.

“The fact that we were recognized for the Phoenix Award puts Ranson and Charles Town on the map,” said Ranson City Manager David Mills. Charles Town City Manager Joe Cosentini added, “It emphasizes that all we tried to do in the last 10 years contributing to revitalization was worth it.” The corridor was recognized as the preeminent brownfields effort in a region that includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Ranson and Charles Town began revitalization efforts for the Commerce Corridor in 2001, partnering with a local environmental consulting firm. Since the project’s inception, major brownfields sites in both cities have been redeveloped into valuable community assets. An exemplary redevelopment of Ranson’s former Maytag Spray Painting/Dixie Narco plant transformed the distressed, vacant property into the Ranson Civic Center. The new facility houses the Ranson Parks and Recreation Commission, and functions as a venue for athletic events, social functions, trade shows and job fairs.

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Smart Growth Stories: Resourceful Development in Martin County, FL

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bonitaWhen envisioning ways to create jobs and revitalize business in a community, stormwater and sewer projects might not typically be at the top of the list. But one county in Florida showed that with some creative thinking and a resourceful application of funds, projects that might otherwise seem one-dimensional can go a long way toward building stronger communities.

Planners in Martin County, Florida realized that a stormwater and sewer project on a neglected commercial corridor in the Golden Gate neighborhood of Stuart, FL, was an opportunity not just to provide vital infrastructure, but to spur private investment that would create jobs and help revitalize the neighborhood.

In 2012, the Martin County Redevelopment Agency (CRA) completed the ‘BCD Sewer Project’ referring to Bonita, Clayton and Delmar Streets that were part of the reconstruction. The aim of the project was to increase the availability of basic sewer services in the Golden Gate neighborhood, which relies heavily on septic tanks. The construction would require a near complete replacement of the area roads, so the CRA conducted extensive public outreach to find out what improvements residents would want to see incorporated into a new design.

Complete Streets

Partnership in the News: High Demand for 2013 TIGER Grants

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Applications for The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) FY 2013 TIGER grants have once again far exceeded the program’s available funding. More than $9 billion has been requested by applicants, surpassing the program’s $474 million budget. 568 applications were submitted from all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa.

TIGER-DOT-logo

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood spoke of the value of the TIGER program,

“President Obama challenged us to improve our nation’s infrastructure to provide the transportation choices people and businesses want and the efficiency and safety they need. TIGER projects do exactly that – across the country, they are helping relieve congestion, create jobs and generate lasting economic growth.”

Now in its fifth round of grants, the TIGER program helps communities fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure. The grants will be rewarded on a competitive basis. Over the program’s 5 years, the Department of Transportation has received 4,618 applications requesting more than $114.2 billion. The initial four rounds of grants have funded 218 infrastructure projects across the country, and awarded more than $3.1 billion.

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