Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) recently introduced legislation which would provide grants to small- and medium-size cities on a competitive basis for transportation.
The bill, the Smart Technology for Resilient, Efficient, Economic and Reliable Transportation in Cities and Communities Act (STREET Act), expands the Department of Transportation’s Smart Cities Challenge program.
Grants of up to $100 million would be awarded every year for a five-year period.
Also under the bill, the Government Accountability Office would be required to develop a Smart City and Community Resource Guide. The guide would be a study on ways to fund community projects and smart cities.
“Innovative technologies can affect real change in our daily lives,” Comstock said. “The success of the Department of Transportation Smart Cities Challenge turned an initial investment of $40 million into additional $500 million in public and private funding to advance transportation technologies that help ease congestion and put these communities on a path toward transportation innovation that will ultimately grow the economy. The STREET Act establishes a follow-up program to the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart Cities challenge by authorizing $100 million a year for a period of five years so that small and medium-sized cities can think outside the box for their transportation needs.”