Austin awarded nearly $48M grant to aid in pollution mitigation work, mass transit access

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin and regional transportation organizations received a nearly $48 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to aid in climate pollution reduction efforts as the region revs up several major transportation projects. The EPA awarded more than $4.3 billion for selected projects, the federal agency announced.

The $47.9 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant is designed to “help commuters in the region adjust to upcoming major construction projects” will aiding alternative commute options, per a Monday release. The funding allocation comes as the region gears up for more than $20 billion’s worth of transportation projects in and around Austin — namely, the upcoming Project Connect light rail system and the Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project.

“The Austin region is on the brink of an exciting and positive new era of mobility with the infusion of billions of dollars into transportation projects,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in the release. “But transformational change will bring some disruption along the way. Working with our regional coalition of transportation agencies, we plan to use this grant to make our transition a little easier and more pleasant for our residents with timely traveler information while also promoting adoption of transit, carpooling, and active transportation, leading to long-lasting impacts on congestion and achieving our mobility and pollution reduction goals.”

Those regional projects are overseen by various transportation organizations, including the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), Travis County, the City of Austin and CapMetro. Partners on the grant allocation include TxDOT, Capital Area Council of Governments (CACOG), CapMetro, Capital Area Rural Transportation Service (CARTS) and Movability, per the release.

The federal funding will aid in tackling climate pollution in a three-tiered approach, the release stated:

• Enhancing regional transit service: CARTS will build up its service operations to add more frequent service access to its interurban coach and vanpool services in suburban communities like San Marcos, Bastrop and Taylor; CapMetro will expand frequency along its north and southbound routes “adjacent to construction”; smaller-level shuttles and circulators will provide transit access in construction-heavy areas
• Funding new, improved mobility infrastructure: Additions or expansions on “mobility hubs” are planned “at key regional and local mobility transition points” to help expand access to carpooling, biking, transit and other non-single occupancy vehicle transportation methods; improved CapMetro Bikeshare and micromobility options are planned as well as more robust secure bicycle storage, parking availability, bike and pedestrian counters as well as air quality monitors to aid in data collection
• Incentivize behavioral changes: Grant funding will go toward toward program incentivizing and engaging community members to seek out more mass transit/commuter transportation resources; community program, regional mobility website and financial incentives to help lower-income transit users

More details on the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are available online .

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