New directive on DOT spending takes community birth and marriage rates into account (NPR)
The Trump administration is changing how the Department of Transportation gives out money for highways, airports and public transit. It’s prioritizing communities with high birth and marriage rates. Here’s Steve Harrison from member station WFAE.
STEVE HARRISON, BYLINE: Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. To help people get around, it wants to expand its transit system, building new rail lines. It’s counting on billions in federal grants.
HARRISON: Transit advocate Shannon Binns with Sustain Charlotte is worried the city could lose out under the new rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation. That’s because Charlotte has a higher-than-average birth rate, but its marriage rate is lower than the national average.
SHANNON BINNS: I think, you know, it’s safe to say probably most people who saw that were surprised because that’s just so different than what we’ve ever seen as the priority for U.S. DOT.