BEND, OR -- The Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization will apply for $1.2 million from the federal government’s Carbon Reduction funding program.

ODOT is in charge of awarding grants for transportation solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

MPO manager Tyler Deke says they will get an overview of the program, application process, and projects that could meet ODOT requirements at a meeting next week. “Things they [ODOT) will be looking for are the climate benefits of the projects in terms of the projects ability to reduce carbon emissions, and then for local support, equity, opportunities and innovations, and the project readiness.”

As part of the MPO, the City of Bend, Deschutes County, and Cascades East Transit, and other jurisdictions, are looking at an array of projects that would be the best use of the grant money.

“The city of Bend right now is working on a pedestrian implementation plan. And so, if the funding were to go towards sidewalk construction it would go quite a way, but if it goes toward a bigger transit type of project it would go less far in the sense that it would only go to implementing a couple of those types of projects,” explains Deke adding that every idea is on the table at this initial gathering, “What we want to do is just meet with all of our partners and see what types of projects they could potentially implement within the timeline of these funds being available over the next 2 or 3 years. And then having a discussion with everybody as to how to go about prioritizing our application from this area.”

The public meeting is Wednesday morning, January 4th at Bend City Hall.