FTA 02-02
Tuesday, February 05, 2002
Contact: Karen Clarke
Tel.:(202) 366-4319
President Bush Announces Major Federal
Commitment To Transit
President George W. Bush’s budget for public transportation in 2003 proposes to fund new light rail systems in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, as well as project development for public transportation in Chicago, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and New York City. The budget also provides over $1.1 billion to continue funding 27 other public transportation projects in communities throughout America.
"These commitments represent this Administration’s belief that public transportation is a strategic investment," said Jennifer L. Dorn, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration. “These Federal dollars are being leveraged by communities to stimulate local, state and private sector funding for critical public transportation projects. For hardworking Americans, the payoff is vibrant and thriving communities with safe and convenient access to employment, medical care, and the many activities of daily life.”
In Salt Lake, the Utah Transit Authority is proposing the Medical Center Extension project, a 1.5-mile, three-station light rail transit (LRT) system extending from the University Line station at Rice-Eccles Stadium to the University of Utah Health Science Complex (Medical Center). The Medical Center LRT will connect to the University Line LRT and existing North/South LRT corridor. Station areas will include student housing, campus buildings, and a complex of medical facilities. The Medical Center LRT is expected to open in 2004 and carry 4,100 weekday riders, 3,400 of which will be new to the system.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is developing a 5.9-mile, eight-station LRT (the Los Angeles East Side LRT) to serve a dense, urbanized, heavily transit-dependent area between downtown Los Angeles and East Los Angeles. The system is expected to carry 15,000 weekday riders, 7,600 of which will be new transit customers, in 2020. The East Side LRT also is expected to contribute to improved air quality in Los Angeles region, which is classified as an “extreme” area for ozone and a “serious” area for carbon monoxide.
President Bush also announced $31 million to continue project development for five other transit projects: the Chicago Ravenswood Line Expansion, the Cleveland Euclid Corridor Bus Rapid Transit; the Las Vegas Resort Corridor Fixed Guideway Minimum Operable Segment, the Minneapolis Northstar Commuter Rail, and the New York East Side Access projects.
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