Title
[Grant Applications] Fiscal Year (FY) 2027/2028 Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning
FileID
File ID: 2026-01641
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) authorizing the City Manager or designee to submit grant applications to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027/28 Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program; 2) authorizing the City Manager or designee to submit any related documents necessary to support the grant application; and 3) authorizing the City Manager or a designee to execute the grant agreements and any related grant documents if awarded.
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Contact
Contact: Nicole Zhi Ling Porter, Senior Planner, (916) 808-8519, nporter@cityofsacramento.org; Liza Welsh, Associate Planner, (916) 808-5347, lwelsh@cityofsacramento.org; Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Mobility & Sustainability Division Manager, (916) 808-5913, jdonlonwyant@cityofsacramento.org; Department of Public Works
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Vision Zero Top 20 Intersections Map
4-16th Street, J Street, and Truxel Road Area Map
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The City has a need for better transportation facilities, and most major projects rely on state and federal grants for funding. The Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program is a key funding source for transportation planning projects.
Caltrans issued a call for projects for the FY2027/28 Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program in August 2026. Applications are due in October 2026. Individual projects have a maximum request of $700,000. Caltrans will typically fund a maximum of one to two of the City’s applications.
Staff reviewed the City’s 2040 General Plan, Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, Transportation Priorities Plan priority projects, and draft Vision Zero Action Plan Update to identify, evaluate, and recommend submitting applications for two planning projects based on program criteria and City priorities.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The planning projects are consistent with specific Sacramento 2040 General Plan goals and policies of promoting mobility, safety and enhancing livability, sustainability, and economic vitality:
LUP-2.2 Interconnected City. The City should establish a network of interconnected activity centers, corridors, parks, and neighborhoods that promotes walking, bicycling, and mass transit use as viable alternatives to private vehicles.
LUP-4.2 Incentivizing Infill. The City shall consider a range of incentives to attract development to centers, corridors, and sites, including the following:
• Prioritization of capital investment strategies for infrastructure, services, and amenities to support development
M-1: An equitable, sustainable multimodal system that provides a range of viable and healthy travel choices for users of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
M-4.1 Application of Safety. The City shall design, plan, and operate streets using complete streets principles to ensure the safety and mobility of all users.
M-4.2 Safer Driving Speeds. The City shall work to maximize the safety of the transportation network by designing streets for lower driving speeds and enforcing speed limits in an unbiased manner as well as promoting safer driving behavior.
M-4.3 Vision Zero. The City shall utilize a data driven, “vision zero” approach to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2027, while increasing safety, health, and equitable mobility for all.
E-2.1 Investments for Inclusive, Equitable Growth. The City should make intentional investments to increase and diversify economic growth in an inclusive and equitable manner that focuses on neighborhoods and their unique needs.
The planning projects are also in accordance with the following City Council approved plan:
Vision Zero Action Plan: The proposed improvement and safety studies support the City’s Vision Zero goals to utilize a data driven, “vision zero” approach to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and equitable mobility for all. The grant applications specifically target the Top 20 intersections and three of the Top 10 corridors identified in the City’s updated Vision Zero High Injury Network.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): The pursuit of grant funds is not subject to the provisions of the CEQA. Under Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Applying for funding is an administrative action which will have no effect on the environment and is therefore not subject to CEQA review. Appropriate CEQA review for individual projects will take place as part of project development.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: The planning projects are consistent with sustainability goals of promoting walking by developing a universally accessible, safe, convenient, integrated, and well-connected transportation system.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: The City’s Active Transportation Commission reviewed staff recommendations for this grant program at its September 17, 2026, meeting and the Commission forwarded a recommendation to City Council to submit these grant applications.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: With limited available sources of local funding to meet the City’s goals to advance transportation safety and mobility options, grant funding is essential to deliver projects. Staff are recommending two planning projects based on grant program criteria and City priorities. The granting agency requires City Council authorize the list of projects with a resolution and that the City Manager or their designee sign the applications.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Competitive federal and state grants are the primary sources of funding for transportation and sustainability projects in the City. Local funding is required to provide the required match to leverage state and federal funds and cover costs not eligible for reimbursement. For the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant program, Caltrans requires a minimum 11.47% local match. The table below shows each planning project and the expected local funds needed to secure and deliver the grant.
|
Project |
Estimated Local Match |
|
Top 20 Vision Zero Intersection Improvements Study |
$100,000 |
|
Sacramento Vision Zero Corridors Mobility & Safety Study |
$100,000 |
If funded, the required local funds will be dedicated from the Active Transportation Program (T15180400), which has adequate funding to support the match requirements for both plans. Staff will provide recommendations to Council for any necessary budgetary actions related to local funding in the event that both grants are awarded.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not Applicable.
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Background
Background:
Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program
The Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant (STPG) Program was created to support the
California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) Mission: Improving lives and communities
through transportation. State-funded Sustainable Communities grants are intended to support and implement Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) Sustainable Communities Strategies/Alternative Planning Strategies (SCS/APS) (where applicable) and to ultimately achieve the State’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target of 40 and 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 2045, respectively.
Eligible planning projects must have a transportation nexus per Article XIX, Sections 2 and 3 of the California Constitution. Successful planning projects are expected to directly benefit the multimodal transportation system while also improving public health, social equity, environmental justice, the environment, and providing other important community benefits. Grant fund availability spans over three Fiscal Years (FYs) and grantees will have approximately 32 months to complete grant activities upon execution of the grant agreement and Caltrans issuance of a Notice to Proceed letter.
The call for projects for the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant program was announced on August 18, 2026. Grant applications are due on October 9, 2026, and Caltrans is requesting a resolution by the City Council approving the submission of the applications.
City staff reviewed the City’s 2040 General Plan, Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, Transportation Priorities Plan priority projects, and draft Vision Zero Action Plan Update to identify, evaluate, and recommend planning projects based on program criteria and City priorities. Staff recommend submittal of the following planning projects:
1. Top 20 Vision Zero Intersection Improvements Study
The City of Sacramento is committed to working collaboratively in a data-driven effort to create safer streets and bring the number of people killed or seriously injured in a traffic collision to zero. Through Vision Zero, Sacramento approaches transportation safety by not only pursuing large capital projects and spot improvements, but by taking a systematic and comprehensive approach to our transportation environment.
The City’s most recent 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan Update identified that 81% of crashes in the city occur within 150 feet of an intersection. For the first time, the update included an evaluation of intersections with the highest number of serious or fatal traffic-related collisions (KSIs) in addition to an updated Top 10 Corridors list.
The proposed study would evaluate the City’s Top 20 Vision Zero intersections and develop potential improvements tailored to each location. Building on recently compiled data from the 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan Update, the study would evaluate crash patterns, identify the road users most frequently involved in crashes, and develop safety improvements and countermeasures for each intersection. The project would then evaluate the feasibility of recommended improvements, identify opportunities for quick-build projects, and advance each of the 20 intersections to 30% design.
2. Sacramento Vision Zero Corridors Mobility & Safety Study
The City of Sacramento remains committed to creating a transportation system that improves safety, supports mobility, enhances sustainability, and responds to ongoing housing and economic development needs. To advance these goals, staff recommend pursuing grant funding for the Sacramento Vision Zero Corridors Mobility & Safety Study.
The 2018 Vision Zero Action Plan analyzed crash data from 2009 through 2015, and in 2020, the Vision Zero Top 5 Corridors plan was approved by City Council. The 2026 Vision Zero Action Plan Update identifies the next set of Top 10 corridors based on collision data from 2015 through 2024.16th Street, J Street, and Truxel Road are among the new corridors that emerged from this analysis. These corridors are locations where safety challenges intersect with land-use change, increasing travel demand, and opportunities to improve connections between housing and neighborhood destinations.
The Sacramento Vision Zero Corridors Mobility & Safety Study will analyze collision patterns, identify road users most frequently impacted by severe and fatal crashes, and develop context-specific mobility and safety improvements along each corridor. The study will also identify opportunities for quick-build projects and generate concepts that are suitable for advancement to design and future funding.
Both 16th Street from A Street to Q Street and J Street from 13th Street to 19th Street serve areas experiencing significant infill housing and mixed-use development. Although the Vision Zero Action Plan identifies 16th Street from A Street to Capitol Avenue, staff recommend extending the analysis to Q Street to better connect with existing separated bikeways and to support new development along the Q and R Street corridors, including the Ice Blocks. Continued residential growth in Midtown, including affordable units and the planned redevelopment of a major portion of the Blue Diamond Growers campus, strengthens the need for improved multimodal access and corridor safety planning in this part of the city.
In North Natomas, Truxel Road from Arena Boulevard to the Interstate 80 overpass serves an area experiencing renewed development momentum. The City Council has advanced a plan to create a special financing district that will support the redevelopment of the former 183-acre ARCO Arena site into Innovation Park, a mixed-use district planned to include a major medical campus, diverse housing options, retail and commercial spaces, a public school, and new parkland. Evaluating multimodal access and safety along Truxel Road will help ensure that transportation infrastructure is positioned to meet the needs of future residents, workers, and visitors.
Staff seeks Council approval to submit two grant applications. Pursuing these grants will allow the City to address safety needs on newly identified high-priority corridors while also supporting mobility, sustainability, housing growth, and economic development in both the Central City and North Natomas.
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