FRANKFORT, KY - Grants totaling $51.9 million have been approved to advance community projects across the commonwealth through. Awarded from three federal funding programs: Transportation Enhancement, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality, and Safe Routes to Schools, the grants include $29 million for Transportation Enhancement projects, $19.3 million for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality projects, and $3.57 million for Safe Routes to Schools projects.
Among the projects are streetscape enhancements such as Lexington's Arts in Motion (AiM), the project secured a $150,000 grant for the construction of at least a half-dozen LexTran bus shelters. The shelters are designed to be environmentally sustainable and to brighten their surroundings by accommodating art murals and sculptures. The shelters will also feature new GPS technology. Of LexTran's more than 900 bus stops, fewer than 50 offer shelter to riders and many of those are small, pre-fab structures with little protection from wind and rain. The AiM shelters are more spacious. Two have been constructed, so far along Versailles Road and Elm Tree Lane. Others are in the works near UK and at the intersection of Alumni and Tates Creek Road, according to AiM president Yvette Hurt.
Funds also apply to walking and biking paths, traffic management improvements and park-and-ride opportunities.
Other area projects to get funding include:
Southland Drive Bike/Pedestrian Improvements- $240,000.
Fiber Optic Cable for LFUCG- $320,000.
University Drive Bike Lane Extension for University of Kentucky, Facilities Management- $72,000.
Town Branch Trail Crossing for LFUCG Division of Community Development- $408,700.
Loudon Avenue Sidewalk Project for LFUCG- $240,000 .
Electronic fare-payment systems and Smart Cards for LexTran- $1,066,085.
Safe Routes to School Fayette County- $65,000.
South Limestone Streetscape Improvements- $750,000.
Legacy Trail Phase III for LFUCG Division of Community Development- $2,721,700.