The Federal Transit Administration awarded $16.6 million in funds to 20 agencies across the country on Dec. 18 to support what it calls “comprehensive planning projects” that improve access to public transportation.

[Above photo by the Maryland Transit Administration.]

The funds, are made available through the agency’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development or TOD Planning program, aim to help “integrate” land use and transportation planning efforts to support transit ridership, multimodal connectivity, and mixed-use development near transit stations.

The Maryland Department of Transportation received $2 million from this round of TOD funding to help construct the Maryland Purple Line, a 16.2-mile light rail project that aims to link Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

FTA added that Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century or MAP-21 Act initiated the TOD Pilot Program in 2012, which was later re-authorized through fiscal year 2020 by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act three years ago.