City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
Active Transportation Program Grant Applications
File ID: 2024-00928
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to submit the following applications to the Active Transportation Program Cycle 7 State and Regional grant programs: 1) Envision Broadway in Oak Park; 2) Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project; and 3) Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project.
Contact: Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Transportation Planning Manager, (916) 808-5913, [email protected]; Jesse Gothan, Supervising Engineer, (916) 808-6897, [email protected]; David Edrosolan, Transportation Division Manager (916) 808-5974, [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 7 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. Projects not funded in the statewide program can be considered in the regional program, where applications are anticipated to be due in the Fall 2024. Unlike the State program, however, the SACOG program with limited funding, generally cannot fund large funding requests and it does not provide any additional scoring points for serving disadvantaged communities.
City staff has evaluated potential projects based on ATP guidelines and has identified three candidate projects for the program. Applications are due for the State’s ATP program on or before June 17, 2024. Applications for the SACOG regional program are expected to be due in August 2024.
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
The grant program aims to promote greater utilization of active transportation modes, like bicycling and walking, with additional stipulations. Projects must have fulfilled specific levels of community engagement and, if seeking construction funding, must ensure readiness for construction within specified years. Consequently, not all planned active transportation projects may be suitable for this grant program without further project development.
Staff recommends submitting applications for funding through ATP for the following projects:
1. Envision Broadway in Oak Park: Project Construction
2. Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Clearances
3. Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Clearances
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 2040 General Plan:
M-1: An equitable, sustainable multimodal system that provides a range of viable and healthy travel choices for users of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
M-1.2 User Prioritization. The City shall prioritize mobility, comfort, health, safety, and convenience for those walking, followed by those bicycling and riding transit, ahead of design and operations for those driving.
M-1.3 Healthy Transportation System Options. The City shall plan and make investments to foster a transportation system that improves the health of Sacramento residents through actions that make active transportation, nonmotorized modes, high-occupancy, and zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) viable, attractive alternatives to automobiles that use internal combustion engines.
M-1.4 Designing to Move People. In planning, designing, and managing the transportation system, the City shall prioritize person throughput to shift trips to more efficient travel modes and upgrade the performance of limited street space.
M-1.9 Equitable Processes and Outcomes. The City shall ensure that the transportation system is planned and implemented with an equitable process to achieve equitable outcomes and investments so that all neighborhoods one day will have similar levels of transportation infrastructure such as sidewalks, marked low stress crossings, and bikeways.
M-1.11 Increase Bicycling and Walking. The City shall strive to increase bicycling and walking citywide so that it can meet its equity, reduced vehicle miles traveled, and sustainability goals.
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
M-3.2 Street Design. The City shall ensure street design and potential redesign opportunities for existing streets minimize driver speed as appropriate within residential neighborhoods and incorporate street trees wherever possible without compromising connectivity for emergency access or people bicycling, walking, and using mobility devices.
M-3.3 Traffic. The City shall support planning and managing traffic from the perspective of the adjacent uses, using traffic management and traffic calming techniques.
M-4.2 Safer Driving Speeds. The City shall work to maximize the safety of the transportation network by designing streets for lower driving speeds and enforcing speed limits in an unbiased manner as well as promoting safer driving behavior.
On November 15, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution 2022-0361 adopting the Transportation Plan Prioritization for Transportation Investments and Funding Opportunities. All three projects are defined as high priority in the Transportation Priorities Plan.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The pursuit of grant funds is not subject to the provisions of CEQA. Under Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
Applying for funding is an administrative action which will have no effect on the environment and is therefore not subject to CEQA review. Appropriate CEQA review for individual projects will take place as part of project development. If the grant is funded with federal funds, actions will need to also comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Sustainability: The projects are consistent with sustainability goals of promoting walking by developing a universally accessible, safe, convenient, integrated, and well-connected transportation system. Transportation is also responsible for 57% of Sacramento’s local greenhouse gas emissions, the single largest sector. Providing safe, walkable, and bikeable transportation alternatives helps to reduce single-occupant vehicle use and contribute towards Sacramento’s climate change goals.
Commission/Committee Action: On March 21, 2024, the Active Transportation Commission passed a motion to recommend these projects to City Council for approval.
Rationale for Recommendation: With limited available sources of local funding to meet the City’s goals to advance transportation safety and mobility options, grant funding is essential to deliver projects. 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 grant program criteria, City policy and programming documents, and project delivery
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
readiness.
Financial Considerations: Competitive federal and state grants are the primary sources of funding for transportation and sustainability projects in the city. The City has limited local transportation fundings that is used to provide required match funding and costs not eligible with grant funding. For larger projects, there may not be adequate local funding available to meet match requirements. In these circumstances, staff may have to seek funding through multiple grant programs (e.g., using state grant funds to match federal grant requirements and vice versa). ATP is a competitive statewide program, funding only a very small fraction of all grant applications, so in order to be in a position to be funded, the City must pledge to leverage at least 20% in local or other funding towards eligible project expenses. SACOG requires a minimum of 12% match. The minimum local match that will be needed to advance these projects are as follows:
1. Envision Broadway in Oak Park: An estimated $3,000,000 would be needed to leverage construction funding. City staff will also pursue other grant funding opportunities to address this requirement, as it would be a significant amount from available local funding. This project would also support regional Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) mitigation. As a result, this project may also be eligible as a project in the State Congested Corridors Program.
2. Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: Up to $500,000
3. Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: Up to $500,000 If the City is awarded one or more of these grants, staff will return to City Council for necessary budget adjustments, identify potential funding strategies before accepting funds and establishing specific Capital Improvement Projects.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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 consolidated previous 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.
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
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:
1. Increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking.
2. Increase the safety and mobility of nonmotorized users.
3. Advance the active transportation efforts of regional agencies to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals as established pursuant to Senate Bill 375 (Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008) and Senate Bill 391 (Chapter 585, Statutes of 2009).
4. 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.
5. Ensure that disadvantaged communities fully share in the benefits of the program.
6. Provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of active transportation users.
The program is organized into statewide (50%), regional (40%), and small urban/rural (10%) allocations. The statewide program is administered by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) and Caltrans and the regional program is administered by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). For this cycle, funding is programmed for fiscal years 2025-26, 2026-27, 2027-28, and 2028-29.
State applications are due by June 17, 2024. Projects not funded in the statewide program can be considered in the regional program, where applications are anticipated to be due in August 2024.
State funding recommendations are currently scheduled for December 5-6, 2024, and regional funding recommendations are scheduled for Spring-Summer 2025.
Scoring criteria are similar but not identical 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 fewer than 10 percent of all applications.
With a smaller pot of total funding for all six counties, the regional program does not have the capacity 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 in Oak Park: The Envision Broadway in Oak Park project is intended to
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
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 currently in construction and the Phase 3 project east of 24th Street scheduled for construction in the next few years.
Envision Broadway in Oak Park will create a cohesive multi-modal community street. Traffic lanes will be reduced from 5 lanes to 3 to accommodate new bicycling facilities and improved crossings for walking; 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 preliminary engineering through the regional ATP. This ATP Cyle 7 request will provide funding for project construction.
The project is on the Vision Zero High Injury Network and the project is a high priority in the Transportation Priorities Plan.
2. Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: The Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project is intended to transform a critical section of Freeport Boulevard between Sutterville Road to Blair Avenue. This 1.7-mile section of Freeport Boulevard includes a variety of markets, restaurants, and shops, supported mostly by the nearby neighborhoods. It is a former State highway with four to five travel lanes, narrow bikeways, attached sidewalks, 22 bus stops, and little tree canopy. The corridor serves several schools, parks, and civic uses.
The Freeport Boulevard Transportation Plan was approved by the City Council on February 21, 2023. The project design includes enhancing transportation safety, improving mobility, and supporting economic development.
This ATP application would request funding for the preliminary engineering and environmental clearances.
The project is on the Vision Zero High Injury Network and is a high priority in the Transportation Priorities Plan.
3. Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project: The Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project is intended to transform Northgate Boulevard between Interstate 80 to Del Paso Boulevard. This approximately three-mile section of Northgate Boulevard is home to a vibrant and diverse mix of businesses and community services. The corridor has two to five travel lanes, narrow bike lanes when present, narrow attached sidewalks when present, 16 bus stops, and little tree canopy. This corridor serves several schools, parks, and civic uses
File ID: 2024-00928 5/14/2024 Consent Item 3.
and is surrounded by neighborhoods with a mix of housing types. The Northgate Boulevard Transportation Plan was approved by the City Council on February 21, 2023. The project design includes enhancing transportation safety, improving mobility, and supporting economic development.
This ATP application would request funding for the preliminary engineering and the environmental clearances.
The project is on the Vision Zero High Injury Network and is a high priority in the Transportation Priorities Plan.
RESOLUTION NO.
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
Grant Applications: Approval of the Project Grant Applications for the State ATP Cycle 7, SACOG Regional Active Transportation Program, and Other Relevant Grant Programs
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 7 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.
C. On February 27, 2024, City Council adopted the 2040 General Plan with Resolution No. 2024-0066 with the following goal: An equitable, sustainable multimodal system that provides a range of viable and healthy travel choices for users of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
D. On November 15, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution 2022-0361 adopting the Transportation Plan Prioritization for Transportation Investments and Funding Opportunities. All three projects are defined as high priority in the Transportation Priorities Plan.
E. Staff reviewed the guidelines for these grant programs, reviewed City priorities, and identified the recommended projects that would be most competitive for these grants.
F. The criteria for the ATP is also reflected in other state and federal programs, including improving walking and cycling opportunities and safety and reducing vehicle miles travelled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
G. On March 21, 2024, the Active Transportation Commission passed a motion to recommend these projects to City Council for approval.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Envision Broadway in Oak Park, Freeport Boulevard Safety and Mobility, and Northgate Boulevard Safety and Mobility projects are approved for submission to the ATP Cycle 7 grant program for state and/or federal funding for up to $12,000,000, $2,000,000, and $2,000,000, respectively. These projects may also be submitted for other state and federal grant programs if they meet the grant criteria.
Section 2. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to submit any related documents necessary to support the grant applications.
Section 3. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to execute the grant agreements, amendments, and any related grant documents upon award.