On Tuesday, April 2, US Congresswoman Kathy Manning had a very pleasant announcement regarding the City of Greensboro: The city has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s “Transit-Oriented Development Planning Pilot Program.”
The money will allow Greensboro to “study strategies for transit-oriented development” around the J. Douglas Galyon Depot – with the primary aim of exploring ways the surrounding area can be revitalized.
The plan is to use the money to leverage economic opportunities and promote a “diverse range of housing options.”
The Depot is a vital transportation center that serves as the main passenger transfer for Greensboro Transit Agency, as well as a hub for Amtrak, Greyhound and the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation – better known as PART.
The Depot was built about a century ago as a Southern Railway train terminal.
The Depot, which has recently been remodeled, certainly has an abundance of charms – but much of the downtown area around it clearly needs some added vitality.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said the funding will be a big shot in the arm for those plans.
“Representative Kathy Manning’s support is instrumental in helping achieve the city’s priority to provide an Abundance of Attainable Housing,” the mayor said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “This funding will allow the city to explore a variety of housing and mixed-use development with the depot serving as the connector.”
The April 2 announcement regarding Greensboro was part of a much bigger national announcement regarding similar projects around the country. The federal government announced awards of nearly $18 million for 20 projects across 16 states to support efforts meant to improve access to public transportation.
The grants also help local governments and other organizations plan for transportation projects that connect communities and improve access to transit as well as encourage affordable housing.
$500k….poof! You know how City Council will whiz and waste this money.
“Representative Kathy Manning’s support is instrumental in helping achieve the city’s priority to provide an Abundance of Attainable Housing”
No . . . . .it’s called “pork”. It’s a grant as if the money was just sitting there and Manning said I’ll take some and give it to my democrat supporters in Greensboro. . . for their history of voting for me. This applies to conservatives too, so think about it. The pig trough in DC is where the deals are made . . .which is to “give back” millions of dollars to the people who got them elected. . . .us. See how this works?
I remember a scene in a mob movie which showed the mob head giving out large sums of cash to his top gang leaders in a meeting in a dark room. That’s exactly what’s going on in government these days, and it’s legal.
Ear marks should be eliminated, but they won’t because they are the “cocaine” of doing business in DC. . .and in the state capital as well. God help us!
Think we could get grant to pave our streets?
Where do grants come from? (not after the preposition)
They are what’s called “ear marks” in the federal budget. . . .it’s requests for money from politicians to give to their friends back home, and democrats and republicans are both guilty. The thing is, they know this when they are running for office and they make promises to the folks who gave them campaign money that they will be rewarded. Ear marks and politicians are like candy to a baby, or cocaine to addicts. See how this works?
Yup, that’s called pork barrel.
And some wonder why we have a $34 trillion debt.
Death by a trillion slices.
A trillion here, a trillion there; first thing you know we’ll be talking about real money.
Why do you think it costs so much to live now? The main culprit is the fiat money created by the Federal Reserve. Out govt is way short of covering their give-away expenses, so they HAVE to create it from nothing. It will be more worse day by day, as there is no other solution other than repudiating the debt and starting from nothing again. We will ALL be wiped out. The world will be in chaos, run by strong metn. You won’t have to wait long for it. Tell me I am wrong, as I would like to be.
They will spend all this money and all it is going to take is one riot, shooting, or racial complaint and the depot will close down.