Caltrans Planning Grant Applications

1. AUTHORIZE staff to submit a Caltrans Transportation Planning Grant application to prepare a Carmel Area Highway 1 Corridor Study;
2. APPROVE the local grant match of up to $66,040 from the Agency's Rural Planning Assistance funding; and,
3. AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to accept grant funds, if awarded.

Applications for the fiscal year 2020-21 Caltrans Transportation Planning grants program are due October 11, 2019.  Transportation Agency staff is seeking Board authorization to pursue a grant for this regionally important planning study.

A total of $34 million is available statewide for fiscal year 2020/21 Caltrans Transportation Planning Grants.  Individual grant applications can request a minimum of $100,000 and up to a maximum of $1,000,000.  A local match of 11.47% or 20% is required depending on which sub-category of of the grant program is apply for. Staff is currently working with Caltrans to determine the appropriate sub-category for our application. Staff estimates the budget for the Carmel Area Highway 1 Corridor Study is $330,200. The maximum local match required at the higher 20% rate would be $66,040.

The Transportation Agency has utilized Caltrans planning grants for several corridor studies to assist in developing action plans with broad-based community support, such as the Highway 218 Canyon Del Rey Corridor Study and the  SR 68 Scenic Highway Corridor Study. These plans help set the stage for future transportation improvements in key regional corridors.

Grant guidelines and a call for projects for a new round of the Caltrans planning grant program was released on August 19, 2019.  This round of Caltrans planning grants will fund Strategic Partnership studies to identify and address statewide, interregional, or regional transportation deficiencies on the State highway system in partnership with Caltrans and Sustainable Communities grants  to encourage local and regional planning that furthers state goals.

Staff is working with Caltrans to determine which of these sub-categories are the best fit to fund a corridor study for the Carmel area of State Route 1.

The State Route 1 Carmel Corridor Study would evaluate sustainable operational improvements such as roundabouts on Hwy 1 between State Route 68 (Holman Highway) and Carmel Valley Rd to mitigate for impacts to the transportation system due to increased interregional tourism and visitor traffic and conduct a Safe Route to School planning effort to identify projects and programs that increase safe access to Carmel High School, Carmel Middle School, and River Elementary School. This study will provide the data, analysis, and public deliberation necessary to make informed decisions to identify capacity, operational, sustainable, and affordable projects that can be implemented along the Highway 1 corridor near Carmel.