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What's Happening In Transportation

For information about the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), browse the latest issue of TPB News.

TPB Appoints 2010 Officers

On December 16, 2009, the TPB elected City of Falls Church Councilmember David Snyder as its Chairman for 2010. District of Columbia Councilmember Muriel Bowser and City of Bowie Councilmember Todd Turner were elected as Vice Chairs of the TPB.

TPB wins Rosa Parks Diversity Leadreship Award

The TPB will be honored with the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award for initiatives that serve the transportation needs of the region's diverse population. This award will be presented to the TPB on December 3 at a ceremony of the DC Chapter of WTS, an international organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women in transportation. For more information and to read the COG press release, click here.

Purple Line and "Return to L'Enfant" added to 2009 CLRP and TIP

On October 21, 2009, the TPB approved an amendment to the FY2009 CLRP and TIP to include the Purple Line Light Rail Project as well as the transportation components associated with the "Return to L'Enfant" Development over I-395. For more information, click here.

TPB Rolls out Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Pilot Program in D.C.

December marks the start of a Wheelchair Accessible Taxi pilot program in DC. Twenty ramp-equipped, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant mini-vans have been purchased using federal funding provided through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).. These new ramp-equipped taxi vehicles will be available for service beinning in December, after drivers from participating taxi companies receive special training for the pilot.

TPB Receives Briefing on "Street Smart" Program

TPB was briefed on the Regional "Street Smart" Pedestrian and Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Education Campaign, including updates on the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 Campaign themes. For additional information, click here.

TPB Approves Human Service Transportation Plan Update

The TPB continues its commitment to deliver transportation services to persons with disabilities and low-income workers through its approval of the Updated Coordinated Human Service Transportation Plan for the National Capital Region, which guides the annual solicitation process for the region's Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom projects. This Updated to the Coordinated Plan focuses on ensuring unmet transportation needs, strategies for improving service and coordination, and recommended projects. For more information, click here.

Public Forum Hosted by CAC: Framing Transportation Opportunities for the National Capital Region

The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to the TPB hosted a public meeting on December 10, 2009 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office in Alexandria, VA. Speakers at the program addressed: Federal transportation policy, Funding challenges for transportation, High-speed rail, Local transportation issues in Alexandria, and implications for our region. For further information, click here.

TPB Active on Freight Issues

The movement of freight within and through the Washington Region, while a key part of the region’s economy, is also a major contributor to travel congestion in the region and is only expected to grow in the coming years. That reality is the impetus for a much more extensive treatment of freight issues in the region’s 2010 Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan currently under development. For additional information on TPB's Freight Program, click here.

TPB Submits Grant for TIGER Funding

On September 15, 2009, the TPB submitted a $266,718,500 proposal to the TIGER program for prioirty bus transit in the National Capital Region. TIGER, or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, is a grant program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that makes $1.5 billion available on a competitive basis for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure projects. For more information on TPB's TIGER application, click here.

A continued priority for ARRA is transparency. Every project that receives stimulus funding must be amended or adjusted in the current FY 2009-2014 Transportation Improvement Program to show that funding. The TPB is maintaining an inventory of all actions taken regarding federal stimulus funding.

TPB Approves Policy Principles for the 2009 Authorization of Federal Transportation Programs

The TPB Policy Principles for the 2009 Authorization of Federal Surface Transportation Programs call for more funding for transportation, more attention to metropolitan-level challenges, and more balance among transportation modes. To read the Policy Principles, which were approved in September 2008, click here.

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