U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, plans to speak in Kent at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Central Gateway Transit Center.

Congressman Tim Ryan, Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala and PARTA General Manager John Drew will tour the construction site of Kent Central Gateway to highlight the impact of the Obama Administration’s investments in public transportation in Ohio.

On February 17, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation chose the Kent Central Gateway as a recipient of a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant. More than 1,400 applications totaling almost $60 billion were submitted for TIGER grants throughout the country. The multimodal center was one of two transportation projects in Ohio and among 51 nationwide that received $1.5 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation. PARTA plans on opening the parking deck this month with the entire project completed by July 2013.

De-de Mulligan will, CMP of Mulligan Management Group, plans to attend the event as the meeting planner. She said she estimates 40 members of the community and press will attend. She said the Kent Central Gateway multimodal transit center is unique in that it has space for bikes, 365 parking spaces and a bus bay. She said people without vehicles will be able to take a bus from Kent Central Gateway to Akron or Cleveland.

Arielle Campanalie is the transportation reporter for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact Arielle Campanalie at [email protected] .