FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 17, 1999
Contact: Bill Adams
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 74-99
Transportation Initiatives Will Boost Kentucky’s Economy, Secretary Slater Says
LEXINGTON, KY -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today joined Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton to reconfirm President Clinton’s commitment to improving Kentucky’s economy through innovative transportation initiatives.
Secretary Slater outlined administration programs in airport improvements, access to jobs, livable communities and motor carrier safety that will enhance prosperity in the state while contributing to safety, environmental protection and mobility.
"These transportation initiatives underscore President Clinton’s commitment to economic growth and preserving our environment while always putting people first," Secretary Slater said. "They also demonstrate the recognition that it will take more than highways to bring true economic growth to our communities."
Secretary Slater announced that Louisville International Airport-Standiford Field will receive $4.6 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP). In addition, the Secretary congratulated the Transit Authority of River City in Louisville for its successful proposal, for which Vice President Gore recently announced $1 million in funding, to help former welfare recipients and other lower-income people get to and from work. In addition, Kentucky Central Bluegrass Region will be awarded $435,000 under the Clinton administration’s innovative new livability initiative.
The AIP funds will be used by the airport to construct runways, acquire land for development and noise compatibility, and provide relocation assistance.
Louisville’s welfare-to-work program is part of the Job Access and Reverse Commute initiative, which is administered by the department’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The funds will be used to significantly increase transportation services to employment centers, expand late-night van service from jobs to homes, and increase services for individuals with disabilities.
Nationally, the Department of Transportation will provide $71.3 million to help communities implement transportation projects in 42 states. The funds will allow local communities to implement innovative approaches to providing transportation, bringing together transit providers, community organizations, planners and others who have a stake in the success of welfare reform.
Projects will include new bus or van service, extended bus routes, or expanded service hours, service to accommodate shift and weekend workers and workers with non-traditional working hours. They will also include linking workers to jobs near child care and transit facilities, trip mapping, car pooling and van pooling and guaranteed rides home in emergency situations.
The Clinton-Gore administration has asked Congress to provide the full $150 million in fiscal year 2000 that it authorized for this program in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) , the six-year surface transportation law signed by President Clinton on June 9, 1998.
The livability grant was awarded under the Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot program (TCSP), established in TEA-21 and consisting of research and grants that will assist communities as they work to solve interrelated problems involving transportation, land development, environmental protection, public safety and economic development.
Secretary Slater announced fiscal 1999 TCSP grant recipients in Detroit on May 3 as part of the National Town Meeting For A Sustainable America, which was sponsored by the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. For fiscal 1999, $13.1 million was provided to 35 projects in 27 states and the District of Columbia -- one of which is Kentucky.
TCSP funds will be used to help achieve locally determined goals such as improving transportation efficiency, reducing the negative effects of transportation on the environment, providing better access to jobs, services and trade centers, reducing the need for costly future infrastructure; and revitalizing underdeveloped and brownfield sites. Grants also can be used to examine urban development patterns and create strategies that encourage private companies to work toward these goals in designing new developments.
The Secretary also unveiled the administration’s initiative on rural transportation, a comprehensive initiative that will help rural communities in Kentucky and across America fully enjoy the benefits of the nation’s growing economy.
Secretary Slater also today joined Kentucky Transportation Secretary James C. Codell, III, and other officials at a ceremony on U.S. I-64 in Shelbyville, Kentucky, to mark the start of a project to evaluate an infrared technology system to screen commercial motor vehicle (CMV) brakes at mainline speeds. Identifying non-working or over heated brakes will allow roadside inspectors to target enforcement better and thus remove unsafe vehicles from the highway more quickly and accurately.
The announcement today helped launch the nationwide observance of National Transportation Week (May 16-22). National Transportation Week each year provides an opportunity to celebrate accomplishments in transportation and the important role transportation systems play in growing the U.S. economy and in providing Americans the means to get where they need to go.
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