3:00am | The United Stated Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced a second round of their eagerly anticipated Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants. The 2010 Fiscal Year Appropriations Act allocated $600 million dollars through September of 2012 for projects “that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.” These grants as specifically for infrastructure planning and projects: they are not for operations or maintenance, so they won’t fix a pot hole or balance a budget.
As with the first round of TIGER grants, which were funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), we can rest assured that there will be fierce competition for those limited transportation dollars between a large number of municipalities, regions, and states. About 1,400 entities applied for the first round of grants with requests totaling $60 billion dollars, forty times the $1.5 billion available. Projects that won funding in that first round ranged from port expansions to pedestrian improvements, all meant to benefit mobility and economic vitality.
Reflecting a broader trend in federal government priorities, key selection criteria for the transportation grant included fostering livable communities, creating greater environmental sustainability, and improving safety. Though the impending second TIGER grant cycle is not funded through ARRA, job creation and economic stimulation remain important priorities. Secondary selection criteria emphasize innovation and partnerships with other agencies and entities. Unfortunately, as in the first round of funding, many city, regional, and state agencies will likely follow the “shotgun” strategy of throwing their laundry list of unfunded projects at the selection committee, in hopes that a couple will obtain support.
However, many Long Beach residents may not be aware that this city is becoming known as a leader in a new movement for creative transportation solutions. From the pages of USA Today to professional conferences, stories and images of Long Beach’s new mobility infrastructure are increasingly drawing national attention. For instance, the Institute of Traffic Engineer (ITE) award-winning Second Street bike “sharrows” in Belmont Shore (green stripes showing where cars and bicycles share a line) and the curb extensions at First Street and Linden Avenue in the East Village spar for the title of most photogenic creative infrastructure project in Long Beach. These projects, as well as upcoming pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvement projects (most of which have been funded by outside grants), are demonstrating that the city government can be a proactive partner in developing innovative transportation infrastructure.
This is a built-out city with little ability to reduce congestion by building new freeways, widening streets, or adding lanes at intersections. Instead, the city focuses on making existing infrastructure more efficient–whether improving public transit or adding bike facilities citywide, all to encourage means of mobility more efficient than the automobile. The bus stops on Anaheim Street still draw attention from outside transit agencies for their ability to improve loading and unloading passengers while making the experience of waiting a bus more comfortable. The forthcoming Vista Street Bike Boulevard will be the first in Southern California; other neighborhoods will likely express strong interest in bike boulevards of their own as their traffic-calming and beautification aspects become apparent.
While Long Beach has begun developing an impressive portfolio of progressive cutting-edge infrastructure, much remains to be done. The Metro Blue Line light rail train has one of the heaviest riderships of any light rail line in the nation, yet it still largely lacks the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure to extend riders’ reach. City staff has focused intensive planning effort along the Blue Line transportation corridor to address these shortcomings. This will likely lead to a strategic plan for enhancing transportation options from the Blue Line in downtown and central Long Beach. This strategic plan would be an exceptional candidate for the second round of TIGER grants, as such mobility improvements focus on creating a more livable, sustainable community.
As the city updates its blueprint for the general plan through Long Beach 2030, a framework is emerging for neighborhood strategies across ten areas of the city. This includes land use, mobility, open space, and sustainability policies intended to enhance the physical environment. Many of these policies will focus on improving access to activity centers, jobs, and community amenities, with the overall goal of improving livability and economic vitality. Portions of the general plan update concerned with mobility issues could conceivably be supported by funds from the second round of TIGER grant-making. It would be most effective if such support focused on an overall design element rather than, say, a single intersection (too small and specific) or the plan as a whole (too large and vague).
One possibility would be to apply for funding to help create an “urban village” pedestrian plan that would upgrade sidewalks and crosswalks in a dozen neighborhood commercial centers throughout the city. Enhancing the pedestrian environment for vibrant shopping areas like Fourth Street’s Retro Row, Pacific Avenue’s Wrigley Village, Bixby Knolls, and Norse Way on the Eastside would support local economies and communities, as these neighborhood commercial centers draw more patronage from the surrounding area. Neighborhood livability and safety would be enhanced by pedestrian improvements like wider sidewalks, corner curb extensions, and beautified crosswalks. These benefits would fulfill much of the selection criteria of the TIGER grant program, giving these pedestrian improvement projects an advantage over other applicants.
Long Beach can be competitive in this second round of TIGER grants because the city has built a strong foundation of thoughtful planning. The city’s good track record of using grant funds effectively also makes it a potential frontrunner for these federal transportation dollars. Long Beach is also well positioned for obtaining grant support because of the media attention it has drawn for recently completed projects (it will likely remain in the spotlight over the summer as other enhancements like the Vista Street Bike Boulevard become a reality). During a time of limited local resources, the city would do well to take advantage of its positioning to apply for this second round of TIGER grants, building upon the current momentum for alternative mobility options.