Funding Livable Communities Projects

Small-scale, transportation-oriented investments are making it easier to travel around the region without using a car. New planning strategies and innovative projects to bring more pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders into downtown areas, commercial cores and urban neighborhoods can result in more vibrant and interesting surroundings for residents and shoppers. In many communities, these changes are now being assisted by grants from the Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) program of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

The TLC program's primary goals are to:

• develop innovative community-based projects whose transportation elements can compete for capital funding at the regional level;
• provide "success stories" to encourage integration of transportation and land use throughout the region;
• forge unique partnerships between local jurisdictions, community organizations, transportation service providers, and the development community;
• make a significant contribution to the creation of a livable community.

Projects proposed for funding must support one or more of the objectives of MTC's Transportation/Land Use Connection policy which promotes development and redevelopment to create livable communities in the Bay Area. This policy, which was approved by MTC in 1996, states that the Commission encourages community plans which:

• enable residents to use a range of travel modes, including transit, walking and biking, to access jobs, shopping, recreation and other daily needs.
• provide that the streets, transit, pedestrian and bicycle ways are part of a system of integrated routes.
• provide for development of housing and regional activity centers that are accessible to the regional transit network.
• provide for a diversity of development and other community-oriented transportation strategies designed to limit the need to travel from one community to another for basic necessities.
• provide for the design of streets, other transportation facilities and amenities that are integrated into the overall community design and are conducive to a sense of community identity and pride.

To inspire local participation, a resource guide titled, "Moving Toward More Community-Oriented Transportation Strategies for the San Francisco Bay Area" was published by MTC in December 1996. It includes model codes, concept papers and research results, design guides and case studies.

Conceptual drawing of Fruitvale BART area

Communities with a proposed project can turn to the TLC program for three types of assistance:

• Support for community-based planning can assist a community to develop projects that improve the connection between the community and the regional transportation system. Recent TLC-funded planning has included projects near the 16th Street BART Station and in West Oakland. Funding can range from $5,000 to $50,000 for these projects.
• Technical planning assistance is available from experts on an MTC-developed list of firms specializing in urban design, architecture and transportation planning. These experts can help define the general concept of a project, assist with planning and implementation, or facilitate community input. Grants of up to $10,000 per project are available from TLC.
• Capital funding is available from discretionary funds included in the reauthorization of federal transportation funding legislation (TEA 21). MTC plans to allocate up to $5 million annually for TLC projects from Surface Transportation Program funds and up to $8 million annually from the Transportation Enhancement Program.

Local governments, community-based organizations and transportation service providers can apply for planning or technical assistance grants. The two-step process involves matching projects with the program criteria; those which qualify are then evaluated with respect to innovation, project readiness and the availability of local matching funds. The MTC Citizens' Advisory Committee also reviews the applications and a recommendation from MTC staff to the executive director then follows.

Among the program criteria are:

• a collaborative planning process which involves community stakeholders;
• the likelihood that improvements will have a "ripple effect" in the community;
• the project's ability to correct specific physical problems affecting such concerns as safety and security, walkability, protection of community cultural, historic and environmental resources, and access to daily needs;
• ability to complete the project within one year;
• the need for MTC funding to guarantee adequate financing.

Some of the projects already approved for TLC funding were two Caltrain stations (San Mateo-Hillsdale and Redwood City), planning for the Bayview/Hunters Point Town Center along MUNI's Third Street Light Rail, the future South San Francisco BART Station, and the downtown Sunnyvale Caltrain Station and Valley Transportation Authority Transit Center. In January an additional group of projects was proposed to use the remainder of the FY 1998-99 funding, including a design study for San Francisco's Broadway Corridor Revitalization and three design studies for neighborhoods near BART stations (Ashby in Berkeley, 24th Street in San Francisco, and Fruitvale in Oakland). Also proposed to be funded were grants to assist with planning an I-80 reliever route in Solano County, improvements in downtown Napa and land use for the St. Vincent/Silvera area in Marin County. The deadline for the next round of planning grants is September 1, 1999.

Capital grants, which provide funds for construction, also go through a two-step process. The initial screening matches the project against criteria which include the collaborative community planning process, a requested funding range between $150,000 and $2 million, a local match of at least 11.5%, and assurances that the project can be constructed on time and will accomplish needed changes in an effective manner. Projects which meet the screening criteria will be ranked based on community impact, project impact on a current or anticipated problem, and transportation/land use development and internal community mobility issues contained in the Transportation/Land Use Development policy. A committee of MTC staff and representatives of the MTC Advisory Council and the Bay Area Partnership evaluate proposed projects. In preparation for this new application process, MTC staff held workshops around the region.

Applications for the first round of capital project grants were due at the end of February, and the initial list of projects proposed for funding will be reviewed at MTC's Work Program Committee meeting in April, with MTC approval scheduled for the May Commission meeting.

Through the TLC grant program, local communities are finding the opportunity to plan and implement the integration of transportation and land use, improving livability for Bay Area residents.

Karen Frick, MTC, 510-464-7704; e-mail, kfrick@mtc.ca.gov

Online: http://ww.mtc.ca.gov/projects/livable_communities/lcindex.htm

Senior Housing - Conceptual Design