sentences:  On December 21, 2010 the Federal Transit Administration granted $900,000 to further study the Nicollet and Central Avenue corridors.Based on similar federal funded streetcar programs in the USA (mainly Portland, Oregon) streetcars are rarely separated from other traffic and are not given traffic-signal priority over other vehicles (like Light rail), except in a few situations to allow the rail cars—which cannot turn as sharply as most other motor vehicles—to make some turns.In Portland, using this "mixed traffic" operation has reduced the cost of constructing each segment and—by not closing traffic lanes permanently to other traffic, as is typically done with light rail—also minimized disruption to traffic flow, and allows curbside parking to be retained, but also means slower operating speeds compared to light rail.