Officials' vote narrowly saves Fort Lauderdale streetcar project
The commissioners agreed to allow the state to seek new construction proposals for the $195.3 million project, if Fort Lauderdale’s city commission and its Downtown Development Authority renew their commitments to the project.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Despite concerns over growing costs, Broward County commissioners voted five to four in favor of not killing Fort Lauderdale’s proposed Wave streetcar project, the SunSentinel reported.
The commissioners agreed to allow the state to seek new construction proposals for the $195.3 million project, if Fort Lauderdale’s city commission and its Downtown Development Authority renew their commitments to the project.
After proposals received in November escalated the cost of the project to $270 million, the state made changes that would reduce the size of the project’s vehicle maintenance facility and scaled back the amount of upgrades needed for the Southeast Third Avenue Bridge that will carry the streetcars over the New River to cut costs.
Broward County is pressuring Fort Lauderdale to renew its commitment to the project in the next couple of weeks, before a new commission is seated following the March elections. For the full story, click here.
Amtrak will open grant applications March 23 for community projects near the Frederick Douglass Tunnel alignment in Baltimore as part of a $50 million investment tied to the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program.
The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.