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COTA to mark Obama’s proclamation on transportation
The Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority is urging the community to join the rest of the United States in celebrating National Defense Transportation Day and National Transportation Week in May.
President Barack Obama declared May 16 as National Defense Transportation Day and May 11-17 as National Transportation Week.
Obama said the proclamations “underscore the importance of infrastructure to our economy, security, and way of life. This is in recognition of the importance of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, and of the men and women who build, maintain, and utilize it.”
Obama in January this year launched a competition for $600 million in transportation grants. Called the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant program, these are national grants that will provide funding for transportation via air, train, buses, boats, and etc. and infrastructure as well for transportation measures.
“Cities and states can win this funding by creating plans that both modernize transportation infrastructure and stimulate the economy,” Obama said.
COTA executive administrator Thomas Camacho said his office submitted its TIGER grant application in April.
Camacho said that COTA has no plans of doing a proclamation for the CNMI this year but will celebrate this week as Transportation Week.
“We will gather our public transporters and hopefully celebrate the President’s proclamation to recognize the CNMI’s public transportation and the people who utilize it,” Camacho said.
“But next year we will coordinate and do a proclamation by working with the Governor’s Office for our local community and education outreach or other possible activities. Hopefully by next year this will be in line with our transit system,” he said.
