May 27, 2025
Community Development
DATE: May 27, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Beatriz Guerrero, Transformative Climate Communities
(TCC) Program Coordinator
Matias Eusterbrock, TCC Associate Administrative
Analyst
Subject:
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Capital
Grant Agreement and sole-source contract with Trust for Public Land.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The $150,000 MTC Capital Grant from the Active Transportation Capital Design Technical Assistance
Program will fund additional design work for pedestrian safety measures, San Francisco Bay Trail connections,
and coordination with railroad agencies related to the
Richmond Wellness Trail Phase 2 project, a project of the City’s Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Round
4 Implementation Grant.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
June 21, 2022, October 3, 2023, December 20, 2022,
June 21, 2022, August 23, 2023, September 19, 2023,
December 5, 2023, November 19, 2024, April 22, 2025
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City applied for a Capital Grant through the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Active
Transportation Capital Design Technical Assistance
Program and was awarded $150,000. These funds will
support additional design work for enhanced pedestrian
safety measures, Bay Trail connections, and railroad
coordination for the final plans and specifications for the Richmond Wellness Trail Phase 2 project. Given that
Trust for Public Land is the project lead for the Richmond Wellness Trail Phase 2, and one of the organizations
listed in City Council Resolution No. 122-24, City staff is AGENDA
REPORT
May 27, 2025
seeking City Council approval of a sole-source contract with Trust for Public Land in the amount of $150,000 to complete the grant-funded design work related to the
Richmond Wellness Trail Phase 2 project.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: ADOPT a resolution authorizing the city manager or their designee to ACCEPT and APPROPRIATE a $150,000
Capital Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) and APPROVE a sole-source
contract with Trust for Public Land in the amount of
$150,000 to complete design work and outreach related
to the Richmond Wellness Trail Phase 2, with a term
beginning May 27, 2025, through June 30, 2027 to be
funded by an MTC Capital Grant - Community
Development Department (Lina Velasco/Beatriz Guerrero
Auna 510-685-5450).
DISCUSSION:
On October 27, 2022, Richmond’s application was awarded a $35 million TCC Round 4 Implementation Grant by the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC). Richmond’s project is titled Richmond Rising: Healthy, Connected, and Climate Strong, and focuses on projects serving the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado neighborhoods. One of the ten key projects is the Richmond Wellness Trail, Phase 2: walking and biking improvements to connect with Phase 1 connecting the Richmond BART and central neighborhoods with the waterfront and ferry terminal. – TPL is the subproject lead.
Richmond Wellness Trail, Phase 2 Project
The Richmond Wellness Trail (RWT) is a community-driven initiative designed to enhance bicycle and pedestrian connectivity while incorporating significant green infrastructure in the City of Richmond, California, as identified in the City’s Resilience Roadmap (2019) and Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan (2023). The project links the City’s downtown with natural and historic waterfront features, provides safe multimodal access from the Richmond BART/Amtrak station to downtown San Francisco via the Richmond Ferry Terminal, and ensures critical access to community urban green space amenities and the San Francisco Bay Trail. RWT promotes health and resilience and primarily benefits residents of three low-income neighborhoods: Santa Fe, Coronado, and Iron Triangle.
The trail will include Class IV separated cycle tracks, protected from traffic by striping or stormwater planters, as well as a Class III section. Pedestrian improvements include urban greening, wayfinding signage, and community-based interpretive features. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is leading the implementation of the RWT, in partnership with the City. Their work include design, outreach, and construction management.
Phase 1 of the trail was completed in 2022; Phase 2 on Marina Way South is currently May 27, 2025
in design development. Phase 2 was awarded approximately $4.8 million of the $35 million TCC grant.
Through the design development, TPL and the project design team identified the need for additional resources to ensure high quality design, community engagement, and necessary documentation for trail, railroad, and development connections. The City applied for an MTC Capital Grant to supplement existing Phase 2 funding with an additional $150,000 for enhanced pedestrian safety design, Bay Trail connections, railroad agency coordination, and TPL project management.
MTC Capital Grants Program
In September 2024, MTC and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) released a call for projects seeking capital grant funding for programs which help implement the four Climate Program strategies identified in the Plan Bay Area 2050 (PBA 2050):
Parking Management (e.g., parking meters, sensors and software), Regional Mobility Hubs (e.g., environmental review, design, and construction of shelters, kiosks, signage, lighting, and other active transportation access improvements), Transportation Electrification (e.g., purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging hubs), and Active Transportation Capital Design Technical Assistance. In December 2024, the City and TPL submitted an application for $150,000 to supplement existing RWT Phase 2 design and outreach funding. In March 2025, the MTC Planning Committee announced that the City of Richmond was awarded a $150,000 Active Transportation Capital Design Technical Assistance Grant.
CONCLUSION:
City staff is recommending the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager or their designee(s) to accept and appropriate a $150,000 Capital Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and approve a sole-source contract with Trust for Public Land in the amount of $150,000 to do enhanced design of pedestrian safety measures, Bay Trail connections, railroad agency coordination, and TPL project management related to the Phase 2 of the Richmond Wellness Trail.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – MTC Capital Grant Award
Attachment 2 – Resolution
Attachment 3 – MTC Agreement
Attachment 4 – Contract Trust for Public Land
Attachment 5 – Sole Source Contract with TPL