Press Releases

For Immediate Release

"Transportation for Livable Communities" Program

CONTACT:

Joe Curley
510.817.5847

Oakland, CA, October 15, 1998...The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has awarded $145,000 in special grants to support planning proposals for five community-oriented transportation projects in the Bay Area. Four Bay Area transit agencies are the recipients of the planning grants, which range in amount from $15,000 to $50,000. The plans being funded will be developed in partnership with local jurisdictions, and will involve community outreach and participation as part of the planning process. In each case, the MTC funds will supplement project sponsor funding for the individual planning efforts.

The projects receiving MTC funding are:

Project: San Mateo-Hillsdale Caltrain Station Area Plan
Sponsors: Caltrain (Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board - JPB), city of San Mateo
Scope: To create a more transit-oriented environment at and around the Hillsdale Caltrain station and guide future development on JPB-owned property.
Budget: $30,000 (MTC contribution = $15,000; local match = $15,000)

Project: Redwood City Caltrain Station Site Plan
Sponsors: Caltrain (Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board - JPB), city of Redwood City
Scope: To create guidelines for the Redwood City Caltrain station area that would include development of a residential/retail site on a JPB-owned parcel.
Budget: $30,000 (MTC contribution = $15,000; local match = $15,000)
Project: Third Street Rail-Bayview/Hunters Point Town Center Planning Process
Sponsors: San Francisco Municipal Railway, city of San Francisco
Scope: To identify and design pedestrian and streetscape improvements to facilitate connections between the Bayview/Hunters Point Town Center at the Opera House and the future light-rail station on Third Street.
Budget: $78,000 (MTC contribution = $50,000; local match = $28,000)

Project: South San Francisco - Future BART Station Area Plan
Sponsors: San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), city of South San Francisco
Scope: To develop a station area plan to guide transit-oriented development at the future South San Francisco BART station.
Budget: $30,000 (MTC contribution = $15,000; local match = $15,000)

Project: Downtown Sunnyvale Caltrain Station and VTA Multimodal/Mixed Use Transit Center: Conceptual Engineering
Sponsors: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), city of Sunnyvale
Scope: To refine project components for the planned transit center by bringing them to a 10-percent design completion level. Includes pedestrian linkages, auto circulation, station building elements and layout, shuttle and bus facilities, and public plaza integration.
Budget: $70,000 (MTC contribution = $50,000; local match = $20,000)

The planning grants are being awarded as part of MTC's new Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) program, which aims to support development plans and projects that strengthen the link between transportation, community goals and land use, including pedestrian- and transit-friendly developments and streetscape improvements. "The projects we have selected for funding are excellent examples of the kind of community-oriented transportation planning that the TLC program is striving to foster throughout the Bay Area," said MTC Executive Director Lawrence D. Dahms. "Our hope is that the transportation projects and proposals funded through this program will later compete for capital construction funding at the regional level Ñ and ultimately will serve as 'success stories' to encourage integration of transportation and land use throughout the region."

MTC has designated at least $30 million to fund the Transportation for Livable Communities program over the next six years. The TLC program will provide funding in three categories: community planning, technical assistance and transportation-related capital improvements. Community organizations, local jurisdictions and transportation agencies are eligible project sponsors for planning and technical assistance grants. Projects that have already received funding through the Transportation for Livable Communities program include the 16th Street BART Station Area Community Plan in San Francisco, which has now been completed, the Fruitvale BART Transit Village in Oakland, which is set to break ground this fall, and the Acorn/Prescott West Oakland Neighborhood Plan, due for adoption by the city of Oakland later this year.

MTC is currently seeking additional projects in the region that could qualify for TLC funding, and the agency has issued a brochure explaining the program and the project application process. Copies of the brochure are available through the MTC-ABAG Library by telephone (510/817-5836) or e-mail library@mtc.ca.gov.

MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.