Environmental Group Praises Bush Administration for Over $800 Million Transportation Grants for Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Michael Replogle, mreplogle@environmentaldefense.org, 301-529-0351
Sean Crowley, scrowley@environmentaldefense.org, 202-572-3331

(Washington, DC ? August 14, 2007) ? New federal transportation grants of more than $848 million were announced today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale to help those cities use congestion pricing and other market-based incentives to improve transportation performance.

Under the Urban Partnership Agreement Program grants awarded today, New York received $354 million, San Francisco received $159 million, Seattle received $139 million, Minneapolis received $133 million and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale received $63 million. In addition to congestion pricing, the grants support innovations such as better mass transit, traffic management, telework, and other smart market incentives like pay-as-you-drive insurance.

“Congestion pricing can speed commutes, cut gridlock, generate new revenue for innovative transit, help clean the air and address climate change,” said Michael Replogle, transportation director for Environmental Defense and a former consultant to U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and the World Bank. “These grants support new tools to improve mobility and cut transportation pollution at the same time. We salute the U.S. Department of Transportation for supporting innovation in America’s cities.”

“These agreements show how cities can use incentives to get the most out of their transportation infrastructure,” Replogle concluded. “Grants like these help communities address their backlog of unmet transportation needs. Environmental Defense congratulates the cities winning grants today.”