Tag: ATP

CalBike People-First Mobility Budget

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I had mentioned CalBike’s initial response to the governor’s budget, in the a modest proposal to fix the budget deficit post, referring to Stop Fueling Climate Change: Coalition Challenges Governor to Shift Transportation Spending. CalBike now has a more specific proposal, which they are calling the 2024 People-First Mobility Budget for California. This is part of CalBike’s Invest/Divest program. You can sign a petition on both the program and the budget pages, and I encourage you to do so. I did, and I also contributed to the program.

The CalBike People-First Mobility Budget shifts significant funds from the standard Caltrans budget, which is focused on build more, but don’t maintain what we have, to a state of good repair. The typical Caltrans budget, which the governor’s proposed budget continues, is what has gotten us into our horrible transportation mess. Time for a new paradigm! Thank you, CalBike.

CalBike People-First Mobility Budget graphic

I, of course, would go further. I’d spend 100% of Federal Trust Fund and the California State Highway Account (SHA) on VMT reduction, and I’d fund Active Transportation Program at $1B. I completely support the 50% to historically marginalized areas. These are the places that have been intentionally isolated, divided, and polluted by our current highway system. Nevertheless, I recognize the CalBike proposal as a very practical one, and hope that legislators will integrate all these ideas into the state budget.

CalBike Invest/Divest logo

Sac region does well on ATP grants

Dan Allison1 Comment

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) adopted the staff recommendations for funding Active Tranportation Program (ATP) grant applications. The Sacramento region did well, with seven grants awarded. Sacramento County received two, City of Sacramento two, Rancho Cordova one, West Sacramento one, and Placerville one. More detailed descriptions of these projects will be available on the CTC ATP or Caltrans websites.

CTC ATP awards for Sacramento region

The SACOG announcements will be made later, and there may be additional projects awarded that did not make the state-level cutoff of 89/100.

ATP regional projects

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The California Transportation Commission approved additional projects under the ATP (Active Transportation Program) statewide program, including these in the Sacramento region:

  • Yolo, Davis: Providing Safe Passage: Connecting Montgomery Elementary and Olive Drive
  • Placer, Roseville: Washington Boulevard Bikeway and Pedestrian Pathways
  • Sacramento, Citrus Heights: Citrus Heights Electric Greenway (Class 1 Multi-Use Trail); had received planning money only in original award
  • El Dorado: El Dorado Trail – Missouri Flat Road to El Dorado
  • El Dorado, Placerville: Upper Broadway Pedestrian Connection
  • Sacramento: Folsom Boulevard Complete Street Improvements, Phase 1
  • Sacramento: Two Rivers Trail (Phase II)

And one will receive advance funding so it can start earlier:

  • Yuba: Eleventh Avenue Pedestrian and Bicyclist Route Improvements

Other projects are funded at the regional MPO (SACOG) level. 

The Active Transportation Program petition

Dan Allison1 Comment

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership, along with a number of coalition partners, has offered a petition to increase the amount of funding for California’s Active Transportation Program (ATP). Information on the petition is at Safe Routes to School California and California Walks. What follows is not intended to discourage you from signing the petition. Rather, I’m suggesting that it doesn’t go far enough.

The petition asks for an increase of $100 million per year in funding. With the existing funding of about $120M, this would be just less than double the current funding, a not insignificant increase.

However, the amount is a tiny fraction the roughly $28 billion spent yearly on transportation in California. The majority of this expenditure is through Caltrans, and the majority of that is to expand the highway and road network. Those expenditures work directly against the goal of walkable, livable communities. Yes, expansions often now include some sidewalks and some bicycle facilities, but the preponderance of the project is not on these afterthoughts, but on increasing lane miles by extending and widening highways and roadways. Of the money expended on the road transportation system, about half comes from cities, counties and regions, about one-quarter from the federal government, and about one-quarter from the state. But because the state controls the federal and state portion, and state standards determine or strongly influence how the rest is spent, things must change at the state level.

Marketing for the petition includes: “Nearly $800 million in shovel-ready walking, bicycling and Safe Routes to School projects and programs were left unfunded in the first ATP awards cycle.” I imagine now that many agencies have started to figure out how ATP works, there will be even more applications this cycle, with an even bigger gap between applications and available funding. So would the addition of $100 million really make much of a difference? We have a long term deficit in active transportation of trillions of dollars. $100 million is not that significant.

The graphic below shows the portion of the state transportation budget (in red) going to the ATP program (in green) and which would be added (blue) if the petition resulted in supportive legislation. You may need to squint.

budget

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Active Transportation Program (ATP) in region

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This is not fresh news, but I just realized that I had not posted about grants in the Sacramento region under the Active Transportation Program cycle 1 awards in 2014.

Regional grants from the statewide program:

  • PLA, Roseville, Downtown Roseville Class 1 Trails, $2,547K
  • SAC, Elk Grove, Lower Laguna Creek Open Space Preserve Trail, $1,778K
  • SAC, Sacramento County, Howe Ave Sidewalk Infill and Bike Lane Improvements, $1,853K
  • SAC, San Juan USD, SRTS, $250K
  • YOL, Davis, SRTS Program, $562K
  • YOL, Woodland, 2014 SRTS, $539K
  • YUB, Marysville, SRTS Project & Programs, $489K

SACOG region grants:

  • ELD, El Dorado County Transportation Commission, Western Slope Bicycle Travel Opportunities Map $50K
  • PLA, City of Auburn, Nevada Street Pedestrian & Bicycle Facilities $799K
  • PLA, City of Colfax, North Main Street Bike Route Project $264K
  • SAC, City of Galt, South Galt Safe Routes to Schools $1,800K
  • SAC, City of Rancho Cordova, Mather Rails to Trails Project $2,235K
  • SAC, Sacramento County, El Camino Avenue Phase 2 – Street and Sidewalk Improvements $1,692K
  • SAC, City of Folsom, Oak Parkway Trail Undercrossing and Johnny Cash Trail Connection Project $992K
  • SUT, City of Yuba City, Franklin Road Improvements $313K
  • YOL, City of West Sacramento, Citywide Bike Lane Gap Closures $525K
  • YUB, Yuba County, Ella Elementary School Safe Routes to School Project $1,195K

There are also three projects on the SACOG contingency list.