Liveability a "Major Priority" at DOT

New Urban News writes, "The US Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking to use stimulus spending to support livable communities, says Beth Osborne, deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy. DOT has $1.5 billion in multimodal discretionary funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Osborne said in a November 9 Internet conference sponsored by the Center for Transportation and the Environment at North Carolina State University. The multimodal funds are also known as TIGER grants.

'When we put together the criteria by which we would evaluate projects, we put livability at the top,' said Osborne. 'It's up there with safety and economic competitiveness. We could not have made a stronger indication about what our priorities are.'"