Weigh in on new MTC funding for bike projects
One of the biggest barriers to more and better biking is money! SVBC is always advocating for more funding to be allocated to biking, whether through local, regional, state, or federal sources. There’s been some big wins the last few years, including increased allocations for biking and walking in San Mateo County’s Measure W and Santa Clara County’s Measure B, which are now being spent. Now, after advocacy from Bay Area bike coalitions, MTC is investing even more money - $54 million!- for biking and walking with the Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike program, a one-time, competitive grant program. Jurisdictions must respond within the next month to be considered.
Background
In July, SVBC came together with the Bay Area bike advocacy groups (San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Bike East Bay, Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Napa County Bicycle Coalition, and Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition) to ask MTC to support a sustained effort to promote and engage Bay Area communities in bicycling for transportation. The motivation behind that ask is varied. First, we that we know that it will take years for Bay Area residents to regain confidence in riding transit. Low-income communities, which are more likely to be transit dependent, will continue to bear the burden of budget cuts and service reductions. Without significant investment in active transportation, our region will stumble out of this crisis even more heavily dependent on private automobile use and with more deeply ingrained transportation inequities. Second, the pandemic has generated widespread interest in biking and walking. This is evidenced by the popularity of local Slow Streets programs, record sales at bike shops, and strong interest in bicycle giveaway programs. Read the letter sent with other bike coalitions to MTC here.
The Program
What eventually arose out of that request from the Bike Coalitions is MTC’s Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike program. The goal is for projects that can be implemented quickly to benefit communities responding and adapting to the COVID-19 environment. MTC is also particularly interested in region-wide and cross jurisdictional projects. Funding comes from a variety of federal funds. See the program guidelines here. The funding will be routed through each County’s Transportation Agency (CTA): the City and County Association of Governments (CCAG) for San Mateo County and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for Santa Clara County. CTA’s must submit letters of interest to MTC by March 30, 2021 and MTC will review the proposed projects.
Process
San Mateo County – CCAG
Because the timeline for applications and implementation is short, C/CAG is looking at projects that are ready to go. To do that, C/CAG staff proposed to use recent Call for Projects as a basis to create a draft list of nominated projects for the Quick Strike program for the C/CAG CMP TAC, CMEQ, and BPAC Committee for review and recommendation of approval in February. Staff compiled a list of projects that were unfunded via the following recent call for projects:
C/CAG TFCA Call for Projects. In 2020, C/CAG conducted a $550,000 call for projects for quick build bike/pedestrian and smart corridor projects.
San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) Call for Projects. In 2020, SMCTA conducted a $8.1 million call for projects for bike/pedestrian projects.
Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 5 Call for Projects. There were 8 ATP applications in San Mateo totaling $60 million in requested ATP funds.
The CCAAG BPAC reviewed the draft list of projects on Wed. Feb 24 (See list here, pg. 14). This will also go to the Board on March 11 before submitting at the end of the month. See more details here.
Santa Clara County – VTA
Alternatively, VTA released a call for nomination letters to jurisdictions on February 8. They will review the letters for missing information but otherwise submit all the nomination letters to MTC by March 30.
MTC
Once MTC receives the lists from each County Transportation Agency, they will look at all the projects and make a determination based on the criteria outlines in the program details by May 3. After selection, the projects will go back to the CCAG and VTA BPACs for them to review the Complete Streets Checklists. Final approval will happen June 23 by the MTC Board.
What you can do
For those in SMC, the projects that will be submitted are more or less defined. If you want to make comments, please contact CCAG now before the March 11 Board meeting. In SCC, coordinate with your Local Team to identify projects that you want your city to apply for, particularly those that are already in your city’s bike plan. Then, contact your city to make sure they know about this program and find out what they are submitting for.