A $54.5 million Federal Transit Administration grant to the city of Fort Collins is a big boost for local transportation improvements and a huge leap toward creating a regionwide bus rapid-transit system.
The grant covers a big chunk of the planned $87 million revamp of the Mason Street corridor, a major north-south connector in Fort Collins. Work will start immediately to convert Mason Street to two-way traffic, officials say.
By 2014, city officials say, bus riders will be able to travel to the south end of town from the intersection of Mason and LaPorte Avenue on the north end of Fort Collins in less than 20 minutes on energy-efficient buses.
People also will be able to ride a bike or jog the same corridor thanks to an underpass at Troutman Parkway and an overpass near the city’s Spring Creek Trail.
The grant announced Monday caps a decade-long effort to redo Mason Street to add transit options and to jump-start economic development, City Manager Darin Atteberry said.
“This is a game-changer for Fort Collins,” Atteberry said. “This is not just a bus corridor. That is a legacy project for generations of residents.”
Fort Collins — which will build 14 stops and transit stations along the 5½-mile corridor — hopes to one day link with the FLEX express bus system that connects the city with Loveland, Berthoud and Longmont.
But the FLEX service faces a possible shutdown in a year when a federal transit grant that covers 80 percent of its operating budget runs out, Fort Collins spokeswoman Claire Thomas said.
The cities along the FLEX route may be asked to make up the $800,000 annual funding gap.
Colorado Springs, meanwhile, is considering cutting off funding for the Front Range Express service, which provides FREX commuter bus service to Denver.
Still, Fort Collins is moving ahead with its rapid-transit vision, Thomas said.
“This system is meant to link up to any transportation options that come available through the years,” she said. “It all takes time, and someone has to take the first step.”
The Fort Collins bus service — called MAX Bus Rapid Transit — will allow families to spend less time in traffic and cut what they have to pay at the gas pump, officials said.
Once finished, MAX BRT will help spawn mixed-use and transit-oriented developments that avoid sprawl and enhance sustainability and livability, said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, who joined city officials Monday to sign a deal to start MAX.
“This is a great example of modern bus rapid transit done right, offering thousands of riders a convenient, efficient ride from Cherry Street on the north end to the new South Transit Center,” Rogoff said.
In addition to the agreement signed Monday, the FTA is making almost $3.9 million available for the project through its bus and bus-facilities grant program. Those funds supplement about $11 million awarded in 2010 for project planning and related work, bringing the total federal commitment to the Fort Collins project to about $69.4 million, 80 percent of the project.
Fort Collins, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State University and the Downtown Development Authority are chipping in the remaining funds.
CSU will promote MAX BRT as a way for students to cut back on their driving.
“There are about 6,000 students staying on campus, and about half of them have cars,” said CSU vice president for operations Amy Parsons. “We will be encouraging them to leave their cars at home.”
Crews will begin closing segments of Mason next month, and parking will be limited until mid-July, officials said.
Monte Whaley: mwhaley@denverpost.com, 720-929-0907 or
