City of Dothan Awarded Transportation for America Grant

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Jul 21 2017 3:00 PM

DOTHAN: Transportation for America is pleased to announce the selection of three communities to receive $50,000 creative place making grants through its Cultural Corridor Consortium

program.  Grant winners, Dothan, AL; Los Angeles, CA; and Indianapolis, IN; all propose to apply artistic and cultural practices to shape transportation investments for building social capital, supporting local businesses, and celebrating each City’s unique characteristics. These three new projects are made possible by a generous grant from the Kresge Foundation.  Additional Information may be found at: http://t4america.org/2017/07/20/announcing-winners-three-creative-placemaking-grants/.

“After reviewing more than 130 applications from cities and towns representing nearly every state in the country, the demand for new and creative approaches to transportation planning and design is clearly evident,” said Ben Stone, T4America’s director of Arts and Culture.“ I’m encouraged by the level of sophistication with which transportation professionals and artists across the country are proposing to collaborate, and I'm thrilled to work with Dothan, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles over the next year.”

Transportation for America is a nationally respected think tank located in Washington D. C. established to facilitate development of transportation policies through greater citizen participation and incorporation of “creative place making” concepts.   

Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz said, “the $50,000 grant will enable the city to further its strategic plan goals of ‘Making Dothan a More Livable City’ and ‘Improving Mobility’.” The grant will provide for a powerful outreach mechanism through the inclusion of leading-edge technology for increasing inclusiveness from key segments of the City’s population. Through enhanced participation, the city will gain powerful and reliable citizen driven ideas and opinions for development of the Highway 84 East Corridor. The grant also provides for the design of a “Cultural Continuum” of arts inspired infrastructure along the project route which extends from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, to the Houston County Courthouse in Historic Downtown Dothan.

Past cities awarded under this grant program include, Nashville, TN; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Normal, IL; Salt Lake City, UT; Clayton County, GA; and Indianapolis, IN. Those cities will be participating in Dothan’s project by providing technical assistance and best practices gained from their respective projects.  In turn, upon completion of its project, the City of Dothan will become a member of the Cultural Corridor Consortium providing technical assistance to other US cities, as a member of elite cities that lead the nation regarding best practices in transportation policy and implementation.

The Project is slated to begin in September 2017 and conclude by August 2018.

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