Title
2024 State Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP): Joint Grant Application with Capitol Corridor JPA (T15029000)
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FileID
File ID: 2024-01152
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Location
Location: 401 I Street, District 4, Represented by Mayor Steinberg
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) directing staff to submit an application for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) in collaboration with Capitol Corridor JPA (CCJPA) as lead agency applicant; 2) authorizing the City Manager to accept the City of Sacramento portion of awarded grant funding from the State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and execute the grant agreement and any related grant documents; and 3) upon award of the 2024 TRICP grant, authorize the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to execute agreements and any related documents with Downtown Railyards Ventures, LLC for reimbursement of environmental, engineering and construction funds from TIRCP grant funds.
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Contact
Contact: Gregory Taylor, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager, (916) 808-5268, gtaylor@cityofsacramento.org; Lucinda Willcox, Assistant Director of Public Works, (916) 808-5052, lwillcox@cityofsacramento.org; Department of Public Works
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) issued a Request for Proposals for the seventh round of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Applications are due July 23, 2024. If approved in this action, the City of Sacramento will be a sub-applicant under a master grant application made by Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA).
CCJPA will make the final determination on projects to be included in the TIRCP application through an analysis of project benefit criteria that will produce a competitive grant application package. The City’s project request for consideration for this application include the following three projects: 1) funds for Project Approval and Environmental documentation (PA&ED) for the relocation of the Northbound Interstate 5 ramp and extension of 3rd Street into the Sacramento Valley Station; 2) funds for Project Approval and Environmental documentation (PA&ED) for the construction of a pedestrian and bike bridgeway and accessible access improvements in the City right-of-way of the former 4th Street between I Street and J Street; and 3) engineering and construction funds for the southern terminal segment of Bercut Street with bike and pedestrian trail to connect with the Westside Tunnel, enabling the opening of this tunnel connection to 2nd Street, Old Sacramento, and the Sacramento Valley Station.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The recommendation in this report is consistent with the City of Sacramento General Plan goals to improve system connectivity and promote economic and infill development. The City has developed facility plan for expanding regional bus access to the station which meet the service needs for the station outlined in the 2018 State Rail Plan for increasing for intercity passenger rail and regional bus networks with milestones in 2022, 2027 and 2040.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), under Statutory Exemption 15262, feasibility and planning studies for possible future actions do not require the preparation of environmental documents, but they do require the consideration of environmental factors. The master planning of the Sacramento Valley Station, which was a planning study, is a component of the larger Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility Project (T15029000) and has been assessed as part of that project’s environmental review.
Environmental clearances in accordance with CEQA and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will be undertaken with funds requested for each project, as required, in this application. The Railyards Specific Plan was amended to incorporate SVS Area Plan elements and the CEQA document was updated by Addendum, both adopted by City Council in April 2021 (Resolution 2021-0073 and 2021-0074).
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Sustainability
Sustainability: All projects in the grant application support bus transportation and Active Transportation connections to the Sacramento Valley Station to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: SVS Area Plan reviewed by Active Transportation Committee (ATC) on August 30, 2020 that included segment on West Tunnel connection project. The ATC passed a motion to forward recommendations the proposed amendments to the Railyards Specific Plan bicycle network to City Council.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The SVS is currently the third busiest train station in California and the busiest CCJPA station, located adjacent to the central business and at the heart of a developing new infill development area in the Downtown Railyards. To take advantage of this regional hub, the SVS is planned to expand as a regional transportation facility to serve multiple modes of transportation: from intercity passenger rail, bus services, and a hub for regional light rail service, bus service, and bike and pedestrian trails. A consolidated grant request reflects the regional utility and related benefits of rail and transit services and active transportation (bicycles and pedestrian) mobility access.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: Projects applying for the TIRCP do not require a minimum match. City staff will identify public and private investments made in the Railyards as leverage to support the grant request. If awarded, Caltrans will transfer awarded grant funds to the City project components. The Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility Project (T15029000) has sufficient funding for ineligible costs to support the grant.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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Background
Background The City and region have identified expansion of the SVS and historic depot and its surrounding land uses into a regional transportation facility to serve multiple modes of transportation: from intercity passenger rail, bus services, and a hub for regional light rail service, bus service, and bike and pedestrian trails.
The City has taken the lead to develop this regional project through multiple phases. Phase 1, Track Relocation, completed in 2012, moved and expanded the mainline rail tracks and related operations to the north, improving passenger and freight train efficiency and services with major upgrades to passenger rail facilities. Phase 2, rehabilitation, and renovation of the historic station building was completed in 2017. Phase 3 is the current phase that focuses on expansion of transportation infrastructure and site development into a larger intermodal center located near the relocated passenger rail infrastructure with a vibrant destination district outlined the SVS Area Plan.
The Sacramento Valley Station (SVS) Area Plan was accepted by City Council April 6, 2021, and the plan elements incorporated into the Railyards Specific Plan and CEQA analysis to facilitate the development of the SVS Transit Center to transform the city-owned parcel to accommodate the expansion of all service modes, particularly bus, light rail, and bike access with future housing, hotel, retail, and office uses.
In 2020, the City began a partnership with Capitol Corridor, JPA to seek capital grant transportation funds through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) to fund the transportation elements of the SVS Area Plan as well as offsite mobility and transportation projects that improve mobility access to the station. The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) with Caltrans Rail Division, developed the 2018 State Rail Plan that identifies SVS as a major transportation hub to regional buses and local transit, seamlessly and efficiently to the statewide rail network. To date, over three TIRCP funding cycles, the City has secured more than $72 million in funding for critical projects that support the goals of the state rail plan and provide greater mobility choice for Sacramento residents and support the clean-are and carbon reduction goals of the city and region.
The CalSTA TIRCP grant guidelines state that “the TIRCP was created…to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems, to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion.”
The City’s has proposed three projects to CCJPA for inclusion in CCJPA’s 2024 TIRCP application. These projects are subject to CCJPA analysis for passenger ridership improvements and greenhouse gas reduction benefits criteria stipulated in the grant guidelines, that will result in a competitive suite of CCJPA projects. The City proposed projects cumulatively do not exceed $25 million, and are as follows:
1) Funds for preliminary engineering design, project approval, and state/federal environmental clearance for the relocation of the Northbound Interstate 5 ramp and extension of 3rd Street into the Sacramento Valley Station. The City has submitted a final Project Study Report-Project Development Support for Caltrans approval after a 2-year process for design and review. The report was funded by 2020 TIRCP grant funds. The report found no fatal flaws in the proposed design and has identified a comprehensive list of issues to address in the environmental and engineering phases in the subsequent phase which this grant application will address during environmental review and final engineering.
The need for this project is primarily to support the transit access to the proposed Regional Bus Mobility Hub under the SVS Area Plan and supports the goals of the State Rail Plan for SVS. This project, while providing local benefit to bike and pedestrian access, is not a city priority under the City’s Transportation Priorities Plan (TPP) and the City has stated in prior grant applications that the city will not contribute local funding, nor pursue funds that would compete with other local project priorities; however, the City will commit staff resources to this project which are funded through the TIRCP.
2) Funds for preliminary engineering design, project approval, and environmental for a pedestrian and bike bridgeway and accessible access improvements in the City Right-of-Way of the former 4th Street between I Street and J Street. This project will build upon concepts identified in the 2019 Fourth Street Pedestrian Access Feasibility Report conducted by Public Works and will include new information from a recent area study led by the Office of Innovation and Economic Development. Both studies had extensive community engagement with residents and property owners.
3) Funds for complete engineering documents and construct the southern terminal segment of Bercut Street with bike and pedestrian trail to connect with the Westside Tunnel, enabling the opening of this tunnel connection to 2nd Street, Old Sacramento, and Sacramento Valley Station. This project will be constructed on property owned by Downtown Railyards Venture, LLC (DRV) and DRV will construct the facility. The bike/pedestrian path will be maintained with Railyards Community Finance District funding.
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