Agenda Item #14.7
For Council Meeting of: February 25, 2025
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ROB SPRINKLE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS
SUBJECT: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM GRANT AND HOUSING INCENTIVE POOL GRANT ALLOCATION AND OBLIGATION REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026 AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council, by resolution: 1) request that the California Transportation Commission allocate and subsequently obligate $12,000,000 of Active Transportation Program funds; 2) request that the California Department of Transportation obligate $1,292,000 of Housing Incentive Pool funds; 3) delegate authority to the Director of Transportation and Public Works to file the two requests and any other required documents to construct Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing; and 4) delegate authority to the Chief Financial Officer to appropriate approved funds.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Enhancing our transportation system to reduce vehicle miles and promote multi modal transportation supports City Council priorities related to implementing the Climate Action Plan, the General Plan, and the 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing project establishes links in the bicycle and pedestrian network to serve the Community’s residents who choose to bike and walk as a form of transportation. In addition, the project supports one of the Bicycle Friendly Community’s recommendations to further improve our community for bicyclists.
BACKGROUND
Active Transportation Program
The Active Transportation Program (ATP) was created by Senate Bill 99 (SB 99) and Assembly Bill 101 (AB 101) to encourage increased use of active modes, such a biking and walking. Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) increased the program’s funding by stipulating that $100 M of revenues from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account will be available annually to the Active Transportation Program. Along with the Program’s overall purpose of encouraging walking and biking, the Legislature also intended for the program to increase the share of walking and biking trips, increase comfort level and mobility for non-motorized users, help regional agencies achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals, enhance public health support existing and planned housing, especially affordable housing, ensure that disadvantaged communities fully share in the program benefits and provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of users.
Since 2015, the ATP has funded over 800 active transportation projects across the state benefiting both urban and rural areas. In addition, more than 85% of the funds go towards projects that will benefit disadvantaged communities throughout the state.
The ATP is a competitive statewide program created to provide funding to eligible applicants evaluated by the program scoring criteria. In 2021, The City of Santa Rosa was awarded $12 M of ATP Cycle 5 funding for the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing right of way and construction.
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing project will construct a 17-foot wide bicycle/pedestrian Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant Class I shared-use crossing over Highway 101. Due to the involvement of constructing a city sponsored project within State owned property, the project is being developed in cooperation with Caltrans.
The Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing is included in the First Phase Project list identified in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update 2018. The overcrossing is also included in the North Santa Rosa Station Area Specific Plan.
The overcrossing is a critical link in the City’s planned east west bicycle and pedestrian network. It will establish a less challenging and more comfortable and accessible alternative for bicyclists and pedestrians crossing Highway 101 between College Avenue and Steele Lane.
The project will create a first and last mile connection to Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) and CityBus. The overcrossing will directly benefit disadvantaged surrounding neighborhoods and supports the 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan policy to increase biking and walking to work and school reducing Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV) trips and greenhouse gas emissions.
Housing Incentive Pool
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Housing Incentive Pool (HIP) program awarded a total of $71 M in transportation funds to the top Bay Area 15 jurisdictions that produced or preserved the greatest number of qualifying affordable housing units from 2018 through 2022. The City of Santa Rosa ranked 13 on the list of 15 top Bay Area jurisdictions with a total of 221 new or preserved qualifying units between the years of 2018 and 2022.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission required discretionary approval over which project(s) the HIP funding was allocated towards. City of Santa Rosa Transportation and Public Works staff submitted two projects to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission: the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing and the North Dutton Corridor Improvements. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission saw a staff recommendation for the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing at the December 11, 2024 Programming and Allocations Committee meeting and the December 18, 2024 Commission meetings, where it was ultimately approved.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
On June 15, 2016, the City Council, by Resolution No. 28801, approved the Budget for the City of Santa Rosa for Fiscal Year 2016-17, which included $500,000.00 for the preparation of US Highway 101 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Project Approval and Environmental Documentation (PA&ED) phase.
On October 11, 2016, the City Council by motion authorized the Director of Transportation and Public Works to submit grant applications for the pavement rehabilitation project and the Highway 101 bicycle and pedestrian bridge design phase to the SCTA for consideration in the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) 2 program.
On July 18, 2017, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2017-137, approved 1) the filing of applications for federal Surface Transportation Program (STP)/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grants through the MTC OBAG 2 program for the pavement rehabilitation of various streets and the design for the Highway 101 bicycle and pedestrian bridge; and 2) authorized the use of non-general funds (local utility impact fees, Capital Facilities Fees, Measure M funds, gas tax, and Transportation Development Act Article III funds) to match the federal funds being requested; and 3) provide assurances that the City will complete the projects and appropriate federal funds into the projects.
On August 17, 2021, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2021-146, adopted a Resolution of Local Support, which additionally authorized filing an application for Regional Discretionary grant funds through the MTC Active Transportation Program (ATP), the local match for the federally funded project and assured that the project will be delivered in accordance with MTC Resolution 3606 (regional project delivery milestones).
On September 14, 2021, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2021-158, approved the list of project priorities and authorized the Assistant City Manager to submit project applications consistent with that list, including all required documents and agreements (subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney), to the SCTA for consideration in the 2021 Funding Program Call for Projects (FY 23 through FY 27).
On April 26, 2022, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2022-075, authorized the allocation of FY 2022/2023 Transportation Development Act Article 3 funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing project.
On April 11, 2023, the City Council, by Resolution No. 2023-067, authorized the submittal of the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing project to the California Transportation Commission in order to receive FY 2023/2024 apportionment of SB1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funding.
ANALYSIS
The Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing will construct a Class I ADA accessible and mode-separated bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing over US Highway 101, north of College Avenue near Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa High School and Coddingtown Mall including new crosswalk, curb ramps and pedestrian lighting and ADA compliant ramps and touchdown landings on Elliott Avenue and Edwards Avenue.
The overcrossing will provide a safe alternative for bicyclists and pedestrians crossing US 101 in the vicinity of schools and transit and provide a continuous and ADA-compliant pedestrian and bicycle path to improve east-west connectivity across US 101 in the northern half of the City. The "pedestrian/bicycle facilities miles constructed" for the overcrossing's mode-separated Class I pathway includes a dedicated 5-foot wide walking lane and 8-foot wide two-way cycle track. Lack of bicycle and pedestrian connectivity in the northern half of the City of Santa Rosa between the residential and commercial areas west of US 101 and the academic, residential, commercial and recreational areas east of US 101. US 101 creates a barrier between the existing and proposed bikeways on both sides of the freeway. Steele Lane and College Avenue are approximately one mile apart and provide the only crossings of US 101 for approximately two miles. This distance exceeds the comfortable range for pedestrians and many cyclists.
The Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing is identified as First Phase Project in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update 2018.
The project has a Resolution of Local Support adopted by the Council on August 17, 2021.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. Regional Measure 3 (RM3) funds, Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 funds, SB1 funds, and gas taxes are being leveraged to construct the overcrossing. Approval of this action will allow an increase in appropriations by $12,000,000 of ATP funds to JL Key 17685 and allow an increase in appropriations by $1,292,000 of HIP funds to JL Key 17686.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Project has been reviewed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was prepared and distributed for the required 30-day public review period on June 22, 2020. The Project has also been reviewed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and qualifies for a Categorical Exclusion. The Categorical Exclusion (CE) and the IS/MND for the project were certified in March 2021.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
PRESENTER
Torina Wilson, Transportation Planner
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM AND HOUSING INCENTIVE POOL GRANT ALLOCATION AND OBLIGATION REQUEST PAGE 2 OF 3