Portland wants to expand its streetcar system, and is relying on federal funds to do it. But the Federal Transit Administration says it will give grants to only cost-effective proposals -- creating a heavy bias toward buses and away from streetcars.
"The expansion, pegged to cost $147 million, would extend the streetcar from the Pearl District across the Broadway Bridge and south to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, nearly completing a streetcar loop of the city's core. The federal government, according to the Portland City Council's plan, would pay for half."
"But the City Council scrambled in early September to meet a deadline to apply for funds, only to learn from the Federal Transit Administration that Portland is failing to meet a cost-effectiveness test that planners here say is biased against streetcars in favor of high-capacity bus lines."
"Transit administration officials have said the Office of Management and Budget, a department in the White House, has ordered them to raise standards for cost effectiveness when judging transit projects. That contrasts with the bill Congress passed in 2005, saying projects should be funded if they support public transportation, are cost-effective and boost local economic development."
FULL STORY: Federal rules prefer buses over streetcar expansion
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