CONGRESSWOMAN EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON SECURES $3 MILLION FOR DOWNTOWN DALLAS STREETCAR PROJECT

Washington, DC – (Thursday, July 21, 2011)– Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson announced the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will award DART an additional $3 million for the Downtown Dallas Streetcar Project. The funds will be administered from Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which awarded the project $23 million in 2010. 

The Downtown Dallas Streetcar project develops a streetcar line that originates in Downtown Dallas at Harwood and Main Street, and continues down Main Street to Houston Street through the largest job center in the North Texas area.

The Dallas Downtown Streetcar project was originally selected because it aligned well with the Department’s TIGER selection criteria of livability, economic competitiveness, and sustainability. The project increases livability by improving transit options and linking walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with employment centers throughout the region. The project encourages the use of energy-efficient transit options rather than less fuel-efficient modes of transportation. The project also increases economic competitiveness by enhancing the ability of the downtown area to attract transit-oriented development. In addition, it provides sustainability for future riders.

“I am very happy to announce the Dallas Downtown Streetcar project will receive an additional $3 million from the Federal Transit Administration in order to build a passing track on the originally planned streetcar line that will improve service to riders,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “These funds will be added to the original 2010 federal investment of $23 million from ARRA for this project that will provide streetcar service from Union Station in Downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff.”

###

U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. She is also the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas that includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek,Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.