FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 4, 2000
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 22-00

U. S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER ANNOUNCES $175,000
IN GRANTS FOR DENVER'S UNION STATION

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced that Denver, CO Union Station Work and Entertainment Connection will receive $175,000 in federal funding under an innovative initiative called the Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot program (TCSP), a key component of the Clinton-Gore administration's livability agenda.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to making America's communities more livable by easing traffic congestion, preserving green space, and employing smart growth strategies," Secretary Slater said. "In partnership with the people of Colorado, we can help protect the region's environment while continuing to grow the area economy."

The grant to Denver was part of $31.1 million for FY 2000 in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) grants for communities throughout the United States. This TCSP funding was announced by Secretary Slater during his visit to the Denver area.

The city of Denver will receive $175,000 to promote cost-effective and community friendly alternative transportation modes. The project will enhance and expand Denver Union Terminal's role as an intermodal transportation center for Downtown Denver and the entire Denver metropolitan area.

Vice President Gore, in January 1999, launched a comprehensive agenda to strengthen the government's role as a partner with state and local efforts to build livable communities for the 21st century. TCSP consists of grants and research that will assist communities as they work to solve interrelated problems involving transportation, land development, environmental protection, public safety and economic development. It was established in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the six-year surface transportation law signed into law by President Clinton on June 9, 1998.

TCSP funds are used to help achieve locally determined goals such as improving transportation efficiency; reducing the negative effects of transportation on the environment; providing better access to jobs, services and trade centers; reducing the need for costly future infrastructure; and revitalizing underdeveloped and brownfield sites. Grants also can be used to examine urban development patterns and create strategies that encourage private companies to work toward these goals in designing new developments.

The Denver project is among a total of 84 projects from communities throughout the nation selected from a pool of 327 applications. They were evaluated by a multi-disciplinary panel from the Department's Federal Highway, Federal Transit and Research and Special Programs Administrations and the Environmental Protection Agency.

TEA-21 authorized $25 million for the TCSP program in FY 2001. As a key transportation component of its livability agenda, the Clinton-Gore administration has requested an additional $25 million for the TCSP program for fiscal 2001 in response to overwhelming interest from communities around the country. Since its passage, more than $53 million in TCSP grants have been made across the country.

"TCSP is an exciting and innovative program that recognizes the close link between transportation and the environment, as well as the importance of overall development for a community," Secretary Slater said. "It supports the commitment by President Clinton and Vice President Gore to put people first."