Washington DC - Congresswoman Barbara Lee today applauded House passage of H.R. 2299, the Transportation Appropriations Conference Report for Fiscal Year 2002, which includes $2.5 million for the Alameda Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Job Access and Reverse Commute Program and for new bus procurement. It will also provide $2 million to the Unity Council in Oakland for construction of the Fruitvale Transit Village.

H.R. 2299 will provide the Unity Council with $2 million to fund the construction of a Pedestrian Plaza and Paseo in order to link the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station to International Boulevard and the new BART parking structure. The plaza and paseo are designed to encourage transit use by making the Fruitvale BART station safer with a well-lit and landscaped walk from International Boulevard to the station and also from the new parking structure to the station. This project will also include the development of a bike storage facility.

"Buses on International Boulevard carry more passengers than any other bus lines in the AC Transit system, and the funds in this legislation will make it safer and more pleasant to transfer between the AC Transit system and BART," said Lee. "The Unity Council’s vision and hard work in helping to secure this much needed federal money for the Fruitvale Transit Village is a testimony to their dedication to serving the needs of the community."

"This is wonderful news and we are extremely proud of Congresswoman Lee’s efforts to secure this funding," said Arabella Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of the Unity Council. "The Fruitvale Transit Village will be a national model of urban community development and this federal money will be instrumental to construction and ongoing development efforts that will begin in January."

The bill includes $2 million to AC Transit to fund the Job Access and Reverse Commute program, which will supplement current transit opportunities for Welfare to Work participants in Oakland. AC Transit’s expansion of service in several areas has been highly successful in bringing CalWORKS recipients to new jobs.

"One of the main impediments to full-time employment for those at the bottom of our economic ladder is transportation, because the newly employed and those seeking work often do not have the financial resources to purchase or maintain a motor vehicle," said Lee. "These funds will go a long way in expanding access, and making transportation easier and less expensive."

The bill also includes $500,000 in funding to purchase new buses.

"Millions of people in the East Bay rely on public transportation for work and recreation, and this funding goes a long way in increasing that service," said Lee. "It is also a great step towards improving the air quality that is associated with California’s notoriously congested highways."

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