ODOT, Feds push Cincinnati Streetcar Project Further Along Track

Hamilton County (Thursday, July 8, 2010) – On the heels of $15 million in funding from Ohio’s Transportation Review Advisory Council, Cincinnati’s proposed Downtown-to-Uptown streetcar project was pushed further along the track to construction today with the award of a $25 million federal grant.

Cincinnati’s grant was one of 53 announced Thursday, July 8 by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood as part of $300 million in funding for streetcar, trolley and bus proposals nationwide.With the $15 million TRAC grant awarded in May, $114.5 million is now committed to Cincinnati’s streetcar project, more than 90 percent of the money needed.

Cincinnati’s proposed Downtown-to-Uptown project will reconnect the region’s two largest employment centers with electric streetcars, permitting the region to grow into a more walkable, livable and affordable community.

In addition, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority Mahoning was awarded $2.774 million for enhancements that are part of the revitalization efforts for the 3.4 mile Mahoning Transit Corridor by improving transit connections between downtown Canton and northeast Canton, a densely populated, economically disadvantaged residential and growing employment area. Enhancements will be made to bus shelters along the corridor, including additions of benches, sidewalk improvements and the extension of a bike-pedestrian path that ties into a regional bike and walkable network.

 For more information contact: Scott Varner, ODOT Central Office Communications, at 614-644-8640.