Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Climate Change

Senators Propose $4 Billion for Transit-Oriented Development Grants

Making good on a vow first reported
in Streetsblog Capitol Hill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris
Dodd (D-CT) and three colleagues today offered a bill authorizing $4
billion in grants to help states and cities pursue transit-oriented
development, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and other green
transport projects.

dodd_working.jpgSenate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) (Photo: Washington Note)

The
legislation aims to put some teeth in the goals of the inter-agency
Sustainable Communities effort that the Obama administration launched earlier this year.
Dodd's plan would create an office within the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) to spearhead the work and administer two new
competitive grant programs.

The first, slated for $400 million over four years, would help
states and cities implement regional plans that integrate sustainable
housing, transportation, and community development.

The
second, slated for $3.75 billion over three years, would assist
localities in making their plans materialize, from affordable housing
to bike-ped access. Both grant programs would need to be separately
funded through appropriations bills, but authorizing the spending is a
crucial first step.

The bill is co-sponsored by Banking panel
Democrats Robert Menendez (NJ), Michael Bennet (CO), and Jeff Merkley
(OR). Here is Dodd's statement on the measure:

Asour communities grow, people are commuting longer distances on more crowdedroadways. Those are precious hours theycould be spending with their families, and precious dollars wasted ongas. We must change the way we plan for the future of our communities andtackle these challenges with a coordinatedstrategy.

A House counterpart bill has yet to be introduced.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

AC Transit Staff Abruptly Pulls Grant Application that Required Cooperation with ICE/DHS

As a condition of a law-enforcement grant, AC Transit's board was set to vote on an information sharing/collaboration-obligation pact with Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security

September 9, 2025

Emergency Rally: Advocates Demand Gov. Newsom ‘Fund Transit Now’

All the major transit advocacy groups assembled Monday morning in downtown San Francisco to demand the city's former mayor (Governor Gavin Newsom) intervene and stop the cancellation of a vital $750 million state loan intended to keep the city moving

September 8, 2025
See all posts