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Mayor warns $8 million Safe Streets grant may be halved; board directs chair to send support letter
Summary
Mayor Ward told the MTPO the USDOT/FDOT review could cut an $8 million Safe Streets and Roads for All grant for University Avenue roughly in half; the board unanimously directed the chair to send a letter to USDOT urging retention of funding.
Mayor Ward told the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization Dec. 2 that the $8,000,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All grant for University Avenue is at risk of being reduced because federal and state priorities differ from local plans.
"Last week, we were advised that we would likely receive about half of that amount because the federal priorities and the state priorities don't match up to what we all hoped they would," Mayor Ward said, and he distributed a draft letter urging USDOT to preserve as much of the award as possible.
Ward moved that the board direct the chair to sign and send the support letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation; the board approved the motion unanimously. Ward said he has a meeting scheduled with USDOT and staff the next day to advocate for retaining funding.
The item is procedural but time‑sensitive: members emphasized rapid action to submit the chair's letter before Ward's meeting with USDOT. The draft will be finalized on MTPO letterhead and transmitted to USDOT; staff will circulate the final letter to board members.
Why it matters: the grant funds safety improvements on University Avenue—part of a broader local Vision Zero effort to reduce pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and serious injuries. Losing funding or receiving a reduced award could change the scope and timeline of planned lane and safety changes.
