Anti-congestion competition down to 9 cities

Anti-congestion competition down to 9 cities Nine cities made the short list for a U.S. Department of Transportation program that will provide $1.1 billion aimed at reducing transportation congestion problems.
   The semifinalists for the department’s Urban Partnership program are Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Winners will be announced by mid-August, the DOT said Friday.
   The DOT program looks at all elements of local transportation systems’ impact on the economy, from trucks hung up in traffic to seaport cargo flows to airport congestions. The DOT created the program to address the billions of dollars in negative economic impacts created by transportation congestion problems.
   Together, the nine cities represent one-third of all highway congestion recorded among the nation’s 85 largest cities, and handle about 20 percent of all vehicle travel in the United States, according to the DOT, which encouraged area governments to create regional solutions.
   The applications are similar in that they all propose to levy tolls that vary based on traffic volumes, and all of them would beef up transit options for residents, Secretary Mary Peters said. Her department will also provide winning proposals with technical advice and an expedited review process.
   One proposal from the Miami group was to convert existing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to limited access managed lanes from Interstate 395 in Miami-Dade County to I-595 in Broward County. The Miami proposal also includes ideas like developing bus rapid transit and new uses of electronic toll technology.
   When the Miami selection was announced, Gov. Charlie Crist lauded the efforts in Miami and urged the DOT to make Miami part of the final group of five urban plans.