Though a freeze on federal grants is itself frozen for now, it’s safe to say that the landscape has changed, though the need for help funding infrastructure has not. In a moment indicative of this change, City Council moved forward with a grant request from the U.S. Department of Transportation that could award $25 million to the Bergstrom Spur Trails to Transit project, with one key difference. “Delete the words ‘Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity’ and add the words ‘Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development,” said Mayor Kirk Watson, striking the former name of the discretionary grant program from the resolution.
Elizabeth Pagano is the editor of the Austin Monitor. More by Elizabeth Pagano