District: Headquarters
Contact: Edward Barrera
SACRAMENTO – Caltrans today announced its award of $26.5 million in planning grants for 65 local projects to strengthen climate resiliency, reduce planet-warming pollution, improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and increase natural disaster preparedness throughout California. Including the grants announced today, the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant program has awarded more than $292 million to 750 projects since 2015.
Nearly $3 million of these funds comes from one-time state and federal sources made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s historic $15 billion clean transportation package — part of the 2022-23 budget to further the state’s ambitious climate goals. Another $12.4 million comes from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The awards will fund project planning and conceptual design efforts, helping move the projects closer to construction.
“These selected projects will greatly improve mobility statewide by supporting multimodal transportation and help our under-resourced communities become more climate resilient. By supporting our local and tribal partners, California can maintain a sustainable, adaptable and resilient transportation system to help all Californians become better connected.”
Funding includes:
- $21.2 million in Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical Grants to 51 local and regional, transit agencies and tribes for transportation and land use planning, as well as planning for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes more than $10 million to fund 25 projects that improve safety and access for people who walk and bike. Ninety-four percent of these projects awarded will benefit under-resourced communities.
- $3.1 million in Climate Adaptation Planning Grants – all from Governor Newsom’s clean transportation infrastructure package – to eight local and regional agencies to identify transportation-related climate vulnerabilities through the development of climate adaptation plans, as well as project-level adaptation planning to address climate impacts to transportation infrastructure. Seventy-five percent of these projects awarded will benefit under-resourced communities.
- $2.2 million in federally funded Strategic Partnerships Grants to six projects that will plan for an equitable regional tolling program, comprehensive multimodal corridors, regional freight resilience planning, rural corridor studies to improve transportation infrastructure on or near tribal lands, transit mobility hubs and Bus Rapid Transit.
Projects include:
- $700,000 for the Balboa Park Multimodal Mobility Study in San Diego. The study will recommend strategies to create safe pedestrian and bike access, reclaim underutilized infrastructure for engaging and inviting public spaces and strengthen multimodal networks connecting under-resourced communities and the entire San Diego region to Balboa Park.
- $612,000 for the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency’s Microgrid Phase 2 Study. With state funding, the agency completed a groundbreaking study on the Fresno County Microgrid & Multimodal Resiliency Hub. It explored transit microgrids and community resiliency hubs to increase transportation access and provide backup power during wildfires, blackouts and other emergencies. Now, the agency will create partnerships with Fresno County public schools to install microgrids on school district properties.
- $611,000 for the Nighttime Safety Enhancement Plan to improve traffic safety for all roadway users at night in the city of Hayward. This plan will assess the existing lighting conditions on city streets and propose minimum illumination levels for corridors frequented by pedestrians and bicyclists. The plan will help achieve the city’s Vision Zero goal, as approximately 58 percent of fatal and severe injury crashes in the city occur in darkness.
- $422,650 for a climate adaptation vulnerability analysis in Mendocino County to identify and prioritize the replacement of culverts on rural and county roadways. The county experiences frequent flooding due to inadequate culvert capacities and the effects of extreme weather. This analysis will ultimately help reduce flooding on key roadways and better protect the county’s rural communities.
- $422,650 for the Rose Bowl Area & Brookside Park Multimodal Connectivity Project in Pasadena to address longstanding connectivity challenges faced by the city’s under-resourced communities. The plan will address these challenges by developing a multimodal transportation plan emphasizing safe, sustainable active transportation and transit connections to the historic Rose Bowl, an important venue for the 2028 Olympics. The plan will also focus on improving transit options for residents to Brookside Park, adjacent schools, employment centers and neighboring communities.
- $309,855 to develop a plan for a multi-use trail along Otis Avenue in the city of Corcoran. The plan will provide multimodal connectivity to the city’s transit station, Amtrak station, the downtown district, Gateway Park and housing along Otis Avenue. The project will also address critical safety and accessibility challenges for pedestrians, cyclists and disabled travelers in Corcoran’s under-resourced community and improve connectivity to housing, businesses, transit and outdoor recreation.
View the complete list of this year’s planning grant project awardees
Caltrans awards transportation planning grants each year through a competitive process to fund local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects. These grants assist in achieving the Caltrans Mission and Grant Program Objectives. Applications are evaluated based on how projects advance state transportation and climate goals by identifying and addressing statewide, interregional or regional transportation deficiencies on the highway system.
SB 1 provides $5 billion in transportation funding annually that is shared equally between state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of SB 1 funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1.
To view the latest news and information on state and federal infrastructure investments, visit build.ca.gov.