City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2022-02269 1/17/2023 Consent Item 3.
2022 State Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP): Joint Grant Application with Capitol Corridor JPA (T15029000)
File ID: 2022-02269
Location: 401 I Street, District 4, Represented by Mayor Steinberg Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) directing staff to submit a proposal for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) in collaboration with Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) as lead agency applicant for a total grant request of up to $70 million; 2) authorizing the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to execute the grant agreement and any related documents; and 3) authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to execute agreements with Caltrans District 3 for design services.
Contact: Gregory Taylor, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager, (916) 808-5268, [email protected]; Ryan Moore, Director of Public Works, (916) 808-6629, [email protected]; Department of Public Works Presenter: None.
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
Additional Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The State of California, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) issued a Request for Proposals for the sixth round of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP).
Applications are due February 10, 2023. If approved in this action, the City of Sacramento will be a sub-applicant under a master grant application made by Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA). The City’s portion of the request includes the following improvements to the Sacramento Valley Station (SVS) area: 1) construction funds for the Regional Bus Mobility Center (RBMC) to cover the state funding contribution to federal grant construction funding applications, and 2) funds for engineering design and preparation of the environmental document for the relocation of the northbound onramp and extension of 3rd Street to the RBMC.
File ID: 2022-02269 1/17/2023 Consent Item 3.
The RBMC received full funding for engineering design and environmental documentation in TIRCP Cycle 5 in the Summer of 2022 that will make the project ready for construction once construct funds are in place. The northbound on-ramp relocation project received a 2020 TIRCP award funding a Project Study Report that has demonstrated a concept to relocate the ramp to the west and allow 3rd Street to extend north of I Street into the SVS and provide omni-directional access for regional buses to I-5. This would reduce schedule times and result in reduced vehicle miles travelled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This project is possible due to the removal of the existing ramps to the historic I Street bridge when the new I Street Bridge Replacement project is completed.
Policy Considerations: The recommendation in this report is consistent with City of Sacramento General Plan goals to improve system connectivity and promote economic and infill development.
The City has developed facility plan for expanding regional bus access to the station which meet the service needs for the station outlined in the 2018 State Rail Plan for increasing intercity passenger rail and regional bus networks with milestones in 2022, 2027 and 2040.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), under Statutory Exemption 15262, feasibility and planning studies for possible future actions do not require the preparation of environmental documents, but they do require the consideration of environmental factors. The master planning of the Sacramento Valley Station, which is a planning study, is a component of the larger Intermodal Transportation Facility Project (T15029000) and has been assessed as part of that project’s environmental review.
Environmental clearances in accordance with CEQA and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will be undertaken for this project funding. The Railyards Specific Plan was amended to incorporate SVS Area Plan elements and the CEQA document was updated by Addendum, both adopted by Council in April 2021. The regional Bus Mobility Center CEQA analysis was undertaken at the Project Level.
Sustainability: The Transit Center project was developed within the current SVS Master Plan work and will provide expanded bus and light rail transit operations, electrical vehicle charging and bicycle facilities. The Transit Center is designed to standards under the Living Building Challenge (LBC) framework developed by the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI). The Department of Public Works has registered the master plan as a Living Community Challenge (LCC) project with ILFI as a project under the City’s Demonstration Partnership Program.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
File ID: 2022-02269 1/17/2023 Consent Item 3.
Rationale for Recommendation: The SVS is currently the seventh busiest Amtrak train station in the nation and the busiest CCJPA station located adjacent to the central business and at the heart of a developing new infill development area. To take advantage of this regional hub, the SVS is planned to expand as a regional transportation facility to serve multiple modes of transportation: from intercity passenger rail, bus services, and a hub for regional light rail service, bus service, and bike and pedestrian trails. A consolidated grant request reflects the regional utility and related benefits of rail and transit services.
Financial Considerations: Projects applying for the TIRCP do not require a minimum match. City staff will identify public and private investments made in the Railyards as leverage to support the grant request. If awarded, the Caltrans Divisions of Rail and Mass Transit (DMRT) will transfer awarded grant funds to the City project components. The Sacramento Intermodal Facility Project (T15029000) has sufficient funding for any ineligible costs to support the grant.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
Background: The City and region have identified expansion of the SVS and historic depot and its surrounding land uses into a regional transportation facility to serve multiple modes of transportation:
from intercity passenger rail, bus services, and a hub for regional light rail service, bus service, and bike and pedestrian trails.
The City has taken the lead to develop this regional project through multiple phases. Phase 1, Track Relocation, completed in 2012, moved and expanded the mainline rail tracks and related operations to the north, improving passenger and freight train efficiency and services with major upgrades to passenger rail facilities. Phase 2, rehabilitation and renovation of the historic station building, was completed in March 2017. Phase 3 is the expansion of transportation infrastructure and site development into a larger intermodal center located near the relocated passenger rail infrastructure.
The Department of Public Works also lead the Phase 3 master plan that includes the Transit Center as part of the overall master plan. The master plan was incorporated into the Railyards Specific Plan in Spring 2021. The historic station will continue to serve Amtrak passengers and Amtrak operations such as baggage and ticketing services, crew base, as well as passenger waiting are in the refurbished Main Waiting Room and house over 26,000 sf of retail and office lease space.
The City was awarded $3.914 million from the 2020 TIRCP, which provided construction funding for a new SVS North Entrance directly connecting the passenger station with the Central Shops Plaza and entertainment venues. That project is scheduled for construction in early 2023 with completion anticipated in late 2024. The City also received funding to study the reconfiguration of the Interstate 5 on-ramps at I Street and 3rd Street that will provide regional buses bi-directional access to Interstate 5 to/from the Bus Mobility Center. The 2020 TIRCP also funded two studies for regional buses which analyzed a new consolidation of routes in the Central City and a Layover and EV Bus charging facility. In the 2022, Cycle 5 TIRCP round, the city received the majority share of a $49.865 million
File ID: 2022-02269 1/17/2023 Consent Item 3.
funding for capital projects for the SVS facility, as well as the regional bus route stops and layover/charging facility.
The Sacramento Valley Station (SVS) Area Plan was accepted by Council April 6, 2021, and the plan elements incorporated into the Railyards Specific Plan and CEQA analysis to facilitate the development of the SVS Transit Center to transform the city-owned parcel to accommodate the expansion of all service modes, particularly bus, light rail, and bike access with future housing, hotel, retail, and office uses.
The Transit Center will provide 18 bus berths for intercity buses and some existing local RT routes.
Currently ten bus agencies serve Downtown Sacramento with 90 routes stopping within a half-mile of the station. For those routes, 764 alightings and departures occur each day, with only 84 of those totals serving SVS. Existing Amtrak bus births are at capacity at periods of the day and the ability to add bus services is limited with the current configuration. Demand for bus access has increased and is projected to increase with new job centers such as the County Courthouse and new commercial and residential developments proximate to the station.
The level of passenger service needs is guided by the 2018 State Rail Plan which outlines service increases for intercity passenger rail and regional bus networks with milestones in 2022, 2027 and 2040 that outline statewide rail and bus service improvements that will require significant service and capacity increases at SVS for bus, light rail, and other mobility services. The state has created the TIRCP as a principal funding vehicle to implement the state rail plan.
As stated in the TIRCP request for projects statement: “the TIRCP was created to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems, to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion.”
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
January 17, 2023
2023 State Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) Grant Joint Application with Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (T15029000)
BACKGROUND
A. The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) has issued a call for projects for the FY 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grants.
B. Applications for the FY 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grants are due February 10, 2023.
C. The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program mission statement: TIRCP was created to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems, to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion.
D. The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program objectives are stated as:
a. Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions;
b. Expand and improve transit service to increase ridership; c. Integrate the rail service of the state’s various rail operations, including integration with the high-speed rail system; and
d. Improve transit safety
E. The Sacramento Valley Station Transit Center will provide the system integration of all transportation modes as envisioned in the 2018 State Rail Plan.
F. The joint agency grant application leverages more the $80 million of local, state, and federal investment for the Phase 1 Track Relocation project completed in 2013.
G. The joint agency grant application leverages over $50 million of local, state and federal investment in seismic upgrades and historic renovation which improved
Amtrak premises and provided new city lease opportunities and passenger amenities that will continue to serve useful life.
H. The joint application by the City of Sacramento with Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) as transit agency applicant presents a public opportunity to maximize the rail passenger ridership to the station and build on prior cooperative enhancements for the regional facility, Sacramento Valley Station.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Submitting the application for up to $70 million in total project cost for FY 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant request is approved.
Section 2. Upon award of the FY 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant, the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to execute the grant agreement and any related grant documents.
Section 3. Upon award of the FY 2023 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant, the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee, is authorized to execute agreements and any related documents with Caltrans District 3 for design services.