Hopefully this will give us some sort of hard-number facts about our transit needs instead of just everyone's open opinion of, "We need transit." I'm pretty anxious to see the results.
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Central Oklahoma Transportation & Parking Authority
300 SW 7th | Oklahoma City, OK 73109 | gometro.org

Media Contact: Michael Scroggins, Public Information Manager
Office: 405/297-2107 Mobile: 405/ 837-9510
michael.scroggins@okc.gov


For Immediate Release
October 21, 2010


METRO Transit Receives TIGER II Grant
U.S Department of Transportation Awards Nearly $600 million for 75 Projects

OKLAHOMA CITY – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Wednesday that the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) will receive a $378,000 “TIGER II” grant to perform an environmental assessment of the Greater Downtown Oklahoma City area.

“An environmental analysis is a critical step forward in developing strategic transit options in the Downtown area. It will build on the results of the Alternatives Analysis (AA) study that is currently underway,” said COTPA Administrator, Rick Cain.

The AA is designed to investigate and present solutions for addressing public transportation in a specific geographic area. The outcome of this study will result in a plan that recommends the most appropriate route and transit technologies for the greater downtown area. The objective of an environmental analysis ensures there is a balance of infrastructure, economic prosperity, health and environmental protection, community and neighborhood preservation, and quality of life when making decisions about initiating new transit infrastructure or making improvements to existing infrastructure.

TIGER II grants were awarded to projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a region or metropolitan area. The projects chosen demonstrate their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and/or enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The Department also gave priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity.

Upon the announcement of the 75 winning TIGER II Grant projects, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood described “them as indispensable--that's why DOT selected them from more than 1,000 applications requesting $19 billion. But, each of these TIGER II grant rewards true excellence, effective partnerships, and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” [1]

About METRO Transit
METRO Transit is a division of the Central Oklahoma Transportation & Parking Authority (COTPA). COTPA, a public trust administered by the City of Oklahoma City, is responsible for providing safe, efficient and convenient public transportation to the citizens of the greater Oklahoma City area.

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