Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Letter of Support for SCTA 2022 TIRCP Application Date: February 22, 2022
Written by: Damien O'Bid, City Manager
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council review the attached template letter and authorize the Mayor by motion to sign on behalf of the City.
Background
The Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) is submitting a $25M grant application to the State for the latest round of Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Projects (TIRCP) funds. It is intended to pull together a comprehensive grant proposal with three local bus operators – Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, and Petaluma – as well as SMART, and transit partners to the north, Mendocino Transit Authority.
Analysis/Discussion
The TIRCP program is a perfect fit for the collaborative approach to improving transit in our region. Specifically, SCTA seeks to fund:
• Procurement of 30 zero-emission buses and associated charging infrastructure. • Passenger amenities for Petaluma Transit.
• Construction of the SMART Petaluma North commuter rail station. • Network integration planning and implementation to build on existing integration efforts between Petaluma Transit, Santa Rosa CityBus, Sonoma County Transit, and to improve connections to SMART, the Mendocino Transit Authority, and other transit operators within Sonoma County.
Together this project will reduce air pollution, GHG emissions, and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) while improving options for mode shift to bus transit and commuter rail. This is essential if we are to meet the goals of SCTA’s 2050 Comprehensive Transportation Plan and our climate goal of carbon neutral by 2030.
Financial Considerations
Not applicable.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
Attachments:
Sample Letter of Support for SCTA 2022 TIRCP Application (DOCX)