Meeting_Body
REVISED
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 14, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM CYCLE 4 REGIONAL PROGRAM SCORING
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE the assignment of up to ten points as presented in Attachment A to candidate projects for the Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 4 Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) Regional ATP competition.
Issue
ISSUE
The ATP Cycle 4 includes regional competitions in large Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) areas - in Metro’s case, the SCAG region. The ATP enabling statute, Senate Bill 99 (SB 99), requires SCAG to select projects in consultation with its member counties, which SCAG accomplishes by asking Metro and the other counties to assign points to be added to the State’s score for each ATP project application (as approved in the 2019 Active Transportation Guidelines by the California Transportation Commission [CTC] in May 2018, http://www.catc.ca.gov/programs/atp//2019/docs/051618_2019_ATP_Guidelines_Final_Adopted.pdf). The point assignment is an opportunity for Metro to influence the funding for up to $47 million available for bicycle and pedestrian projects that will advance several important Metro Board initiatives. The methodology of assigning these additional points is designed to reflect the contribution of each project to advancing local and regional plans, policies, and priorities adopted by the Metro Board based on the assignment method described in Attachment B.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The ATP Cycle 4 will distribute $446 million over four years (fiscal years 2019-20 through 2022-23), as shown in Table 1 (Funding available is based on the 2019 ATP Fund Estimate adopted by the CTC in May 2018, http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/transprog/ctcbooks/2018/0518/024_4.6.pdf ). All Los Angeles County candidate projects were submitted to the Statewide Competition administered by the CTC, which allocates 50% of the funding available. The remaining 10% is directed to rural areas across the state.
All Los Angeles County candidate projects not awarded funding through the Statewide Competition will then be considered in the Large MPO competition, which allocates 40% of the funding available.
Table 1
ATP Cycle 4 - Program Components
In the Large MPO competition, SCAG will receive (by formula) 53% of the funding available for all Large MPOs (Table 2).
Table 2
ATP Cycle 4 - Large MPO Component
Within the SCAG Regional Program (Table 3), 5% of the funding is set aside for Planning and Capacity Building grants. The remaining 95% of the funding is dedicated to Implementation Projects and flows to each of the six SCAG counties by formula - with Los Angeles County’s 54% share resulting in approximately $47 million.
Table 3
ATP Cycle 4 - SCAG Regional Program
The ATP enabling statute, SB 99, requires SCAG to select projects in consultation with its member counties. To accomplish this requirement, SCAG starts with the scores developed by the CTC’s multidisciplinary evaluation panel and then asks its member counties to assign additional points to the CTC score to reflect the consistency of each project with local and regional plans. The resulting prioritization of projects for the LA County share totaling $47.5 million is the subject of this action.
In keeping with plans and policies adopted by the Metro Board, staff proposes the following method to assign these additional points to Los Angeles County projects through three criteria:
• Bonus for First/Last Mile Strategic Plan - 5 bonus points assigned support the implementation of the First/Last Mile Strategic Plan and First/Last Mile Board Action 14.1 of May 2016.
• Disadvantaged Communities - 3 points assigned help ensure Metro’s scoring supports the goals of the Metro Equity Platform.
• Consistency with Local and Regional Plans - 2 points assigned recognize board priorities, such as First/Last Mile, leveraging Measure M projects, board-adopted projects, and implementation of the Active Transportation Strategic Plan.
The proposed point assignment is listed in Attachment A. The point assignment method is described in further detail in Attachment B.
Consistency with Metro’s Equity Platform Framework
The inclusion of the disadvantaged communities criterion in the proposed point assignment method advances the following pillar of the Metro Equity Platform Framework:
• Pillar 3: Focus and Deliver
Assigning additional points to projects that benefit disadvantaged communities is a direct action Metro can take to advance more equitable transportation outcomes. Metro is directly responsible for the point assignment and project ranking process that results in active transportation investment for Los Angeles County. Concentrating points for projects that benefit disadvantaged communities, together with points for implementation of other key local and regional mobility goals, ensures that investment is made in high quality projects for underserved communities.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this item has the potential to improve the safety of Metro customers, as a large majority of Metro’s transit patrons link to or depart from transit stations and stops via cycling and walking. Assigning additional points to first/last mile projects prioritized in the Metro Board-adopted First/Last Mile Strategic Plan will direct funding to projects designed to improve the safety and convenience of active transportation users connecting with the regional transit system.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the staff recommendations will result in a positive impact on the funding outcomes for First/Last Mile projects and other Board priorities and initiatives, such as Vision 2028 and the Twenty-eight by ’28 Initiative. Approximately $47 million in ATP Cycle 4 funds are available for Los Angeles County projects between FY 2019-20 and 2022-23 from the SCAG Regional ATP Competition.
Impact to Budget
The approval of this item would have no impact to the FY 2018-19 Budget.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
By directing ATP resources towards projects that advance Metro plans and policies, the staff recommendation will assist in implementing the following goals of the Metro Vision 2028 Strategic Plan:
• Goal #1: Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling.
• Goal #3: Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity.
The current competitive ATP grant program administered by the CTC provides Metro with an opportunity to acquire a significant share of revenues available for Los Angeles County projects. Under the ATP Metro’s share of revenues received has closely tracked Los Angeles County’s share of California’s population, as Metro has been successful in securing awards from the Statewide Competition portion of the ATP to complement the funds received by formula through the SCAG Regional Program.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could elect to assign up to twenty additional points rather than ten, as the SCAG Guidelines adopted by the CTC on August 15, 2018 include a new provision for the assignment of up to twenty points. Staff does not recommend this alternative, as assigning 20 points would not change the proportion of points given for various Metro policies and plans, therefore providing no distinction in priority rankings.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, the following milestone steps will be taken by Metro staff as well as SCAG and the CTC:
December 2018 - Staff will transmit the point assignments to SCAG
January 2019 - Staff will obtain state scores, combine them with Metro scores, and use new scores to identify top-scoring projects, with funding requests approximating the $47 million available for Los Angeles County projects; staff will work with project sponsors to identify projects for any remaining funds and submits resulting program to SCAG for approval
April 2019 - SCAG Regional Council will adopt SCAG Regional ATP
June 2019 - CTC will adopt SCAG Regional ATP
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Proposed Los Angeles County Point Assignment
Attachment B - Proposed Point Assignment Method
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Shelly Quan, Senior Transportation Planner, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3075
Patricia Chen, Senior Director, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3041
Michael Cano, DEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3010
Wil Ridder, EO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-2887
Laurie Lombardi, SEO, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3251
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Therese W. McMillan, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7077
