Staff Report. Allocation of Congestion Management and Air Quality Improvement Program Funding

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1 ITEM 7B Staff Report Subject: Contact: Allocation of Congestion Management and Air Quality Improvement Program Funding Eric Cowle, Transportation Program Manager Recommendation: Consider and select one of the following options, or develop another approach, for allocating approximately $30 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds: Option 1- Call for Projects: Initiate a competitive call for projects process to cities, Sunline Transit Agency and other organizations to compete for federal CMAQ Funding, and reserve $8 million for the first phase of regional signal synchronization; or Option 2- Project-Specific Allocation: Authorize the Executive Director to take the necessary steps to allocate $27 million for the regional signal synchronization program and $3 million for complementary Sunline quick bus and rideshare programs. Background: What is CMAQ? The purpose of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) is to fund transportation projects or programs that will contribute to attainment or maintenance of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Eligible projects for CMAQ funding include idle reduction, congestion reduction & traffic flow improvements, transportation control measures (TCMs), transit improvements, bicycle and pedestrian facilities programs, carpooling and vanpooling. The Coachella Valley is currently in non-attainment for ozone and particulate matter, and is eligible for this federal funding. Under the current federal transportation legislation (FAST Act), CVAG s CMAQ apportionment is approximately $6 million per year, with funding expiring set to expire at the end of FY 19/20. This projects to a balance of approximately $30 million available for CVAG to obligate towards projects. Federal CMAQ funds require a minimum local match of 11.47%. Previous CMAQ funding cycles The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) is the lead transportation agency for the County. As in previous CMAQ cycles, CVAG is the responsible agency that recommends projects for CMAQ funds in the Salton Sea Air Basin (SSAB) and forwards the recommendations to RCTC. Over the years, the Executive Committee has opted for various

2 methods to distribute the funding. In some funding cycles, there has been a call for projects. In other years, CVAG has mirrored the practice of other agencies and directly allocated funding to specific projects of regional significance. The fact that CMAQ funds are federal transportation dollars provides complexities in determining whether a project will be eligible for CMAQ funding. In previous cycles, there have been some projects that were deemed eligible at the local level but ultimately found ineligible at the federal level. There have been challenges with the more conventional, capacity enhancement projects as well, including grade separation projects. Part of the issue has been the source of funding itself. As a federal funding program, there are additional requirements that make these dollars more useful for projects that easily meet the congestion management and air quality requirements. Oftentimes, these projects already involve federal agency or Caltrans oversight and involvement. To allocate this year s funding, staff is presenting options that are consistent with previous practices by the Executive Committee: Option 1 would follow allocate $8 million to regional signal synchronization which will cover construction of the project s first phase and develop a competitive call for projects whereby SunLine Transit Agency and member jurisdictions could submit projects. Given the priority that the Executive Committee has consistently shown for regional signal synchronization, Option 2 would allocate $27 million to fund multiple phases of signal synchronization. Rather than ask SunLine to compete for funding during a call for projects, Option 2 would also allocate $3 million to a complementary Quick Bus and ride share program. Signal Synchronization Both options presented by staff would provide funding necessary for signal synchronization. The need to improve the region s air quality as well as improve traffic flow was a driving force behind CVAG launching the regional signal synchronization program in The consensus has been that synchronization must be done regionally not city by city, nor even one major roadway at a time in order to have the greatest benefits. This view has been reinforced by the decisions to forgo city-specific signal synchronization projects in favor of a larger, regional project. Signal synchronization is a cost-effective way to expand capacity and improve traffic flow on the regional arterials. Great progress has been made on this regional effort, which is now a federalized project, and an update is being provided as part of a separate staff report at the Transportation Committee meeting. Staff is recommending that at least $8 million (Option 1) and up to $27 million (Option 2) of the CMAQ dollars be reserved for signal synchronization. CVAG s Regional Signal Synchronization Program is designed to improve air quality and reduce congestion and is an eligible CMAQ project. Based on the preliminary engineering and draft Master Plan, the first phase of construction including Highway 111, Ramon Road and Washington Street is expected to cost $16 million. CVAG currently has about $8 million allocated toward this cost, including CMAQ funding. By allocating at least $8 million in additional CMAQ funding during this funding cycle, the entire first phase will be complete. Phase I Construction Funding Current Proposed Regional transportation funds $2.763M $2.763M

3 CMAQ $5.315M $13.315M Total $8.078M $16.078M As noted above, the first phase of construction covers three regional corridors. In June 2017, the Executive Committee prioritized the top 21 corridors and included another 49 un-prioritized corridors into the regional signal synchronization program. When these corridors were presented for approval, CVAG staff noted that additional funding sources would need to be identified for these corridors. CVAG has also heard from member jurisdictions an interest in expediting the remaining corridors on the list. The availability of CMAQ funding is an opportunity to address this issue. Option 2, as outlined in the staff recommendation, will allocate substantially more funding than Option 1 to synchronization efforts. It will show that CVAG continues to make this project a top priority. It also will fund construction in additional cities, which may not immediately see the benefits from the first three corridors that are funded with Option 1. CVAG staff recognizes the desire of member agencies to maximize the project s impact across the valley. If Option 2 is chosen, the additional $19 million in funding will be considered reserved for signal synchronization but will not be allocated to a specific corridor like the $8 million identified for the first three corridors. Upon completion of the project s design and further work to finalize costs, CVAG staff will return to the Executive Committee to formally approve a project and identify all the corridors that can be funded with CMAQ and any other funds. SunLine Transit Agency projects Option 2, as presented in the staff recommendation, also identifies two SunLine Transit Agency projects a Quick Bus and a rideshare that could complement signal synchronization. The projects, which are outlined in the attachments, are both CMAQ eligible and would require approximately $3 million in funding. The first SunLine project is a Quick Bus that would operate on Sunline s Highway 111 line, making 50% fewer stops to significantly reduce travel times between Palm Springs and Coachella. Signal synchronization could further reduce travel times for this service. Sunline estimates this project will cost $1.7 million in CMAQ funding. The second SunLine project would be called Sunline Rideshare, designed to bridge the first/last mile gap of travel. The service would follow turn-by-turn instructions from a navigation system that connects live traffic conditions and real-time requests for pick-ups and drop-offs. The service would be used for short trips under 3 miles in defined service zones, utilizing a smaller zero or low emissions transit vehicle. The Sunline Rideshare program would utilize an application-driven reservation system, and would be entirely consistent with the smart-city initiatives that benefit from the Signal Synchronization Program. SunLine has significant experience with federalized projects and anticipates no issues with adhering to the stringent requirements that come with accepting CMAQ funding. Call for projects Should the Committee support a call for projects as outlined in Option 1, CVAG staff would recommend that we substantially mirror the approach outlined in CVAG staff would work with the Transportation Technical Advisory Sub-Committee (TTAS), RCTC staff and others to develop a call for projects. An ad hoc committee could be established again to review applications. The recommended projects would then be presented back through the CVAG committee structure.

4 Fiscal Analysis: The recommendations will impact the federal grant funding that s allocated to CVAG. Local matching requirements are the responsibility of the applying agency. In the case of CVAG s requested CMAQ funding for signal synchronization, no additional local match is required as previously-approved funding sources are adequate to meet the 11.47%. Sunline has indicated that they also can provide matching dollars for their two projects. Approving as much as $27 million of CMAQ funding to signal synchronization will fund the first phase of the project and allocate funding to future cycles, thereby expanding the corridors that are funded. It also reduces the need to use local transportation funding sources for future stages of the project. This will, in turn, free up Measure A and Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) funding for other regional transportation projects that, if they were submitted during a CMAQ call for projects, might not qualify because they aren t federalized or don t have the required matching funds. Attachments: SunLine Proposal, Quick Bus Sunline Proposal, Rideshare

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