Older public transit stations across the country will be getting facelifts as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration is issuing grants to help municipalities in nine states improve access.
In a round of grants recently announced, the DOT said 15 grants totaling $686 million will be disbursed to help localities make outdated stations more accessible through the installation of elevators and handrails and improved audio and visual communication displays, according to a Dec. 19 news release.
"Every day, millions of people rely on our public transit system to get to work, buy groceries and see their loved ones — yet today, three decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, hundreds of transit stations are still inaccessible for travelers with disabilities," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release.
President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing $1.75 billion for this program over the next five years, the release said. Grant recipients include some of the nation’s and busiest rail transit systems, such as the Chicago Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City.
Chicago will receive about $118,480,000 to make the CTA’s Belmont and Pulaski stations to become fully ADA-compliant, upgrade ramps and install elevators. The MTA will get about $254,466,278 to upgrade stations in Brooklyn and the Bronx, the release reported.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity in July announced the availability of $343 million. Applications were taken through October, and the agency received $905 million in funding requests, the release said.
"Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, great strides have been made in improving accessibility, but there is still a lot of work to do," FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in the release.
See project information on the FTA website.
