[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: City of Columbia wins competitive award to help with parking

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Leah Christian
lcchrist at gocolumbiamo.com
573-441-5515
or
Clare Healy
assistance at smartgrowthamerica.org
202-207-3355 x143


City of Columbia wins competitive award to help with parking

COLUMBIA, MO (December 11, 2014) - Columbia’s work to make downtown a more walkable, attractive destination has helped the city win a national competitive award.

Smart Growth America—a national nonprofit that advocates for better cities, towns and neighborhoods—announced today that Columbia is among 14 winning communities that will receive a free technical assistance workshop in 2015. Through the program, Columbia will receive hands-on assistance from national experts on smart growth parking audits.

"Downtown parking has become an increasingly important issue in recent years," said Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas who, along with colleagues Michael Trapp (Ward 2) and Barbara Hoppe (Ward 6), helped city staff develop Columbia's proposal.  "We were chosen by Smart Growth America in a very competitive process because of our engagement on alternative transportation solutions. I am now looking forward to bringing stakeholders together to learn about modern approaches to parking management and multimodalism, and developing a consensus for policies that support a safe, accessible and economically-vibrant downtown District."

“This award is a testament to the hard work Columbia has already done,” said Roger Millar, vice president of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute. “Our program was more competitive this year than ever before, and Columbia stood out as a community doing great work. We’re excited to be able to help you continue on to the next stage of this work.”

The workshops offered through Smart Growth America’s program focus on a range of issues, including transit-oriented development, Complete Streets, smart growth zoning, economic development and fiscal health, parking management and regional planning for small communities, among other topics.

Smart Growth America received over 120 applications for technical assistance from 35 states for its 2015 workshops. The full list of winning communities includes: Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization, Wyo.; City of Bentonville, Ark.; City of Charlottesville, Va.; City of Columbia, Mo.; City of Fort Pierre, S.D.; City of Franklin, Tenn.; City of Indianapolis, Ind.; City of Knoxville, Tenn.; City of Sanford, Fla.; City of SeaTac, Wash.; City of Spokane, Wash.; Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, Tenn.; Macon-Bibb County, Ga.; and Tucker County Planning Commission, W.Va.

About Smart Growth America’s free technical assistance

Smart Growth America offers 12 types of technical assistance workshops that help communities build stronger local economies, protect the environment, preserve sense of place and improve overall quality of life. The technical assistance is funded through a grant to Smart Growth America from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Through the program, Smart Growth America has already provided free assistance to over 50 communities across the United States, from Hawaii to Maine.

Smart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transportation or that productive farms remain a part of communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. For additional information, visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.



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