The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is making $6.2 million in funding available to support comprehensive planning that improves access to public transit. The competitive grant funds are provided through FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning.

FTA’s TOD Pilot Program funds comprehensive planning to encourage ridership, transit access, and economic and mixed-use development near public transportation projects. Examples of eligible projects include comprehensive planning studies around station areas for new fixed guideway projects, such as light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail, or bus rapid transit systems that have a designated right-of-way.

To apply for program funding, an applicant must be an FTA grantee — either a project sponsor of an eligible transit project or an entity with land use planning authority in the project corridor. To ensure work meets the needs of the local community, transit project sponsors, and land use planning authorities must partner to conduct the planning work. The application period will close Oct. 26.

In June 2020, FTA awarded $22.97 million in grants to 23 organizations, including $1 million to the Miami Department of Transportation and Public Works for planning 16 stations along the 20-mile South Dade Transitway Corridor BRT and $2 million to the City of Phoenix to plan for TOD at nine stations of the proposed 10-mile Capitol/I-10 West Extension light rail project.