(FORT WORTH, TX – June 11, 2020) – The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced that it has awarded $600,000 to Trinity Metro to support a comprehensive planning project to improve access to public transportation. The funds are from FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning, which assists communities that are developing new or expanded mass transit systems, such as bus rapid transit. The planning grant is part of a partnership project with the City of Fort Worth to develop TOD along East Lancaster Avenue.
“We are excited about this opportunity to work with the city on another important transit initiative,” said Bob Baulsir, CEO and president of Trinity Metro. “We appreciate the FTA’s funding for this project.”
In 2019, the City of Fort Worth initiated a study, Transit Moves Fort Worth, to increase public transit’s role in the overall transportation system. The study identified some key corridors and recommended high-capacity transit on those corridors. East Lancaster Avenue is the highest ridership corridor in the Trinity Metro network, making East Lancaster the most suitable route for implementing high capacity transit like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or rapid transit.
Trinity Metro and the City of Fort Worth partnered on the grant application to conduct a comprehensive analysis of economic development opportunity, transit-supportive land use and infrastructure improvements to enhance ridership through the development of a comprehensive TOD plan for the East Lancaster Avenue corridor. The East Lancaster BRT project is expected to enter Small Starts in the near future.
“We are proud to support our local partners as they plan for transit-oriented development that better connects residents to jobs, education and services,” said FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams. “This funding will help improve the quality of life of riders in communities across America.”
The Pilot Program for TOD Planning funds comprehensive planning projects near public transportation that improve access, encourage ridership and spur economic and mixed-use development. Planning projects were selected for funding based on criteria described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
About Trinity Metro
Trinity Metro is a regional transportation system that provides public transportation to meet the mobility needs in Tarrant County. The agency offers connections throughout the North Central Texas region, annually providing 8 million passenger trips on buses, TEXRail, ACCESS paratransit, vanpools and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE), a 34-mile commuter rail line jointly owned and operated with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Trinity Metro is the sole owner and operator of TEXRail, a 27-mile commuter rail line that runs between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal B.