Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM CYCLE 3 METRO GRANT ASSISTANCE POLICY
ACTION: APPROVE METRO’S ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM (ATP) POLICY
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
CONSIDER:
A. RECEIVING AND FILING the Final Statewide and Southern California Association of Government’s (SCAG) recommended Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 2 Results Summary for Los Angeles County (Attachment A);
B. APPROVING proposed 2016 ATP Grant Assistance Policy (Attachment B); and
C. AUTHORIZING the CEO to reprogram Call for Projects commitments with reduced amounts to reflect ATP partial awards (Attachment C).
Issue
ISSUE
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) presented final recommendations for the 2015 ATP Regional Program to the SCAG Executive Administration Committee (EAC) on January 7, 2016. The final Regional Program awarded $76 million for the Southern California Region of which $41 million was awarded to Los Angeles County. Combined with the $61 million awarded in the Statewide competition, Los Angeles County ATP Cycle 2 awards total $102 million. The Statewide and Regional Program Los Angeles County awards are detailed in Attachment A.
In February 2014, the Metro Board approved a policy that requires local agencies to resubmit previous Call for Projects grants for the State’s Active Transportation Program (ATP) with assistance from Metro-selected grant-writing consultants. The ATP Cycle 3 Call for Projects will be released as early as March 2016. Staff is proposing a new policy to optimize the results of the grant assistance for the ATP in terms of increased funding awards, implementation of Metro policies and plans, and support for the state’s ATP goals.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Updated SCAG ATP Regional Program
In October 2015, staff presented the 2015 SCAG Draft Regional Program for Los Angeles County ATP applicants. An additional $238,000 became available to partially fund a high-scoring Los Angeles County project. Following discussion with project sponsors in the threshold range to receive surplus funds, a project sponsor was identified that would be able to deliver its full project with the partial ATP funds. The complete ATP Cycle 2 results for Los Angeles County, including the updated SCAG regional awards, the statewide competitive awards, and the impact to Metro’s Call for Projects are detailed in Attachment A.
The grant assistance program has been an integral part of the success of Los Angeles County projects in the ATP. In addition to prior Call projects, Metro also sponsored projects which were put forward for the ATP based on existing Metro Board commitments.
2016 ATP Grant Assistance Policy
Metro staff proposes to update the ATP Policy (Attachment B) to transition to a focus on advancing and implementing Metro’s active transportation plans and meeting critical active transportation needs in Los Angeles County. This transition is also integral to more closely align grant assistance with ATP goals, leading to increased awards. Metro’s grant assistance program has been a powerful tool which has helped reduce much of the funding shortfall that it was created to address.
In July 2014 the Board directed staff to develop a funding plan for the Active Transportation Strategic Plan (ATSP) which builds upon many of Metro’s existing active transportation policies and plans. Staff has identified the ATP as a good fit for the ATSP’s goals and funding needs. The proposed ATP policy would enable Metro to begin implementing ATSP projects as well as assist voluntary Call projects.
Attachment D shows the potential projects from the 2015 Call for Projects identified based on funding programmed in Fiscal Years 2019, 2020, and 2021and funding need over $1 million. Preliminary assessment of each project’s fit with Metro and ATP objectives is also shown. Project sponsors have been invited to participate in reapplication. Sponsors can also offer to apply for other projects with Metro grant assistance if the projects have Metro Board commitment or directly contribute to implementing Metro active transportation plans and polices such as the First/Last Mile Strategic Plan, Complete Streets Policy, Urban Greening Plan, and in the future ATSP.
Metro has the opportunity to employ the 10 points used in the SCAG ranking process to maximize the proportion of funding from the SCAG Regional ATP competition used for Metro active transportation goals. In ATP Cycles 1 and 2, Metro assigned the full 10 points to all projects except any that were clearly not in alignment with regional or local plans. All projects submitted received the 10 points, none were denied.
Just as selecting projects for grant assistance can maximize the amount of Los Angeles County ATP funding, aligning the 10 points for the regional program with Metro policies and plans will maximize the amount of regional ATP funding for projects that implement Metro goals. Staff is recommending assigning 7 points to all projects except any that are clearly not in alignment with regional or local plans, and an additional 3 points to all successful Call projects, projects with Metro Board commitment, and projects which implement Metro active transportation plans and policies. The 10 points are part of an overall strategy that Metro can use to attract and focus both statewide and regional funding toward the implementation of Board adopted active transportation projects, plans, and policies within the environment of the State and regional ATP prioritization process.
Adjusted Call for Projects Commitments
There are a few projects within the Call for Projects funding plan that require adjustments to their original Call Commitment to address partial ATP funding received. In total, approximately $3.9 million is needed in place of the original $7.7 million commitment, shown in Attachment C.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The recommendations in this report will not have any direct impact on the safety of our customers and employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for consultant grant assistance services is included in the FY 2016 Budget under Cost Center 4420, Project 405510, Task Number 05.04.01.
Impact to Budget
The source of funds for the grant assistance services is Proposition A, C, and TDA Administration which is not eligible for bus and rail operating and capital expenditures.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board may consider mandatory rather than voluntary reapplication to the ATP for Call projects. This alternative is not recommended as there are few ATP-competitive projects left from the affected period of FY 2014 to 2019 per the original February 2014 mandatory grant assistance policy. Expanding the mandatory policy beyond this period would place a burden specifically on active transportation project sponsors that is not shared with other Call modes, though the funding pressures on the Call for Projects are not specific to individual modes. Staff believes shifting emphasis toward the goals of the ATP itself will result in greater total awards for Los Angeles County.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Discussions are currently taking place regarding a possible delay of ATP Cycle 3. Should Cycle 3 be delayed, staff will return to the Board with updated project lists based on more complete information from the ATSP and project studies. Assuming no delay occurs, the next steps are as follows:
• January 7, 2016 - SCAG Executive Administration Committee (EAC) approves SCAG Regional Program recommendations.
• January 8, 2016 -SCAG submits Regional Program to CTC.
• January 20, 2016 - CTC adopts SCAG Regional Program.
• March 2, 2016 - Project sponsors notify Metro of their interest in grant assistance
• March 16, 2016 - Metro selects and notifies project sponsors receiving grant assistance
• February-March 2016 - Grant Delivery Training Workshop and Project Partnership and Development Workshop
• June 15, 2016 - ATP Cycle 3 Grant Applications Due
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - ATP Cycle 2 Results for Los Angeles County
Attachment B - 2016 ATP Grant Assistance Policy
Attachment C - Reprogrammed Call for Projects Commitments
Attachment D - ATP Cycle 3 Projects Evaluation
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Shelly Quan, Transportation Planner, (213) 922-3075
Patricia Chen, Transportation Planning Manager, (213) 922-3041
Wil Ridder, Executive Officer, (213) 922-2887
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Calvin E. Hollis, Interim Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7319
