TOD Planning Projects to Receive $17.6MM

Utah Transit Authority will receive $360,000 from the FTA to conduct a planning and economic analysis to assess the viability of transit-supportive land use changes and improvements along the FrontRunner commuter rail corridor. (Photograph Courtesy of HDR)

Twenty projects—10 rail-related—will share $17.6 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants through the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning.

The Pilot Program for TOD Planning “helps communities develop local plans to encourage ridership by developing housing and businesses near transit corridors,” according to FTA. Planning studies funded through this program examine ways to develop affordable housing near transit, improve economic development and ridership potential, foster multimodal connectivity and accessibility, improve transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, engage the private sector, identify infrastructure needs, and enable mixed-use development near transit stations.

For the first time, FTA said, each of the newly selected projects for FY 2023 funding has an affordable housing component and will require no local matching funds.

Following are the rail-related project awards:

1. City of Phoenix, Ariz., will receive $1.2 million to conduct a TOD planning project in support of three new light rail stations under construction in the Downtown Phoenix Corridor; they are expected to open for revenue service in 2025. “The project will evaluate opportunities to develop affordable housing and mixed-use for balanced and purposeful strategies providing enhanced economic development and ridership opportunities,” FTA said.
2. Miami-Dade Department of Transportation & Public Works (DTPW), Fla., will receive $1.25 million to create a station area and mobility plan “to encourage equitable transit-oriented growth around the Little Haiti Station,” FTA reported. “The plan will enhance multimodal transportation options, provide access to job centers and encourage affordable, higher-density housing developments.”
3. Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration will receive $550,000 to create a TOD implementation plan for the West Baltimore Red Line Station. The Red Line is a planned rapid transit connection between Woodlawn in western Baltimore County and Johns Hopkins-Bayview in southeast Baltimore.
4. Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit in Minnesota will receive $700,000 to plan for TOD along the Blue Line Light Rail Extension, which will run 13.5 miles between downtown Minneapolis and North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park. The plan will include a housing strategy “emphasizing the importance of accessibility to transit stations, while the economic development strategy will identify opportunities for businesses near transit,” according to FTA.
5. City of Greensboro, N.C., will receive $500,000 to study strategies for TOD around the J. Douglas Gaylon Depot, Greensboro’s multimodal downtown transportation center that is used by Amtrak. The study will consider ways to revitalize the surrounding area through economic opportunities and integrating a wider array of housing options, according to FTA.
6. City of Omaha, Neb., will receive $300,000 to plan for TOD along the proposed North 19th Street Corridor Extension, a three-mile streetcar line that is part of a downtown streetcar network expected to open in 2026. The corridor will include a stop at Creighton University, providing future transit access for students, faculty and staff.
7. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), Ohio, will receive $700,000 to plan for TOD along the proposed Lorain Corridor, a multi-modal planning project that will incorporate Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with GCRTA’s existing heavy rail system. FTA said the planning project “will look at proposed bike infrastructure [and] pedestrian access, better connecting to jobs and activities on Cleveland’s West Side.”
8. Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Texas, in partnership with the City of Austin, will receive $1.5 million to plan for TOD and develop a “sustainable multimodal transit hub” at the CapMetro Rail Crestview Station, according to FTA. The hub will be integrated with new affordable housing in an adjoining property.
9. Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will receive $360,000 to conduct planning and economic analysis to assess the viability of transit-supportive land use changes and improvements along the FrontRunner commuter rail corridor. According to FTA, the project will provide “economic development strategies to address housing shortages, incentivize mixed-use development, and establish best land use scenarios.” Objectives of this project include increasing transit ridership, facilitating multimodal connectivity, and improving station access for non-motorized modes.
10. City of Alexandria, Va., will receive $550,000 to plan for TOD along the proposed Duke Street BRT corridor. The planned BRT corridor will provide transit access along an approximate 3.7-mile stretch of Duke Street, connect two ends of the City from the planned West End (former Landmark Mall) mixed-use development to the King Street Metrorail (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) Station and Alexandria Union Station, which will connect Duke Street to regional transit and commuter rail.

“Transportation and housing are the two biggest costs for most Americans,” FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said. “Today, we are delivering funding that will help create affordable places to live, while bringing down the costs of transportation for the people who live there. For communities all over the country that struggle to find extra funds for federal grants, this should be a message: If you are building good projects well, you will have the support of this Administration.” 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) provides a total of $68.9 million in funding for the TOD Planning Program through 2026, a 38% increase over the prior five years of funding. Since 2015, FTA said it has provided approximately $122 million in federal support to fund TOD planning activities. Nineteen projects—12 rail-related—shared $13.1 million in 2022.

In related news, FTA in January 2022 launched a TOD Planning Program GIS dashboard that features information on awarded proposals and the respective planning studies.