TIGER funds bus corridors, not K Street or bike sharing

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TIGER funds bus corridors, not K Street or bike sharing

by David Alpert • February 17, 2010 11:59 am

The Washington region will receive $58.8 million for bus priority improvements across the region, but no money for the K Street Transitway or regional bicycle sharing in the TIGER grants. USDOT announced the winners today.

Image from USDOT.

Through regional planning organization MWCOG, local governments had applied for $204 million in bus improvements, $13 million for regional bike sharing, and $47 million for "transit station" improvements including a Takoma-Langley Transit Center and the Medical Center underpass.

About $140 million of the bus improvements would have built a dedicated busway along K Street for regional and local buses, many of which use that street, while the rest would have improved a patchwork of corridors in all jursdictions.

The final award provides $26.6 million for the bus corridor improvements, which will improve service on 16th Street, Georgia Avenue, H Street/Benning Road, and Wisconsin Avenue in DC; Addison Road, University Blvd, US-1 and Veirs Mill Road in Maryland; US-1, Leesburg Pike, and the Van Dorn to Pentagon route in Virginia. It also funds and connections from the TR Bridge and 14th Street to K Street in DC for Virginia buses.

Update: Here's more on the funded bus projects, which mean some long-awaited and exciting improvements will be going forward.

In addition to the bus improvements, the Takoma-Langley Transit Center gets $12.3 million, and Virginia gets $20 million for "station improvements (bus bays, real time bus information and other improvements" supporting bus priority on the I-95/395 corridor," which contribute to a longer-term plan to set up dedicated bus lanes.

It doesn't fund the Medical Center underpass, a second entrance to Rosslyn Metro, I-66 bus, bike sharing, or K Street. The table on page 11 of the application shows all of the improvements requested and their individual dollar amounts.

According to a so-far-unconfirmed rumor, the K Street project scored very highly on the metrics USDOT was using, but they excluded it because of potential bad press surrounding any funds going to "K Street" with its lobbyist connotations. If that's true, DC should immediately introduce a bill to rename K Street as "Abraham Lincoln Boulevard" or something. While they're at it, maybe they should rename Capitol Hill just in case.

Or, that could be totally false, and they simply decided that the Washington region could get almost $60 million but, at nearly $140 million, the K Street project was too large and more money had to go to other cities.

26 comments

Tags: bus priority, freeway bus, K Street Transitway, Langley Park, stimulus, Takoma Park, transit, USDOT

Regional plan recommends regional bike sharing but disjointed bus improvements (Jul 13, 2009)
TIGER means bus priority will start soon (Feb 17, 2010)
Bus priority getting priority in DC (May 21, 2010)
"Priority bus" a valuable part of the transit mix when done right (Jun 19, 2009)
K Street Transitway delayed seven years, again (Jan 26, 2009)

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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They probably could have provided a partial grant to K Street...it appears such partial grants were given to other projects. But I agree with the premise that $140 million was probably too much to give one entity. The most any single entity received was $105 million.

by Froggie on Feb 17, 2010 12:14 pm • link • report

If your source is correct, it's a shame and it shows a lack of spine.

Nonetheless, I hope DC and MWCOG have a backup plan that is actually feasible. The K street plan is necessary for a multi-tier transit system that is present in most cities with high transit ridership.

by Neil Flanagan on Feb 17, 2010 12:25 pm • link • report

Hope and change. Thanks Obama!

by FragMe on Feb 17, 2010 12:32 pm • link • report

Seriously, they're worried that anybody would believe lobbyists want bus transit? Wahaa. DC should immediately reapply and move the whole thing to L st. Or M St. Penn Ave. Pick one.

by Jasper on Feb 17, 2010 12:35 pm • link • report

It's also worth noting that these projects are for TIGER funds only. It is completely possible that other DOT funds may be available for projects in the future.

I also suspect that the K Street Transitway project was just a little too controversial not because of the name but because of the scope of the project. Even with TIGER funds, I don't believe for one second that the design was "shovel-ready". Few people know about the plans for the proposed transitway and when people do hear about it, they're going to have something to say. The other projects fund things that are relatively uncontroversial and can be implemented immediately.

by Adam L on Feb 17, 2010 12:38 pm • link • report

Even if David's source is wrong, I can see the media response to K street and/or bike sharing now:

"Barack HUSSEIN Obama buys bikes for washington fat cats while real Americans suffer. Why does this foreigner hate America?"

The thing about the TIGER proposal though, at least for bike sharing, is that they were projecting revenue to outpace costs for the life of the system. How hard could it be for the region to raise $13 million independently, especially if they can pay it back? I mean, 13 million really isn't that much cash.

by JTS on Feb 17, 2010 12:54 pm • link • report

Jasper, there is no more money in this one-time program.

by Neil Flanagan on Feb 17, 2010 12:55 pm • link • report

@Neil F.

There will be a second round of TIGER proposals, which will be competing for money in $600 million pool.

by JTS on Feb 17, 2010 12:58 pm • link • report

JTS, you're right - I had forgotten completely about the transportation bill.

by Neil Flanagan on Feb 17, 2010 1:13 pm • link • report

The name thing is ridiculous, for a number of reasons. K Street isn't nearly the actual concentration of lobbying firms and institutions that the derogatory name suggests, like Wall Street is for financial institutions, or Madison Ave for advertising, etc.

If it really is a problem, then just re-brand the project as the Downtown transitway or the cross-town transitway or something completely numb.

by Alex B. on Feb 17, 2010 1:19 pm • link • report

As hilarious as the K Street name issue is, it's still an unconfirmed, unattributed rumor. Shame on you for publishing it without so much as a generic attribution (local transportation official, DOT official, etc.). For all we know, it could be from David himself.

by Tim on Feb 17, 2010 1:40 pm • link • report

Tim, there is no shame in saying "here is an unconfirmed, unattributed rumor" and then telling what you heard. You're smart enough to give that the proper weight right? The shame is in reporting an unconfirmed, unattributed rumor as fact. David didn't do that.

by David C on Feb 17, 2010 1:44 pm • link • report

I'm sure the rumor is not true, but just to be safe, let's go back to calling all of Capitol Hill "Navy Yard."

That'll draw the bucks.

by Trulee Pist on Feb 17, 2010 2:00 pm • link • report

Holy smokes, people! The region gets $58 million for priority bus improvements and only FragMe says something in the ballpark of happy?

How about a "hey, that's great news, someone must have done something right, maybe congratulations are in order, maybe we should just be...happy and a tiny bit grateful?"

Sheesh...

by jnb on Feb 17, 2010 2:55 pm • link • report

I was at the Transportation Planning Board Meeting today when they made this announcement where it was met by obvious joy from both board members and staff. One thing that has not been mentioned in these comments, and was stressed by Board Member Chris Zimmerman is this was the first time in a long time that the regional entities within the TPB actually worked together to identify and prioritize regional projects.

This may seem counter-intuitive because the TPB is a regional MPO, but true regional planning has long been a concern for the TPB's Citizens Advisory Council. While the proposal wasn't perfect and a few of the projects were not funded this grant is extremely positive for smart growth/regional planning advocates, and must serve as a catalyst for future regional planning and prioritization by the TPB.

by Phillip Ellis on Feb 17, 2010 3:19 pm • link • report

@jnb - I think FragMe was being sarcastic too =)

by Paul S on Feb 17, 2010 3:19 pm • link • report

I would have loved for K Street Transitway to get the funds. But I have to agree that I have my doubts regarding how shovel ready the project truly was...

by Paul S on Feb 17, 2010 3:20 pm • link • report

There was $84 billion worth of project proposals for a $1.5 billion pool of TIGER funds for the whole country. This region fared about as well as we could've hoped, under the circumstances.

by rosenrosen on Feb 17, 2010 4:23 pm • link • report

The K Street Transitway not getting the money is disappointing. But look at how many other things DID get money. Hopefully, this is the first step towards making our bus system useful.

by Justin..... on Feb 17, 2010 4:24 pm • link • report

Ha, K Street to Abraham "Abraham Lincoln Boulevard." Thats the best post. While we are at it, can we rename eye street back to I street?

by DAJ on Feb 17, 2010 4:32 pm • link • report

I thought they were supposed to build streetcar rails down K Street to connect Union Station to Georgetown.

Streetcars > Rapid bus

by MLA on Feb 17, 2010 4:49 pm • link • report

@MLA:
Streetcar tracks on the K Street Transitway are planned for a later phase. The design of the busway will not preclude their inclusion later.

I believe that streetcar rails in the initial phase may have in fact been contingent on winning this TIGER grant.

by Matt Johnson on Feb 17, 2010 4:52 pm • link • report

Here are specific details about the DC projects that got funded.

by BeyondDC on Feb 17, 2010 5:19 pm • link • report

If you look at the USDOT packet, you'll see that the project is 6th in terms of funding, after 3 freight rail projects (including National Gateway) and transit projects in New York and Arizona. Sixth out of all the proposals ain't bad. I wouldn't look at $60 million gift horse in the mouth.

by Gavin Baker on Feb 17, 2010 5:42 pm • link • report

One benefit of the funding for the Langely Park/Takoma Crossroads transportation hub is that this would become the basis for a major transfer point on the Purple Line (bus to light rail, etc.). This redevelopment has been covered heavily in other posts, but I believe that at least this part of the construction along Univ. Blvd. will be a vast improvement for everyone involved.

by Scott on Feb 17, 2010 6:11 pm • link • report

Maybe this is too simple a solution ... but ... Couldn't DDOT just put some "Sharrow" signs up in the feeder roads which line both sides of K Street ... and add a "Bicylists use Ped Signals to Cross" signs at the end of each block? That 'cycle track' is already there ... not really meant to be used by traffic other than those parking there or picking someone up at a building lining that stretch, ... and the signage can't cost that much, can it?

by Lamce on Jun 27, 2011 6:21 pm • link • report