City Council Report
915 I Street, 1st Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2022-01001 May 31, 2022
Title: Applications for the Active Transportation Program (ATP)
Location: Districts 3, 4, and 5
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution approving the submission of grant applications to the State and Regional Active Transportation Program (Cycle 6) for the following projects: 1) Envision Broadway in Oak Park; 2) Franklin Boulevard Complete Streets Phase 3; and 3) Low Stress Bikeways to Support the Urban Core.
Contact: Jesse Gothan, Supervising Engineer, (916) 808-6897, [email protected]; Ofelia Avalos, Engineering Services Manager, (916) 808-5054, [email protected], Department of Public Works
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The California Transportation Commission (CTC) announced a call for projects statewide to apply for funding through Cycle 6 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP).
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) will also be issuing a call for projects for the six-county region later this year with applications. City staff has evaluated potential projects based on ATP guidelines and has identified four candidate projects for the programs.
Applications are due for the Statewide program on or before June 15, 2022, and for the regional program in the Fall of 2022.
The grant requires that projects have completed certain levels of community engagement and certainty that they will be ready for construction in specific years. As a result, not all planned active transportation projects are suited for this grant program without further project development.
Based on analysis of grant requirements and potential projects, City staff is recommending submission of the following projects to the state and regional programs.
Envision Broadway in Oak Park
Franklin Boulevard Complete Streets
Phase 3 Low Stress Bikeways to Support the Urban Core
Policy Considerations: The submission of the projects is consistent with the City General Plan goals of promoting safety and enhancing livability, sustainability, and economic vitality.
The recommendations in this report are in accordance with the following specific policies from the Sacramento 2035 General Plan:
M 1.2.1 Multimodal Choices - The City shall develop an integrated, multimodal transportation system that improves the attractiveness of walking, bicycling, and riding transit over time to increase travel choices and aid in achieving a more balanced transportation system and reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
M 1.2.4 Multimodal Access - The City shall facilitate the provision of multimodal access to activity centers such as commercial centers and corridors, employment centers, transit stops/stations, airports, schools, parks, recreation areas, medical centers, and tourist attractions.
M 1.3.2 Eliminate Gaps - The City shall eliminate “gaps” in roadways, bikeways, and pedestrian networks.
M 4.1.3 Community Outreach - The City shall conduct public outreach to community organizations and members of the general public in corridor planning early in the project development process to identify feasible opportunities to provide community benefits and to lessen any potential impacts of modifications to local streets and roadways.
M 4.2.2 Pedestrian and Bicycle-Friendly Streets - In areas with high levels of pedestrian activity (e.g., employment centers, residential areas, mixed-use areas, schools), the City shall ensure that all street projects support pedestrian and bicycle travel. Improvements may include narrow lanes, target speeds less than 35 miles per hour, sidewalk widths consistent with the Pedestrian Master Plan, street trees, high-visibility pedestrian crossings, and bikeways (e.g., Class II and Class III bike lanes, bicycle boulevards, separated bicycle lanes and/or parallel multi- use pathways).
M 4.2.5 Multi-Modal Corridors - Consistent with the Roadway Network and Street Typologies established in this General Plan, the City shall designate multi- modal corridors in the Central City, within and between urban centers, along major transit lines, and/or along commercial corridors appropriate for comprehensive multimodal corridor planning and targeted investment in transit, bikeway, and pedestrian path improvements if discretionary funds become available.
M 4.2.6 Identify and Fill Gaps in Complete Streets - The City shall identify streets that can be made “complete” either through a reduction in the number or width of travel lanes or through two-way conversions, with consideration for emergency vehicle operations. The City shall consider including new bikeways, sidewalks, on-street parking, and exclusive transit lanes on these streets by re-arranging and/or re-allocating how the available space within the public right of way issued.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): Submission of grant applications is not subject to the provisions of the CEQA. Under CEQA general rule 15061-B-3, CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
These actions will have no effect on the environment and are therefore not subject to CEQA review. If grant funding is awarded, appropriate CEQA review for individual projects will take place as part of project development.
Sustainability: The projects proposed for grants are consistent with the City sustainability goals by focusing on improving and optimizing transportation infrastructure and encouraging walking and bicycling.
Commission/Committee Action: On April 21, 2022, the Active Transportation Commission considered the list of recommended projects and passed a motion to recommend the projects to the City Council for approval.
Rationale for Recommendation: The granting agency requires that the City Council authorize the list of projects and that the City Manager or his designee sign the applications.
After City staff review, the proposed projects best meet the ATP criteria, City policy and programming documents.
Financial Considerations: Federal and State funding is essential for delivery of transportation projects as available local funding is limited. If the City is successful in these grant applications, local funding will be needed to pay for costs not covered by the grant (ATP funding is restricted to certain elements) and matching funds if required. This report assumes that the maximum local funding that might be required would come from the following programs:
1. Envision Broadway in Oak Park: Up to $400,000 from State and Federal Grant Match Program (T15007200)
2. Franklin Boulevard Complete Streets Phase 3 Up to $1,500,000 from State and Federal Grant Match Program (T15007200)
3. Low Stress Bikeways to Support the Urban Core: Up to $1,000,000 from State and Federal Grant Match Program (T15007200)
These commitments will require funding in the outer years of Five-Year Programs and would leave very limited funding available for other grants.
After the City receives the grant funding decisions, staff will return to create specific Capital Improvement Projects as appropriate.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): No goods or services are being procured with this action.
Background: The Active Transportation Program (ATP) was created by Senate Bill 99 (Chapter 359, Statutes of 2013) and Assembly Bill 101 (Chapter 354, Statutes of 2013) to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation. Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) (Chapter 2031, statutes of 2017) stipulates that $100,000,000 of revenues from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account will be available annually to the ATP. The ATP consolidates existing federal and state transportation programs, including the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA), and State Safe Routes to School (SR2S), into a single program with a focus to make California a national leader in active transportation.
The purpose of the ATP is to encourage an increased use of active modes of transportation, such as biking and walking by achieving the following goals:
• Increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking. • Increase the safety and mobility of non-motorized users. • Advance the active transportation efforts of regional agencies to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals.
• Enhance public health, including reduction of childhood obesity through the use of programs including, but not limited to, projects eligible for Safe Routes to School Program funding.
• Ensure that disadvantaged communities fully share in the benefits of the program. • Provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of active transportation users.
The program is divided into statewide (50%), regional (40%), and small urban/rural (10%). The statewide program is administered by the CTC and Caltrans and the regional program is administered by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Funding is programmed for fiscal years 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27.
State applications are due by June 15, 2022. Projects not funded in the statewide program can be considered in the regional program, where applications are anticipated to be due in the Fall 2022. State funding recommendations are scheduled for December 7, 2022, and regional funding recommendations are scheduled for January/February 2022.
Scoring criteria are similar between the statewide and SACOG-managed programs. As a statewide program there is more total funding so it may be possible to fund larger projects, however, the program is much more competitive, typically funding less than 10 percent of all applications. With less total funding and serving all six counties, the regional program is not able to fund larger projects. Criteria are similar but not identical. The State program provides points for projects serving disadvantaged communities while SACOG’s program does not. The State does not have a minimum local match requirement, but the SACOG program does require local match.
Given the above considerations, staff is recommending the following projects for submission for funding through the state and/or regional Active Transportation Program:
1. Envision Broadway – The Envision Broadway in Oak Park project is intended to transform a critical section of the Broadway corridor into a complete street. This project covers Broadway from State Route 99 to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; it will continue the Broadway Complete Street Project in the Central City scheduled for construction in the next year. Envision Broadway in Oak Park will create a cohesive multi-modal community street. Traffic lanes will be reduced to accommodate new bicycle facilities and improved pedestrian crossings, the project will enhance the transportation choices for residents and visitors to patronize the businesses and move around in their community. The City Council approved the Plan in March 2020.
Subsequently, the City applied for and received federal grant funding for the first phase of the project for preliminary engineering and environmental clearance. The ATP application would request funding for the final design and construction documents.
2. Franklin Boulevard Phase 3 - This request for funding the next segment of the Franklin Boulevard Complete Streets project. Phases 1 and 2 are fully funded through prior grants; Phase 3 is from 32nd Avenue to 38th Avenue. The project includes traffic calming, pedestrian, and bicycle facility improvements, designated on‐street parking where appropriate and feasible, greater street tree canopy, and more landscaping as a buffer between vehicles and pedestrians. To meet these objectives, the project will reduce the number of through travel lanes from five lanes to three lanes. The lane reduction will create the space required to accommodate a corridor configuration that will serve the needs of the community through the development of a Complete Street.
3. Urban Core – As part of the Climate and Transportation Workshop, staff presented “Seven Big 7 Ideas” which included completing the bikeway network within four miles of the urban core, including bikeway gap closures, traffic signals for bikeways crossing major streets, and traffic calming on local streets. The concept is to complete low stress connections within four miles of the center of the Grid and aim to make biking safer and more comfortable. The proposed grant application would fund a limited number of these efforts as an initial phase.
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM– APPROVAL OF THE CITY’S 2022 PROJECT GRANT APPLICATION LIST FOR THE STATE ATP CYCLE 6 AND SACOG REGIONAL
CALL FOR PROJECTS
BACKGROUND
A. The purpose of Active Transportation Program (ATP) is to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation by increasing the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking, increasing safety for non-motorized users, ensuring disadvantaged communities fully share in benefits, and to enhance public health.
B. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has announced a call for projects for Cycle 6 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP). If not funded through the statewide program, these projects may also be submitted to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) for the ATP regional funding applications. City staff has evaluated potential projects based on ATP criteria and other eligibility requirements.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The following list of projects is approved for submission to the CTC and to SACOG for state and/or federal funding. The cost estimates and specific grant request may change as staff further refines the estimates.
Project
Name Description
Estimated
Grant
Request
Envision
Broadway
The Envision Broadway in Oak Park project is intended to transform a critical section of the Broadway corridor into a complete street. This project covers Broadway from State Route 99 to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; it will continue the Broadway Complete Street Project in the Central City scheduled for construction in the next year. Envision Broadway in Oak Park will create a cohesive multi-modal community street. Traffic lanes will be reduced to accommodate new bicycle facilities and improved pedestrian crossings, the project will enhance the transportation choices for residents and visitors to patronize the businesses and move around in their community. The City Council approved the Plan in March 2020. Subsequently, the City applied for and received federal grant funding for the first phase of the project for preliminary engineering and environmental clearance. The ATP application would request funding for the final design and construction documents.
$1,100,000
Franklin
Boulevard
Phase 3
This will extend the benefits of the Franklin Boulevard Complete Streets project from 32nd Avenue to 38th Avenue. The project includes traffic calming, pedestrian, and bicycle facility improvements, designated on‐ street parking where appropriate and feasible, greater street tree canopy, and more landscaping as a buffer between vehicles and pedestrians. To meet these objectives, the project will reduce the number of through travel lanes from five lanes to three lanes. The lane reduction will create the space required to accommodate a corridor configuration that will serve the needs of the community through the development of a Complete Street. This request is for construction.
$5,000,000
Urban Core The Big 7 Ideas Urban Core projects include bikeway gap closures, traffic signals for bikeways crossing major streets, and traffic calming on local streets. These projects are all within 4 miles of the center of the Grid and aim to make biking safer and more comfortable. This request is for the preliminary engineering and the construction.
$3,000,000