MTC Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program
Program Guidelines
The Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program was created by the Commission to fund the construction of the Regional Bicycle Network and regionally significant pedestrian projects. The Commission committed $200 million in Phase One of Transportation 2030 to support the regional program over a 25-year period. These guidelines govern the first four years worth of Federal Congestion Management and Air Quality Mitigation (CMAQ) funding, a total of $32 million for FY 2005/06 through FY 2008/09.
Sub-Programs: The program funds in the first four years are divided into two portions: 25% of the total funds is designated as the Regional Portion, a competitive program in which projects will be selected based on evaluation criteria in these guidelines; the remaining 75% of the funds is designated as the County Portion which is distributed to county congestion management agencies (CMAs) based on their county population shares. The CMAs, with review of bicycle and pedestrian interests, will select projects for the 75% county portion based on criteria developed by the CMA and will identify projects to submit to MTC for consideration for the 25% regional portion. Consistent with MTC Resolution No. 3615, each county will receive 100% of its population share of funding over a 12-year period. Table 1 shows each county’s total four-year 75% program level; annual targets consistent with the programming policies in MTC Resolution 3615 will be provided by MTC in the call for projects. Table 2 shows each county’s 100% 12-year population share.
Table 1: Program
Funding Levels FY 05/06 – FY 08/09
|
|
Funds Available |
|
Total 4-Year Funding |
$32,000,000 |
|
Total Regional Portion (25%) |
$8,000,000
|
|
Total |
$24,000,000
|
|
$5,107,755 |
|
Contra Costa |
$3,356,779 |
|
Marin |
$874,874 |
|
|
$439,682 |
|
|
$2,747,973 |
|
|
$2,501,837 |
|
|
$5,952,752 |
|
Solano |
$1,395,835 |
|
|
$1,622,513 |
County
|
|
Population Share |
|
$20,431,020
|
21% |
|
Contra Costa |
$13,427,117
|
14% |
|
Marin |
$3,499,496
|
4% |
|
|
$1,758,727
|
2% |
|
|
$10,991,894
|
11% |
|
|
$10,007,349
|
10% |
|
|
$23,811,007 |
25% |
|
Solano |
$5,583,339
|
6% |
|
|
$6,490,050
|
7% |
|
Total 12-Year Funding |
$96,000,000 |
100% |
*Subject to availability of funds
Mode-Split Targets:
The program has an overall goal to fund bicycle and pedestrian projects
equally over a 12-year period. However, to encourage pedestrian projects that
may not have other sources of dedicated funding, the Regional portion and each
Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program grants are available to local governments, transit operators, and other public agencies that are eligible recipients of federal funds. Community-based organizations and nonprofits may be co-partners but cannot receive the funds. Grant recipients will be required to take the capital project through the federal-aid process with Caltrans Local Assistance, and obligate, or commit, the federal funds by the regional obligation deadline specified by MTC. In addition, grant recipients are strongly encouraged to attend a training workshop offered by Caltrans on project implementation and the federal aid process.
Project activities eligible for funding include: pedestrian and bicycle facilities (including bike parking) that provide access to regional transit, lifeline transit, regional activity centers, or schools; bicycle facilities on the Regional Bicycle Network defined in the Regional Bicycle Plan (December 2001); and regionally significant pedestrian projects. Pedestrian projects are intended to be inclusive of facilities or improvements that accommodate wheelchair use. All projects must meet eligibility criteria and project readiness requirements described below consistent with CMAQ eligibility guidelines.
Project Eligibility
Criteria
1. Project falls into one of the following categories:
|
Bicycle Projects |
Pedestrian Projects |
|
· Included in the Regional Bicycle Network as defined in the adopted Regional Bicycle Plan (December 2001) |
·
Provides
access to and within regional activity centers[1] |
|
Project Serves Either Bicyclists or Pedestrians |
|
|
· Provides access to regional transit or lifeline transit[2] |
|
|
· Meets Safe Routes to Schools criteria |
|
2. Project is CMAQ eligible under Federal guidelines. The project sponsor must be able to demonstrate the project encourages walking or bicycling as a means of improving air quality. Note that Federal guidelines prohibit the use of CMAQ funds for projects purely intended for safety as well as for basic repair and rehabilitation of bicycle or pedestrian facilities. CMAQ funds may be used to fund a limited period of operations for an attended bicycle parking facility (i.e., bikestation)
3. Sponsor assures a local match of at least 11.5% of the total project cost will be available.
4. Funding
request is at least $300,000 and does not exceed $4 million or the county’s
12-year population share of funds, whichever is less. Counties with a four-year
share of $2 million or less may fund projects below the $300,000 limit. As a
general guideline, auxiliary elements (e.g.
5. Project is well-defined and results in a usable segment. MTC defines a usable segment as a section of public improvements that has defined start and end points and allows continuous travel from the start point to the end point.
6. Sponsor agrees to abide by all applicable regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
7. Sponsor understands and agrees to MTC project delivery requirements as described in MTC Resolution No. 3606. Key highlights are shown below:
a. Federal funds through the Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Grants program are fixed at the programmed amount, and therefore any cost increase would not be funded through the Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program.
b. Projects are to be designed and built consistent with the project description contained in the grant application, and if approved, as programmed in MTC’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
c. A
field review with Caltrans Local Assistance will be completed within six (6)
months of grant approval.
d. The
appropriate NEPA document for the project will be certified through the office
of Caltrans Local Assistance within twelve (12) months of grant approval.
e. Federal funds will be obligated by the fund obligation deadline established by MTC for this grant cycle.
f. MTC will be notified immediately to discuss potential project implications that will affect the delivery of the project.
g. The project sponsor or a cooperating agency commits to maintaining the project.
The following criteria will be used to evaluate whether a project will be able to meet the fund obligation deadline. Projects determined to be unlikely to meet the fund obligation deadline will be considered ineligible.
1. Is the project dependent upon another uncompleted major capital project?
2. Has a PSR or feasibility study been completed?
3. What type of environmental document required by CEQA and NEPA will be (has been) prepared, and when would it be (was it) certified? What environmental issues may require more detailed study?
4. Is the project entirely within the local agency’s right-of-way? Are any new right-of-way, permits or easements needed, and when would it be acquired if needed?
5. Is there a utility relocation phase within the project area but implemented separately from the project?
6. Have all affected departments within the local government agency, transit agency, and/or other public agency (1) been involved in the development of the project and (2) reviewed the project to ensure project feasibility?
7. Is there significant local opposition or any pending lawsuits related to the project that may prevent the project from meeting the funding obligation deadline?
IV. Criteria
for Project Selection and Prioritization
For the county portions, projects meeting the eligibility criteria outlined in Section III may be selected and recommended for programming based on criteria developed at the discretion of each CMA. CMAs may choose to use scoring factors in table 2 (below) for this purpose. CMAs are welcome but not required to adopt the Regional Portion project selection factors listed below. Project selection factors must be consistent with the Project Eligibility Criteria above and must address both pedestrian and bicycle projects.
Regional Portion (25%)
Projects meeting the Project Eligibility Criteria will be prioritized and recommended for funding based on the degree to which they:
· Provide bike and/or pedestrian access to regional transit / lifeline transit, schools, regional activity centers
· Eliminate major gap or obstacle in a bike or pedestrian facility
· Have community support, as indicated by inclusion in an adopted plan or other document endorsed by community advisory groups
· Address safety concerns
· Provide local matching funds
· Are regionally significant
[1] Regional activity centers include universities, hospitals, major commercial districts, major employment centers, central business districts, and major public venues. Priority should be given to projects serving utilitarian trip purposes. Projects providing pedestrian access to or within a regional activity center will be eligible for funding. Projects providing bicycle access to or within a regional activity center are only eligible if the facility is included on the Regional Bicycle Network.
[2] Regional transit is transit serving a regional activity center and is typically a “trunkline” service. Lifeline transit serves low-income, transit-dependent communities.