The funding will support the financing of six projects, including the Downtown Redmond Link Extension.
In a press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation, USDOT "announced it has provided a package of Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans of up to $3.84 billion for the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) for the financing of the Downtown Redmond Link Extension and refinancing of an additional five projects." The loans will save Sound Transit over $630 million "while helping move projects forward that will create and sustain tens of thousands of jobs." The Build America Bureau, the Obama-era agency that administers the TIFIA loans, was created to "streamline credit opportunities while also providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and operation."
Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff claims that "[r]efinancing our earlier TIFIA loans will create more than $630 million in savings for our region’s taxpayers, helping us deliver the largest transit infrastructure program in the country as quickly as we can. Expanding the program to include the Downtown Redmond Link Extension expands our savings still further." According to the press release, "[t]he Projects will provide benefits to the central Puget Sound area, including reduced congestion greenhouse gas emissions, expanded routes and more reliable service, and increased ridership capacity."
King County Metro adds 3,000 weekly bus trips, more connections to rail
King County Metro and Sound Transit are both making major adjustments to their bus networks to improve light rail connectivity across the region.
Commentary: Seattle's new transit wayfinding system is 'more confusing than clarifying'
Changes to Sound Transit signage could make it difficult to navigate the region's train system.
Sound Transit says train to Ballard is still coming
Agency officials say reports of the line's demise are exaggerated and that it remains in its plans.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association