DATE: May 7, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Accept and Appropriate $250,000 in One Bay Area Grant Program Funds from Alameda County Transportation Commission for the Development of a Community Based Transportation Plan, Project 06940
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to accept and appropriate $250,000 from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to develop Haywards first Community Based Transportation Plan for areas that have been identified by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as Equity Priority Communities.
SUMMARY
In January, City Staff applied for the 2022-2026 funding cycle to improve access and mobility for historically underserved and systemically marginalized groups, including people with low incomes, communities of color, and residents of Equity Priority Communities (EPC). This regional program requires the engagement of residents and community organizations in conducting the analysis and shaping Community Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) recommendations. The Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) Programs and Projects Committee (PPC) recommended approval of the allocation of funds on April 8, 2024. The ACTC Commission approved the allocation of funds on April 25, 2024.
BACKGROUND
The CBTP program was launched in 2002 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to identify transportation challenges in equity communities around the region and strategies to overcome them. The CBTP program has been funded by the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG3) program, which comes from Federal funds. MTC awards CBTP funding to county transportation agencies (CTAs) to administer funding for and development of these community plans on MTC’s behalf. These funds come to CTAs periodically, most recently tied to MTC’s cycles of the OBAG program, which is comprised of federal transportation funding. ACTC oversees the distribution of funds for CBTPs in Alameda County.
A CBTP is a strategic document that outlines transportation goals, priorities, and strategies tailored to the unique needs of a community. It involves extensive community engagement to gather input from residents and stakeholders. The objective is to improve transportation accessibility, safety, and sustainability while addressing local concerns in an equitable way. CBTPs consider all transportation modes, including walking, biking, public transit, and others to create a comprehensive and integrated transportation network effectively serving community needs.
The goals of the CBTP are consistent with Hayward’s progressive stance on social equity. For example, Equity is a key pillar of the Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP established equity guardrails as the foundation for the entire greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy. CBTP program guidelines are congruent with the equity guardrails and commitment to prioritize underserved communities. The completion of this CBTP will add to the City’s track record of building a culture of equity that ensures the needs of all residents are met, taking into consideration past inequities and injustices. Through listening, learning and informed recommendations for overcoming transportation barriers in our most vulnerable communities, this planning program contributes to the City’s commitment to provide “equitable services that improve the lives of all residents” as stated in the 2024-2025 Strategic Roadmap.
MTC has defined EPCs throughout the region to direct funds to the areas with the highest equity need. EPCs are communities that have a high concentration of both and low-income households or that have a high concentration of other factors including people with disabilities, seniors, and/or cost-burdened renters. As shown in MTC’s Race and Equity Action Plan, Central Alameda County equity communities are disproportionately burdened by transportation outcomes in safety and health, including exposure to heavy traffic and diesel trucks, and adverse public health outcomes as indicated by high prevalence of serious heart and lung disease and a high density of traffic collision and fatalities.
Within the City of Hayward, there are 13 census tracks that qualify as EPCs and these communities have some of the highest shares of low-income and people of color, single parent families, and limited English proficiency in the region (Attachment III).
DISCUSSION
MTC has specific guidelines for how to use CBTP planning funds. CBTPs at their highest level are venues for communities to directly communicate with transportation officials on transportation needs, develop strategies to address these needs, and create a clear implementation pathway for community-driven recommendations. The guidelines require working with established community groups in the form of a steering committee to guide the recommendations. In administering the program, MTC’s guidelines encourage CTAs to prioritize CBTPs for areas that do not currently have a plan, where a CBTP is more than five years old, or areas that have the highest concentration of low-income residents.
ACTC last completed a countywide CBTP in 2020 that formed the basis for community-identifies priorities for low-income communities and communities of color in the 2020 Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP).
ACTC staff recommended that the City of Hayward develops its own CBTP due to the unique set of transportation priorities, including established CAP GHG reduction measures, actions, and equitable community goals that may be different from other municipalities in the County. A City-focused CBTP also enables more robust and comprehensive engagement with EPCs in the City.
Hayward will develop its first CBTP for all areas that have been identified as an EPC. The CBTP will seek to engage residents of EPCs to develop a deep understanding of community concerns and ideas to enhance access and circulation. Community feedback will help inform ongoing and future multimodal transportation planning in the City and will include coordination with AC Transit and BART. In particular, the City of Hayward’s CBTP will inform the implementation of the Vision Zero by 2050 initiative and the Local Road Safety Plan, including the upcoming Speed Management Plan and the High Injury Network Safety Plan.
Consistent with MTC’s guidelines to prioritize areas that do not have current or recent plans. Hayward is the ideal location given that it does not have a CBTP and has a high equity need.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Residents, employers and employees in the City will benefit from the funding received through identification of transportation challenges and strategies to overcome them in equity priority communities around the City. Identifying and overcoming transportation challenges will support economic vitality by making it safer for residents to walk and ride bikes, reducing economic losses from crashes. Additional benefits can include reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which are related to negative health and environmental consequences.
The CBTP will also make the City of Hayward more competitive for future Grant Funding opportunities.
FISCAL IMPACT
The CBTP is funded by ACTC OBAG3 funds for $250,000 and will be received in the Transportation System Improvement Fund (Fund 460). There is no local funding match required for this grant, so there is no direct fiscal impact on the City’s General Fund related to this project. ACTC receives and distributes OBAG-3 funds received from the MTC.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item supports the Strategic Priority to Confront Climate Crisis & Champion Environmental Justice. This item specifically relates to the following Project:
Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Dependency on Fossil Fuels
Project C1: Implement Year 1 Programs from the adopted GHG Roadmap (CAP) CAP Action
T-1.4: Prioritize active transportation and mobility projects in historically under-invested neighborhoods. CAP pillar Equity
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
Upon Completion of the CBTP an implementation plan will be produced complete with a prioritized list of initiatives, projects and/or programs. This CBTP deliverable will contain the associated cost for each recommendation. The implementation plan will include potential funding sources and time frames for recommendations aimed at increasing active transportation, safety and micromobility consistent with GHG reduction goals.
PUBLIC CONTACT
No public contact has been made related to this agenda item.
NEXT STEPS
If Council approves this request, the City Manager will enter into a funding agreement with ACTC for a total amount of $250,000 OBAG-3 funds. Once the funding agreement is executed, OBAG-3 funds will be available to reimburse project costs.
Prepared by: Fred Clay, Executive Fellow
Byron Tang, Senior Transportation Engineer
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works Approved by:
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Dustin Claussen, Interim City Manager