Glacier National Park receives $250,000 transportation federal grant

by Bigfork Eagle
| February 27, 2013 4:00 AM

Glacier National Park will receive a $250,000 grant as part of the Federal Transit Administration’s Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks program.

The grant is one of 29 totaling $12.5 million that were awarded last week. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the announcement, along with FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, at the park’s Apgar Transit Center.

“In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama called on us to upgrade our nation’s transportation infrastructure to help grow our economy and improve energy efficiency,” Secretary LaHood said. “Improving access to modern transit services in Glacier National Park and other scenic parklands around the country will help us preserve these national treasures for future generations.”

The park’s grant will help to replace aging passenger buses with two new American-made vehicles that operate with greater safety, comfort, and efficiency. The new vehicles will provide free shuttle service along the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road, and will help to alleviate parking shortages at Apgar Village and other sites within the park. The park receives nearly 35,000 daily visitors during the peak summer season.

“Visitors to Glacier National Park should be able to explore this stunning area without getting stuck in traffic or breathing harmful emissions,” Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff said. “By modernizing transit in our parks, we’re making it easier for people to get around, while ensuring that these areas are sustainable for years to come.”

The funds announced last week are part of $80 million distributed to 134 Transit in the Parks projects across the country over the last three years. This grant program was not reauthorized under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act which was passed by Congress last year.

Going forward, public transportation projects serving national parks and other federal lands remain eligible for funding under the Federal Lands Transportation Program administered by the Federal Highway Administration.