Greater Ohio Policy Center was pleased with the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation that as part of its new proposed guidelines for funding mass transit projects, the DOT will place a higher priority on livability issues, such as how mass transit can promote economic development and make a community a better place to live.  In the past, the main criteria has focused mainly on the project’s overall cost and commute time saved. This announcement fits into the federal Sustainable Communities initiative, which has worked to better coordinate federal transportation and housing investments and identify strategies to give American families more choices for affordable housing near employment opportunities and more transportation options, to lower transportation costs, shorten travel times, and improve the environment.

Greater Ohio is pleased by this new direction at the federal level and is optimistic that it is a start to looking at funding decisions in a more holistic matter.