WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and U.S. Congressman David Trone (all D-Md) announced $485,000 for the City of Frederick’s Golden Mile Multimodal Connection Planning Project. The funding will help the city design safe pedestrian and bicycle connections between the residential and commercial areas that are divided by West Patrick Street/U.S. Route 40 in Frederick’s Golden Mile Corridor.
The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and provided through the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Grant Program, which the lawmakers worked to create and fund through the Inflation Reduction Act. This grant is complemented by a $380,000 direct federal investment that the federal lawmakers secured for the City of Frederick and the Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Reconnecting West Patrick Planning Project through the recently enacted fiscal year 2024 appropriations package. That funding will be used to create preliminary plans for the reconfiguration of the West Patrick Street, in order to improve equitable access to downtown for disadvantaged communities.
“Frederick’s Golden Mile Corridor is a major gateway to the city, and it needs infrastructure that allows multimodal access for the rapidly growing community. This federal investment will support critical improvements along US Route 40 that create safer pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians, improve connectivity and accessibility and help bolster economic development that benefits residents, businesses and visitors,” said Senator Cardin. “It is just another example of how President Biden’s investment in community-driven transportation projects continues to deliver meaningful improvements for communities throughout Maryland and across the country.”
“West Patrick Street on Frederick’s Golden Mile was designed to handle heavy vehicle traffic, but providing for pedestrian and cyclist safety has fallen behind. That’s why we worked to deliver these federal funds to begin the planning process for a safer, more accessible Golden Mile Corridor. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re investing in projects like this across our state and our country to improve infrastructure for our communities,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“Dollar by dollar, project by project, the Inflation Reduction Act is changing Marylanders’ lives for the better – and I was proud to vote for it. This investment will be a gamechanger for Frederick’s Golden Mile Corridor, driving increased economic activity and improving public safety in the community,” said Congressman Trone. “This is what Team Maryland is all about, and I look forward to working with our local, state, and federal leaders to continue these investments and build a better tomorrow for our state.”
“We are thankful to our federal congressional delegation for securing this funding for The City of Frederick and our residents,” said Mayor Michael O’Connor. “These projects represent an exciting opportunity to improve mobility and safety on the west side of our city, bringing us closer to our vision of a more connected and accessible community. This investment will not only enhance the quality of life for our residents but also support the ongoing redevelopment efforts along the Golden Mile.”
“We’re proud to support Frederick County in their efforts to enhance safety for vulnerable road users and reconnect our communities,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “Thanks to Maryland’s federal delegation, this funding will help upgrade pedestrian and bicycle access at the US-15 and West Patrick Street interchange and will further support the state’s goal to rapidly reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries.”
West Patrick Street from U.S. 15 to Waverly Drive is Frederick’s busiest surface road, accommodating over 48,000 cars per day. With its current design prioritizing passenger vehicle traffic, it is difficult and unsafe to travel on foot or by bicycle, while public transit busses move slowly with stops between multiple retail centers. As part of this project, the City of Frederick will engage surrounding neighborhoods to plan for people-centric crossing improvements that enable safe and efficient access within and through Golden Mile.
This award is one of six federal grants totaling more than $11 million that the lawmakers are announcing for Maryland to address infrastructure that has divided communities in our state. The awards are funded by both the NAE Program and DOT’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Program – an initiative the lawmakers fought successfully to include in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The RCP provisions in the infrastructure law were modeled off of legislation authored by Senator Van Hollen and introduced as a bill by Senator Van Hollen and Senator Cardin. Cardin championed the legislation in his role as the Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the Senate, and led in part by Congressman Trone in the House.
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