Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker wants the federal government to hop aboard streetcar funding.
On Saturday, at a U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Providence, R.I., Becker plans to introduce a resolution urging the Obama administration and Congress to speed streetcar investments by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mayors from across the nation will vote on the measure.
Congress has set aside money for trolley lines in the past, Becker said, but transportation officials have been slow to release grants in the "Small Starts" program, creating a backlog of projects.
Utah's capital is eyeing federal funds to cover up to half the $40 million to $50 million streetcar line planned for Sugar House. It would run along 2300 South from a 200 West TRAX stop to 1045 East. But the city isn't sure, Becker said, how long it would take to secure a grant in the current system.
"Salt Lake City is really at the forefront of projects [nationally] that could use federal money if it were available today," the mayor said Friday in a phone interview. "We're so far along in our design and feasibility work we could move fairly quickly."
The resolution backs the following two measures sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.: "The Fast Starts Act of 2009" and "The Streetcar Revitalization Act of 2009."
