"FTA requirements presented planners, government officials and citizens a major dose of reality that, initially, was hard for some to swallow. FTA's interest is transportation improvement, and this agency has to give the green light for any project receiving $20 million of its money.
Even the mayor's initial wishes were not granted.
'What did I want to see? I wanted to see an IMAX theater in there, but the FTA wouldn't fund it,' Pugh said in January."