Local Partnerships, Letters of Support & Funding Our Communities

Written By Anthony Montes

In Q1 and Q2 of 2022, SVBC has sent 26 letters of support on behalf of 18 local entities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, totaling tens of millions of potential dollars to fund bike and pedestrian priorities. That’s a lot of letter-writing that has kept the advocacy team at SVBC very busy! And, it’s just one important step of many that you all play, from deciding on a project, getting it in bike plans, securing funding for design and construction, and then making sure the implementation/construction is high quality. 

In this blog, we want to highlight all these letters so that you can see what projects your city is seeking funding for (listed at the bottom). And, we also want to make sure folks recognize that it is the bike movement’s unrelenting efforts that have led to the prioritization of bicycle infrastructure in active transportation plans across the Bay Area. 

It’s not magic! It's strategy, land-use policy, relationships, political will, and most importantly, it’s hard work. For our newer members and advocates, sign up for one of our advocacy training to find out more. In the meantime, read on to learn what projects your city is pursuing money for.

Before we get too deep, let’s not forget where the money came from and the bike movement’s role in getting it allocated. For instance, SVBC successfully lobbied for the inclusion of  $250 million for bike-related projects and complete streets in the 2016 transportation sales tax measure. In San Mateo County, SVBC campaigned for the voter-approved Measure W to improve public transit and relieve traffic congestion as part of a coalition of advocates called TEAMC, securing millions of dollars for active transportation projects in the county. This is the power we have when we work together!

But what happens after a successful campaign? After the dollars are legislated and hit the coffers of your local and state transportation authorities? For counties and cities, this is where the real work begins. Unfortunately for them, the grant application process can be competitive and quite a slog, requiring planning that has not occurred, designs that need conceptualization, and staff they do not have. Oftentimes, especially in smaller cities, these tasks are delegated to the city’s planning division, a siloed engineer, a general staffer, or a fellow fresh out of college with a considerable workload already.

It is important to understand this context. As advocates, we need to identify ways we can support staff as they secure funding to meet the goals outlined in their active transportation plans, the road map for future bike and pedestrian safety improvements. 

One way SVBC has supported staff is producing the referenced letters of support. Grant applications are much stronger when the grantee can present community support, and SVBC’s local teams play an instrumental role providing expertise and input on their respective cities. When SVBC is approached by city staff to endorse a project or proposal, organizers like myself reach out to members in those communities to receive feedback, concerns, and background information. After all, it's the members that know their streets best! 

Grant applications come in cycles, and in the spring, three major grant programs closed their application windows. I wanted to outline these three major programs and provide some background on their purpose and scope. 

In San Mateo County, the county Transportation Authority accepted applications for Alternative Congestion Relief-Transportation Demand Management funding (ACR-TDM), a program to promote transit and alternative forms of commuting to reduce the use of vehicles. The agency did not receive enough applications in the most recent cycle that ended in May, rolling over funds to the next cycle. Sadly, a lack of applicants is not an uncommon issue and can directly be attributed to the limited bandwidth city staff have to prioritize resources to grant applications. During conversations with city leaders, advocates should push for these resources, including a dedicated bicycle and pedestrian staff member. You can learn more about submitting ACR-TDM applications before the September-23rd deadline by visiting the Transportation Authority’s website here. 

Another popular Active Transportation program our partners reached out about is funded through the California Transportation Commission (CTC), responsible for programing and funding multimodal transportation initiatives throughout California, including highway, transit and active transportation. You can learn more about the board and its inception here. 

Lastly, and the most popular grant, is the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG3) program awarded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), slated to distribute $750 million in federal dollars over the next three years. The purpose of the commission is to expand the Bay Area’s transportation network by fiscally supporting local transportation agencies to harmonize their efforts rather than working in silos. You can learn more about the MTC and OBAG3 here. 

Grant Applications by Awarding Agency/Commission

These are just a couple of the many grant opportunities available to local governments. If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, you’re in luck! SVBC developed an exhaustive list in a blog post that you can view here. 

SVBC is thrilled to partner with the 18 public entities to help bring more of these grant dollars into Bay Area communities and hope many more see the value it can bring to future grant applications. Advocates need to play a role at every stage of the development process, not just legislative or policy, but also implementation and evaluation. Our success relies on it!

As our partners receive updates on their grant applications, a subsequent blog will be released to update you on the funding SVBC helped secure. If you don’t see your city or town in the list of partners, please reach out to Anthony@bikesilicionvalley.org to brainstorm ways we can build relationships in your community and city hall. 

Santa Clara County

San Mateo County 

Anthony Montes
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