Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Guidelines

Transcription

1 2017 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Guidelines Lancaster County Transportation Coordinating Committee Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

2 Program Description The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) combined Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Recreational Trails (RTP) programs into one program called Transportation Alternatives. SRTS projects are eligible for TA funding. The RTP program is separate set-aside from the TAP funds and is administered by DCNR. The Transportation Alternatives Program provides federal funds for community-based projects that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by integrating modes and improving the cultural, historic, and environmental aspects of our transportation infrastructure. Projects include on-road and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities; infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility; community improvement activities; environmental mitigation; safe routes to school projects; streetscape improvements; refurbishment of historic transportation facilities; and other investments that enhance communities, connections, and access. Who Can Apply? Entities eligible to receive TAP funds are: local governments regional transportation authorities transit agencies natural resource or public land agencies school districts, local education agencies, or schools tribal governments any other local or regional governmental entity with responsibility for oversight of transportation trails that the State determines to be eligible Non-profits are NOT eligible applicants, but can partner with any eligible entity on an eligible TAP project. 10 Transportation Alternatives Eligible Activities 1. Pedestrian & Bicycle Facilities - Sidewalks, walkways or curb ramps; bike lane striping, wide paved shoulders, bike parking and bus racks; traffic calming; off-road trails; bike and pedestrian bridges and underpasses; ADA compliance. Construction of on-road and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized forms of transportation, including sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle signals, traffic calming techniques, lighting and other safety-related infrastructure, and transportation projects to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of Safe Routes for Non-Drivers: Access and accommodation for children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. Construction of infrastructure-related projects and systems that will provide safe routes for nondrivers, including children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities to access daily needs. 1

3 3. Conversion of Abandoned Railway Corridors to Trails: Acquisition of railroad rights-of-way; construction of multiuse trails and rail-with-trail projects. Conversion and use of abandoned railroad corridors for trails for pedestrians, bicyclists, or other non-motorized transportation users. 4. Scenic Turnouts and Overlooks: Construction of turnouts, overlooks, and viewing areas. Communities develop the scenic and historic character of highways. These projects make the travel experience educational and attract tourists to local roads. 5. Outdoor Advertising Management: Billboard inventories and removal of illegal and nonconforming billboards. Inventory control may include, but not be limited to, data collection, acquisition and maintenance of digital aerial photography, video logging, scanning and imaging of data, developing and maintaining an inventory and control database, and hiring of outside legal counsel. 6. Historic Preservation & Rehab of Historic Transportation Facilities: Preservation of buildings and facades in historic districts; restoration of historic buildings for transportation-related purposes; access improvements to historic sites. Restoration of railroad depots, bus stations and lighthouses; rehabilitation of rail trestles, tunnels, bridges and canals. 7. Vegetation management practices in transportation rights-of-way to improve roadway safety, prevention of invasive species, and provide erosion control. 8. Archaeological activities: allows communities to explore the history in America with archaeological in conjunction with an eligible highway construction project; including research, preservation planning, and interpretation, exhibits, guides, inventories, and surveys. 9. Stormwater Mitigation: Pollution prevention and abatement activities to address stormwater management; water pollution prevention related to highway construction or due to highway runoff. Any environmental mitigation activity, including pollution prevention and pollution abatement activities and mitigation to address stormwater management, control, and water pollution prevention or abatement related to highway construction or due to highway runoff 10. Wildlife Mortality Management: Reduction of vehicle-caused wildlife mortality; restoration and maintenance of connectivity among terrestrial or aquatic habitats. Any environmental mitigation activity, including pollution prevention and pollution abatement activities and mitigation to reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality or to restore and maintain connectivity among terrestrial or aquatic habitats. These activities (previously eligible under Transportation Enhancements) are no longer eligible under TA: safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicycles acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites scenic or historic highway programs (including visitor and welcome centers) operation of historic transportation facilities archaeological planning and research undertaken for proactive planning establishment of transportation museums Projects must relate to surface transportation and fall under one or more of the eligible activities as described above. The project must be accessible to the general public or targeted to a broad segment of the public. 2

4 Proposals must be for a complete, identifiable, and usable facility or activity. Funds are not available for partial projects that cannot function as a complete and useful activity. Funding is available, however, for a particular phase of a multi-phase project. The Program is designed to fund transportation related projects that are over and above what is considered routine construction and maintenance. Safe Routes to School projects must be within approximately two miles of a school for kindergarten through eighth grade. Funding A. Applicant Share TAP funds will cover 100% of the construction phase of a project (including construction inspection) with the applicant responsible for paying all necessary pre-construction activity costs. Pre-construction activities include preliminary engineering, final design, acquisition, right of way, utility clearance, and environmental clearance. B. Cost Reimbursement THIS IS NOT A GRANT PROGRAM The TAP Program is a federal cost reimbursement program. PennDOT is advancing a "certified invoice" process whereby project sponsors, upon receipt of invoices for project activities, certify their accuracy and forward them to PennDOT for payment processing. Upon receipt of a check from PennDOT (usually 4-6 weeks), the sponsor pays the contractor within ten days after getting reimbursed from PennDOT. By using this process, the project sponsor does not normally have to use its own funds. C. How much funding is available? Approximately $808,000 is available for the 2017 and 2018 application cycle. Application Process A. Notice of Intent Prior to submitting an application, all potential applicants must file a Notice of Intent (NOI). NOIs will be reviewed to determine if the proposed project has met the eligibility requirements. If it is determined that a project is ineligible, the Applicant will be contacted prior to submitting an application. B. Application Form The Transportation Alternatives Program application is available on the Lancaster County Planning Commission (LCPC) website at under News. The application must be completed electronically and submitted via to Lauri Ahlskog ahlskogl@co.lancaster.pa.us 3

5 C. Application Submission Deadline Applications must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM on July 31, Late applications will not be considered. D. Pre-Application Workshop A pre-application workshop is scheduled for April 9, 2015 from 8:30AM to 10:30 AM at the Lancaster County Government Center Annex, Room 102, 150 N. Queen Street, PA. Pre-application workshop attendance is not required, but project sponsors are strongly encouraged to Attend, especially first time applicants. RSVP to the Lancaster County Planning Commission. E. Interview Prior to ranking the projects, the review committee will conduct interviews with each applicant to provide the applicant with the opportunity to provide further details about their project. Timeline April 9, 2015 April 9, 2015 May 15, 2015 June 1, 2015 July 31, 2015 August 3-14, 2015 September 7-11, 2015 Oct Nov Dec June 2016 Notices of Intent and Guidelines are issued Workshop Notice of Intent forms are due Applications are issued Applications are due Application review Applicant interviews Applications are evaluated/scored and funding recommendations are made Funding Recommendation presented to TTAC and MPO Selected projects are made part of draft TIP TIP is adopted by the MPO Project Evaluation Criteria All projects submitted for Transportation Alternatives funding must meet two core criteria. Projects that fail to meet these core criteria will not advance further in the process. Projects that meet the core criteria are then further evaluated by five weighted criteria. CORE CRITERIA 1. Project meets at least one of the 10 TA Eligible Activities 2. Applicant is an eligible entity 4

6 WEIGHTED CRITERIA 100 points total 1. The project provides an alternate means of transportation by creating a new connection, connecting to an existing facility, or filling in a gap between two existing alternative transportation facilities. 30 points 2. The project implement goals and objectives in the municipal, regional, and/or county comprehensive plan or specialized plan. 25 points 3. Implementation of the project will have significant regional impact on facilitating/increasing/encouraging alternative transportation use. 25 points 4. The project will connect residential, shopping, institutional, and recreation facilities. 10 points 5. Matching project funding has been acquired by the applicant. 10 points Other Program Information 1. Bidding All projects must be bid through PennDOT s Engineering and Construction Management System (ECMS). Sponsors shall make sure their consultant/engineer is familiar with the ECMS process and requirements. 2. Multi-municipal projects - Projects sponsored by more than one municipality shall include a Resolution of Project Support approved by the Board of Supervisors or Borough Council of each municipality participating in the project that affirms the municipality s support of the project and commitment to its local share of the funding. A copy of the executed agreement shall be provided with the application. 3. Reimbursement Agreement - The project sponsor must execute a standard legal agreement with PennDOT prior to proceeding with any work on the project. Any project costs incurred prior to the execution of a reimbursement agreement for which federal dollars are requested will not be eligible for reimbursement. Interest payments made by municipalities or other project sponsors to finance any portion of the project costs are not reimbursable. 4. Budget - A reliable estimate will be prepared by a licensed engineer of the expected costs for each phase of the project (preliminary engineering, final design, utilities, right-of-way, construction). In arriving at a reliable estimate, the applicant is encouraged to recognize that compliance with federal requirements generally adds costs beyond the costs of locally-funded projects and the applicant should factor in a 30% contingency cost for construction projects. It must be demonstrated that there is an acceptable implementation strategy for the project. List itemized activities and the estimated cost of each of these, include labor costs, supplies and materials and other anticipated costs. The budget must be prepared to demonstrate the most accurate estimated costs. It should be divided into project development phases that include environmental clearance, right-of-way, and construction phases. The budget should identify all sources of funding and how each itemized activity will be funded. Estimated funding for the project that may be from other sources should be identified as other federal funds (not from the USDOT), state, local, donated services, in-kind services, volunteer and Youth Service and Conservation Corps. Even though the preliminary engineering and right-of- way costs are not funded by TAP funds, a complete budget is needed to ensure that the applicant has the money to fund these phases, or document what was already spent as local match. 5

7 5. Environmental Clearance All projects will require an environmental clearance document as part of the preliminary engineering phase of work. The level of effort varies by the type of project, the amount of impacts and the degree of public controversy. Except in unusual circumstances, a TAP project should be processed as a Categorical Exclusion (CE) under the NEPA process. 6. Project Engineering and Inspection Projects must follow standard federal/state procedures for all phases of work. Project sponsors should acquire the services of a qualified project manager to oversee the development and implementation of the project (including project inspection) and ensure compliance with all state and federal requirements. This professional may be an architect, landscape architect, or engineer depending upon the nature and scope of the project. The acquisition of consultant services must be in accordance with an acceptable process. In the case of municipally sponsored projects, municipalities may choose to use their municipal engineers with PennDOT approval, or follow an approved consultant selection process. It is important to recognize that the project sponsor, not PennDOT, employs the design and/or construction professionals. 7. Right-of-Way Clearance All right-of-way acquisition must follow federal regulations, including the Uniform Act (Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies of 1970). Right-of-way certification will be required for all projects prior to advertising for construction bids. 8. Utility Clearance All projects must have a utility clearance form processed prior to the advertisement for bids. This procedure requires that the sponsor certify that all necessary arrangements have been completed for the relocation of any affected utility. 9. Permits It will be the responsibility of the project sponsor to secure all necessary permits to design or implement the project. These may involve permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as local municipal permits, PennDOT highway occupancy agreements (HOA), highway occupancy permits (HOP) etc. 10. Public Utility Commission (PUC) Involvement Certain projects may require the involvement of the Public Utility Commission. It will be the responsibility of the project sponsor to contact the Public Utility Commission to secure the necessary actions by that agency. 6

8 11. Construction Project sponsors may proceed with the construction phase of the project only upon receipt of PennDOT's written authorization (notice to proceed). This will ensure that all necessary approvals have been secured. An approved contractor must perform construction. All material used in conjunction with the project must meet project specifications and special provisions included in the Plans, Specifications, and Estimate package. 15% of the estimated construction cost is used for project inspection and must be included in the total construction costs. 12. Cost Increases/Changes in Scope of Work Each programmed project has been approved for a specific scope of work and funding level based on the information submitted by the project sponsor. All changes in the scope of work for increases in federal funding must be approved by the MPO and PennDOT prior to proceeding with the work. 13. Maintenance The project sponsor will be responsible for the maintenance, including sidewalk maintenance, of the project after completion of construction as indicated in the Reimbursement Agreement. The project sponsor should develop a plan for maintenance, upkeep and operation of a project constructed with federal funding. TAP funds can not to be used for the operation and/or maintenance of projects. 14. Project Cancellation A project sponsor may, at any time in the project development process, decide to cancel the project and drop out of the Program. The project sponsor will be responsible for the reimbursement of all federal funds received as of that date. The sponsor will also be responsible for payment of all outstanding invoices to all project contractors. 7

9 Frequently Asked Questions 1. How much funding is available during this TAP project solicitation round? During this TAP funding round, approximately $808,000 is available in FFY 2017 and FFY Design for my project is nearly complete. May I include these costs in my application total? Yes - Design costs incurred in advance of project approval can be used to meet the required local match for pre-construction funding (if the value of these expenses is determined to be reasonable). Federal funds may not, however, be provided to retroactively reimburse a sponsor for design costs incurred. 3. Can the members of our organization, staff or equipment be used to construct the project, and use the value of our labor as our matching share of the project? Yes - credit can be used/given, but no match is required for the construction phase. 4. Can I use a grant from another federal program to match the federal funds I receive under the TAP Program? Yes - Funds from other federal agencies (not other U.S. Department of Transportation funds) may be used for the non-federal or local match for the project. 5. My project will obviously have positive benefits to the environment. Why do I have to obtain environmental clearance? All federally funded projects must have an environmental document, which quantifies the impacts of the project (both positive and negative) on the environment. There are three levels of an environmental document: Categorical Exclusion (CE), Environmental Assessment (EA), and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Most TA projects will fall under the Categorical Exclusion. 6. Why do I need a construction inspector for my project? Federal and state regulations require that an individual who is familiar with federal and state construction requirements review the project during the construction phase to assure that it is constructed in accordance with those regulations. 7. Can Transportation Alternatives Program funds be used for landscaping and scenic enhancement as an independent project? No. TAP funds cannot be used for landscaping and scenic enhancement as independent projects. However, landscaping and scenic enhancement are eligible as part of the construction of any Federal-aid highway project under 23 U.S.C. 319, including TAP-funded projects. 8

10 8. Does "vegetation management" under the definition of transportation alternatives include routine maintenance? No. Routine maintenance is not eligible as a TAP activity. 9. Do the project design and construction inspection have to be conducted by separate consulting firms? It depends on the project. For projects approved at $1 million or less in construction costs, the final design consultant may be considered for construction inspection. Sponsors should check with PennDOT for the processes to follow in allowing the same consultant to be used for both design and construction inspection services. 10. Can construction inspection be paid for out of the TAP construction funding award? Yes - Sponsors should assume that 15% of their construction cost estimate will be the amount needed for inspection services. 11. Can TAP funds be matched with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding? Yes - If CDBG funds are used to pay for the sponsor's pre-construction costs, there is no issue. However, sponsors should coordinate with PennDOT if using TAP and CDBG funds for construction. 12. Will local letting be allowed for TAP projects? No - All projects will be advertised and let through PennDOT s ECMS (Engineering and Construction Management System). 13. If the sponsor has a completed environmental clearance for another agency, will that expedite the clearance required for the TAP Program? Maybe - It may help the review move forward, but the clearances completed under FHWA procedures by PennDOT may consider separate or additional factors that take considerable time to complete. 14. Where can I find additional resources on TAP? Transportation Alternatives Data Exchange (TrADE) Federal Highway Administration Transportation Alternatives Interim Guidance These TAP Guidelines are subject to change per Guidance from PennDOT and FHWA0 9