U.S. DOT Previews How New Transit Rules Could Define ‘Livability’

DC.StreetsBlog.org
Elana Schor // January 21, 2010

Addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors, assistant transport secretary for policy Polly Trottenberg was asked by the mayor of Clearwater, Florida, to outline how the agency might "quantify livability" in its upcoming rulemaking.

Trottenberg said U.S. DOT learned decision-making lessons from the TIGER grants, a $1.5 billion competitive program in the stimulus law that she said called for extra sets of hands from the EPA and HUD.

Though Trottenberg was careful not to predict the content of still-unwritten regulations, she described some livability questions that came into play last year and could be a factor as the agency writes its new transit funding rules.

"Is this project going to include all modes?" she said. "[Will the project] help boost businesses on Main Street?"

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