At its meeting today, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) voted unanimously to approve funding for nine technical assistance projects that will promote access to transit, support better pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and foster transit-oriented development throughout the region.

The projects in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia are being funded under the TPB’s Transportation/Land-Use Connections (TLC) Program, which provides technical assistance to jurisdictions throughout the region. Since its launch in 2006, the TLC program has provided over $2.3 million in funding 74 projects.

The projects approved today reflect the diversity of planning programs that the TLC Program funds. In the District of Columbia, a plan to remove impermeable pavement and replace it with environmentally friendly materials, and to provide underground stormwater removal improvements, will vastly improve the resiliency and life span of the Van Ness/UDC Metro Station area and infrastructure. A study to implement green and complete streets for the pedestrian rich City of College Park will improve safety, comfort, and access to the city’s drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Access to East Falls Church Station, home to the last transfer point between the Orange Line and soon to be opened Silver Line, will be retrofitted for pedestrian and bicycle access under this program, among other projects approved by the TPB.

These technical assistance projects are crucial for moving ideas into plans and plans into future implementation. In addition to funding design and planning studies, the TLC program fosters peer exchange so that the region’s jurisdictions can learn from each other about best practices and also supports small-scale capital improvements through the federally funded Transportation Alternatives Program.

A panel of experts recommended the selected projects from a pool of applications submitted by jurisdictions throughout the region. The panel included representatives from the American Institute of Architects, American Society of Civil Engineers, the Transportation Research Board, and the National Capital Region Planning Commission.