News Archive

By: Paul Johnson
Published: Thursday, March 12, 2009

GREENSBORO - The mass transit agency for the Piedmont will need some help from its institutional friends to tap into federal money for public transportation from the stimulus.

Last week the White House announced the availability of more than $103 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for North Carolina public transportation funding. The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation has requested $13.1 million to continue the expansion of regional park-and-ride lots and buy 16 additional buses.

However, PART doesn't qualify as a direct recipient of stimulus funds under the distribution formula.

PART would have to receive funds either through the N.C. Department of Transportation or regional metropolitan transportation planning organizations, said PART Program Manager Scott Rhine. He briefed the PART board of trustees during its monthly meeting Wednesday in Greensboro.

PART will consult with DOT and regional transportation planning officials about receiving a share of the state's public transportation funding, Rhine said. The agency should receive word on how much funding PART would receive by the first of May.

PART's proposed stimulus projects in the Piedmont include several park-and-ride lots in the greater High Point area. The proposals include $450,000 for High Point, $750,000 for the Hickory Tree section of Davidson County, $600,000 for Liberty, $350,000 for Trinity and $400,000 for Randleman. The amounts vary based on construction and right-of-way costs, where applicable.