Federal transit funding restrictions lifted; bike & ped connections eligible

Fox 2 News is carrying a story about recent updates to the federal transit funding policy:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday rescinded Bush administration restrictions on federal transit grants so that a wider range of projects will be eligible and local transit systems will receive money faster.
LaHood told a conference of transportation officials and researchers that the Obama administration wants greater flexibility to help pay for bus, rail and other transit projects that could provide an economic boost, benefit the environment or improve the "livability" of communities. . . . 

Trolleys, inner city buses, and bike and pedestrian projects are some types of projects that improve the ability of people to move around cities that will now be eligible for grants even though they don't necessarily shorten the time of long commutes, he said.

The significance of this is that creating bike/ped accessibility to transit stops and stations is often a key ingredient in encouraging people to use them.  

A common sight in Missouri is a bus stop along a major, busy street with no sidewalk leading to or from it.

If there is a sidewalk, often there is no 'pad' for pedestrians to wait for the bus or cross the grassy median from the sidewalk to the bus door.

This doesn't sound like much of an issue until you have to walk through the mud to get to the bus, or until it completely restricts access to transit by someone with a disability--who needs access to transit services more than anyone.