Item #07
Date: September 1, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jim Schaad, City Manager
Subject: Approval of Application for a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant for Preliminary Development of the 14th Street Bicycle and Pedestrian Railroad Undercrossing; Approval of Task Order No. 2 with Peterson Consulting Advantage; Increase in the Consulting Agreement; and Amendment of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget Recommendation:
Pass a Motion to adopt Resolution No. 2026-XX to: 1) authorize submission of a Caltrans FY 2027-28 Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant application for up to $700,000 for preliminary development of the 14th Street bicycle and pedestrian railroad undercrossing; 2) acknowledge that a maximum grant request would require an estimated cash local match of approximately $90,700, with no commitment or appropriation of the match at this time; 3) authorize the City Manager or designee to execute and submit the application and related documents; 4) approve Peterson Consulting Advantage Task Order No. 2 for grant preparation in an amount not to exceed $11,000 and authorize the City Manager to execute it, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney; 5) authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment increasing the agreement's total not-to-exceed amount from $25,000 to $50,000, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney; and 6) amend the FY 2026-27 adopted budget to appropriate an additional $25,000 for services under the agreement. Acceptance of any grant award, execution of a grant agreement, and commitment and appropriation of the local match will return to the City Council for separate consideration and will be contingent upon funding availability at that time.
Rationale for Recommendation:
The proposed grant would advance the 14th Street tunnel from the City's existing technical work toward a defined, community-supported, and implementable concept. The work is intended to resolve key railroad, right-of-way, utility, geotechnical, drainage, accessibility, environmental-constraint, regulatory-pathway, cost, and delivery questions and to develop conceptual design drawings up to the 30 percent level. The resulting package would position the City to pursue future funding for environmental review, final design, and construction, including a potential future Active Transportation Program application.
The application is due October 9, 2026. Peterson Consulting Advantage has the specialized grant development experience and agency relationships needed to prepare the application within the available timeframe. Its proposed fee will not exceed $11,000.
Item #07
Background:
The City has been evaluating a bicycle and pedestrian undercrossing beneath the Union Pacific Railroad near 14th and B Streets. The railroad corridor is a significant barrier to east-west walking and bicycling access. A grade-separated connection would improve access between neighborhoods and community destinations while avoiding an at-grade railroad crossing.
Delve Underground previously prepared a technical memorandum evaluating potential tunnel concepts.
That work provides a useful starting point, but additional investigation, coordination, public input, and conceptual design are needed before the City can select and advance a preferred alternative.
Caltrans released the Fiscal Year 2027-28 Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant call for applications on August 18, 2026. Sustainable Communities Competitive grants fund local and regional multimodal transportation planning, with a maximum award of $700,000. The required local match is 11.47 percent of total project cost. A $700,000 request would support a total project budget of approximately $790,700, including a local match of approximately $90,700.
Discussion & Analysis
The application would be developed to take the project as far as reasonably possible toward a 30 percent concept, rather than repeat the earlier feasibility work. The proposed grant-funded planning scope is expected to include:
• Early coordination with Union Pacific Railroad and identification of railroad requirements; • Community and stakeholder engagement, including coordination with Caltrans, SACOG, CPUC, Union Pacific Railroad, and affected property and utility interests; • Survey and base mapping, right-of-way research, and utility investigation; • Geotechnical and groundwater investigation needed to support conceptual alternatives, subject to confirmation of grant eligibility;
• Refinement of the Delve alternatives and selection of a preferred concept; • Conceptual design up to the 30 percent level, including tunnel and portal geometry, ADA-accessible approaches, structural concepts, drainage and pumping, lighting and security, and bicycle and pedestrian connections;
• Railroad protection requirements, staging, constructability, and maintenance considerations; • Environmental constraints and regulatory-pathway planning, including identification of the anticipated CEQA/NEPA pathway, without preparation of environmental documents that are ineligible under the grant;
• Identification of CPUC and Union Pacific Railroad approval requirements; • An updated quantity-based cost estimate, project schedule, risk assessment, and project delivery strategy; and
• A funding and implementation plan describing the steps from conceptual design through environmental review, final design, and construction, with emphasis on positioning the project for future Active Transportation Program or other capital funding.
The grant guide expressly allows up to 30 percent design or conceptual drawings, data gathering and analysis, planning consultant services, and public engagement. It excludes engineering plans and specifications, formal environmental documents normally required under CEQA or NEPA, construction, and project implementation. The final scope and budget will therefore be coordinated with Caltrans District 3 Item #07
to confirm eligibility, particularly for survey, utility, geotechnical, and groundwater work, and will be adjusted as necessary before submission.
Peterson Consulting Advantage's Task Order No. 2 includes development of the scope, budget, and schedule; preparation of the full application; coordination with SACOG, Caltrans, and other agencies; community and stakeholder outreach; letters of support; and identification of future construction funding opportunities. The proposed not-to-exceed fee is $11,000 and is within the previously approved on-call professional services agreement.
Fiscal Analysis:
Preparation of the grant application will cost an amount not to exceed $11,000 under Task Order No. 2 with Peterson Consulting Advantage. This amount is within the existing $25,000 not-to-exceed on-call agreement and related budget authority previously approved by the City Council. Staff also requests approval to increase the agreement’s total not-to-exceed amount from $25,000 to $50,000 and amend the FY 2026–27 budget to appropriate an additional $25,000 for services under the agreement.
If the City requests and receives the maximum $700,000 grant, the required 11.47 percent local match would be approximately $90,700, producing a total planning project budget of approximately $790,700.
The City currently anticipates that the local match would be provided in cash. No commitment or appropriation of the match is requested at this time.
Caltrans is expected to announce grant awards in spring 2027, with funded project activities anticipated to begin in summer or fall 2027, during FY 2027-28. If awarded, staff will return to the City Council to consider acceptance of the grant, execution of the grant agreement, and appropriation of the grant proceeds and required cash match. Those actions will be contingent upon funding availability at that time.
Environmental Review:
The proposed action authorizes preparation and submission of an application for funding of planning, technical investigation, environmental constraints and regulatory-pathway planning, and conceptual design activities. It does not approve a final project or authorize construction. Accordingly, the action is not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15378(b)(4) and (5). To the extent the funded work constitutes a feasibility or planning study for possible future action, it is statutorily exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15262. Environmental factors will be considered during the planning process, and any environmental review required for approval and construction of the undercrossing will be completed before the City commits to the project.
Legal Review:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved as to form this staff report and Peterson Consulting Advantage Task Order No. 2.
Alignment with City Council Goal(s):
This action supports Goal #3 - Improve Infrastructure and Goal #4 - Enhance Public Safety by advancing a safer active transportation connection and positioning the City to compete for future capital funding.
Attachments:
1) Resolution 2026-XX
2) Peterson Consulting Advantage Proposal - Task Order No. 2