Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility RTC Approves Projects to Receive $61.3 Million in County Share of State and Federal Funds - SCCRTC

RTC Approves Projects to Receive $61.3 Million in County Share of State and Federal Funds

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) adopted its 2023 Consolidated Grant Program and its 2024 Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) on Dec. 7, approving approximately $61.3 million of the region’s anticipated formula share of certain state and federal funds for County and city road, bike, and pedestrian projects and regional transit projects.

As the state-designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency for the County, the RTC is responsible for selecting transportation projects to receive funds from the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program/Regional Surface Transportation Program Exchange, the State Transportation Improvement Program, and the SB1 Local Partnership Program-formula. This year, the RTC also programmed $34.7 million in one-time formula funds specifically designated for transit capital and operations projects through the SB125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and the Zero Emission Transit Capital Program. Collectively, these funds can be used on a wide range of highway, local road, bridge, transit, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian projects and programs that advance regional, state, and federal priorities and performance metrics.

Project that received funding include:

  • Santa Cruz Metro Rapid Corridors Project – for traffic signal priority for buses
  • Santa Cruz Metro Transit Operations – for Reimagine Metro Wave Service
  • Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project – for environmental analysis
  • Go Santa Cruz County Bicycle Incentives Program
  • Pavement maintenance and roadway rehabilitation projects on local roads including Murphy’s Crossing, Roggie Lane, Lee Road, West Beach Street, Corralitos Road, Amesti Road, Empire Grade Road, Bear Creek Road, Soquel San Jose Road, Rio Del Mar Boulevard, Bay Street, Scotts Valley Drive, Mt, Herman Road, 41st Avenue and Green Valley Road
  • New and upgraded bicycle/pedestrian facilities projects in Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Watsonville, Ben Lomond, and on Green Valley Road in the county
  • Complete Streets Improvement projects in the Felton-SLV Schools Complex area and the Bay Corridor in Santa Cruz

See the full project list here.

“This is a really exciting day. There are a lot of great projects that are before us that are either fully or partially funded. We’re looking at road repair and improvement projects, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and projects that address equity and accessibility. In addition to that, the opportunity to move forward with METRO’s Reimagine METRO program and what that means for transportation and housing, and again equity, in our county, is all just really exciting,” said Kristen Brown, R TC 2023 Vice-Chair and 2024 Chair Elect. “What I see today is that we heard from almost every single interest within transportation within our county in support of the staff recommendation, and to me that is the best example of what it looks like to convene, collaborate, and build consensus to build good public policy. That is what I really care about, building consensus in order to develop public policy in service of our community.”

Project sponsors submitted 23 applications requesting over $95 million. RTC staff used metrics to evaluate the projects that align with regional, state, and federal goals in the areas of safety, infrastructure condition, system performance, sustainability, resiliency, equity, and public health. Staff also assessed the potential for projects to leverage additional grants using RTC-discretionary funds and considered whether projects were ineligible for any other funding sources. Project applications are available on the RTC website.

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