Transportation infrastructure can have a dramatic impact on neighborhoods and regions. Thoughtful transportation planning can provide support for healthy main street centers and direct more equitable business and residential developments designed to bring everyone closer to opportunities.
In Pittsburgh, the 1950s decision to build a downtown highway divided the Lower Hill neighborhood physically --as well as economically-- from the city's central business district. A 2014 DOT TIGER grant is helping the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County plan a cap over I-579 (known locally as Crosstown Boulevard). The cap will not only restore access to downtown Pittsburgh; it will also create a new public green space and private development opportunities.
Policy makers at the department continue to research Innovation and Economic Development at the County Level to promote new ways for county officials, county staff, and their local and regional partners to align transportation planning and investments with economic development priorities.
Our Transportation Decision-making Guide can be used to help the public, particularly disadvantaged populations, understand how transportation decisions are made at the local, State, and national levels and how to take advantage of the opportunities provided.
Last year, the Department released the Public Involvement Techniques Guide that offers a variety of public involvement techniques available to transportation agencies and assist practitioners in coordinating a full public involvement program.
FHWA’s EveryDayCounts-3 Initiative demonstrates the efficiencies and benefits of collaboration and coordination between jurisdictions, including conducting regional analysis of economically distressed communities.
The TOD Ladders Technical Assistance Initiative provides technical assistance and support for transit oriented development (TOD) activities, with a focus on supporting economically distressed communities across the country. The technical assistance ranges from on the ground support for local communities to web-based tools for communities that are focusing on more specific TOD topics.