The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced the award of $474 million in TIGER grants to 52 projects in 37 states. This year there were 585 applications requesting more than $9 billion in funding. In total, the program, in its fifth year of awards, has provided more than $3.6 billion to 270 projects. Kansas … Continued
Wow, it has been an amazing year at Citizens for Modern Transit. As we wrap up our fiscal year which ends Aug. 31, special thanks goes to the CMT Board, all the CMT members, and CMT friends for helping us to reach record numbers this year as well as pro-actively taking steps to move transit … Continued
The CMT Board of Directors voted at their Board meeting today in support of advancing the St. Louis Streetcar Project to the next level- the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). CMT’s mission is to lead efforts in the region for an integrated, affordable and convenient public transportation system with light rail as the critical component to drive … Continued
The final meeting is here to provide your thoughts on the draft plan for Transit-Oriented Development planning at the Delmar and Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink Stations. H3 Studio has incorporated recommendations from the first public workshop and will present their ideas to you; we welcome your input! The Delmar and Forest Park-DeBaliviere Metrolink Station Area draft preferred … Continued
Following action by both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees, a $3.3 billion gap for U.S. DOT appropriations exists between the respective House and Senate reported bills. On June 27th, the House Appropriations Committee voted 28-20 to approve the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. The House … Continued
Today, the House of Representatives Transportation Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee is considering a bill that will slash Amtrak’s budget by a third in 2014–putting Amtrak’s future very much in jeopardy. To make matters worse, the bill, if passed, doesn’t include even a dollar for the High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program. Click here … Continued
Community leaders in Detroit are counting on a a new streetcar rail system to drive its economic revival. The proposed rail line has cleared an environmental review and M-1 Rail, a nonprofit organization overseeing the $140 streetcar project, strives to launch the service in late 2015. Construction bids have been made, and the contract winner … Continued
House and Senate champions have recently introduced legislation that would make transit benefit parity permanent. ACT needs your help to secure additional co-sponsors. In the House, Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) was joined by Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Congressman Peter King (R-NY), and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in introducing HR 2288, the Commuter Parity Act. This … Continued
While SJR 16 did not leave the legislature this year, the Missouri General Assembly did approve an additional $500,000 from General revenue for Missouri’s Transit Program. This would be in addition to the $560,000 from the State Transportation Fund for public transit. Now is the time to ask Governor Nixon to support this additional appropriation for … Continued
Team TRANSIT, Team BIKE, Team CARSHARE and Team CARPOOL went head-to-head in a competition yesterday afternoon to raise awareness about the viable transportation options available in our region as part of Citizens for Modern Transit’s Great Race II. The event, designed to play off the CBS television hit “The Amazing Race,” required each team to … Continued
Transit continues to win at the ballot box in 2013 with 2 out of 3 measures for transit passing in May. On May 7, voters in two communities in Ohio and one in Michigan decided on property tax measures for transit. Two of the measures were approved handedly, continuing the trend of success dating back … Continued
In the last week of April, 2013 President Obama nominated Charlotte, North Carolina Mayor Anthony Foxx to be his next Secretary of Transportation, replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood who announced his retirement earlier this year. LaHood has indicated he would remain in office until the Senate confirms his successor. The administration touted Foxx’s work on … Continued
The Kansas City Star published an article on Saturday regarding the future of Amtrak Missouri River Runner operations in the state. This article has now been reprinted in the St. Louis Business Journal and has caught the media’s attention in several other areas of the state, as well. While the Star’s article helps paint a … Continued
As CMT announced yesterday, the Missouri House passed SJR 16 and sent it back to the Senate for one final up/down vote. Getting the bill to the floor of the House took significant effort by the members of the coalition supporting its passage. THANK YOU for your calls, letters, emails and even trips to Jefferson … Continued
The Missouri House endorsed a proposed one-cent sales tax increase that could raise nearly $8 billion over a decade for transportation projects today with only three days left in the legislative session. The vote passed 100-57. Senator Kehoe will now take the bill to the Senate for one final vote. If approved, Missouri residents will have … Continued