Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Santa Clara "Transit Village" Plan Wins MTC Grant

Six Bay Area projects selected for special planning grants

Contact:

John McLemore, MTC Commissioner
408/615-2250

Trent Lethco, MTC Staff
510/464-7737

OAKLAND, Calif., February 9, 2001...The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has awarded a $30,000 planning grant to the Santa Clara Caltrain Transit Village Plan, a multiagency development effort sponsored by the city of Santa Clara, Caltrain, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and HomeSafe of Santa Clara, a nonprofit social services consortium. The grant will help project sponsors flesh out their plans for a "transit village" in the vicinity of the historic railroad station in Santa Clara, with connections to Caltrain, the Altamont Commuter Express rail line, existing and future VTA bus lines, the proposed BART extension, and the proposed people mover to San Jose International Airport.

The planning grant is being awarded as part of MTC's Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) program, which aims to support plans and projects that strengthen the link between transportation, community goals and land use. Pedestrian- and transit-friendly developments and streetscape improvements are hallmarks of the program.

"The Santa Clara Caltrain station is the hub of what will become the largest intermodal transit facility in the county," noted MTC Commissioner John McLemore, who is also a councilmember for the city of Santa Clara. "This presents us with a great challenge – and a terrific opportunity – to integrate our transportation and land use planning for the area. The TLC grant will help us outline a carefully considered, ‘smart-growth' approach to the design and development of this important transit and community resource."

The city of Santa Clara will contribute $20,000 to the study, which will examine various options (including housing, mixed-use development, streetscapes, a plaza area, and pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly facilities) that could be a part of a comprehensive, transit-oriented plan for the site.

MTC also has awarded TLC planning grants to projects in five other Bay Area communities – Oakland, Vallejo, San Francisco, Morgan Hill, and the unincorporated community of San Lorenzo in Alameda County. The plans receiving funding will be developed by community groups and local jurisdictions, and will involve public outreach and participation as part of the planning process. In all cases, the MTC funds will supplement project sponsor funding for the individual planning efforts. (A list of the six projects awarded planning grants is attached.)

The $240,000 in funding announced Wednesday represents the second cycle of $475,000 in TLC planning grants to be awarded in the 2000-01 fiscal year (July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001). The successful projects were selected from among a pool of 40 applications totaling $1.6 million in requests. "We are very pleased that the TLC program continues to spur interest and innovation in local-level efforts to blend transportation and land-use planning," said MTC Chair Jim Beall, who also is the current chairperson of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

In related news, MTC is currently seeking proposals for two other compo-nents of the Transportation for Livable Communities program – the TLC capital grant program and the recently announced Housing Incentive Program. TLC capital grants, which can range in size from $150,000 to $2 million per project, can be used by sponsors to directly fund project construction. Applications for $9 million in TLC capital grants have been mailed to potential project sponsors. Completed applica-tions are due back to MTC on March 29, 2001; grants will be awarded in June 2001.

Also, for the first time, MTC has invited Bay Area cities and counties to submit funding requests for projects eligible for an additional $9 million in grants under the new Housing Incentive Program (HIP), the latest addition to the agency's Transportation for Livable Communities program. Through HIP, jurisdictions are eligible for grants of up to $2,000 per bedroom for compact housing developments that are planned near a major transit service. The HIP award may then be used by the city or county to fund TLC-type projects – pedestrian and bicycle facilities, streetscape improvements, transit villages, and the like – anywhere within the jurisdiction's borders. HIP applications are also due on March 29, 2001.

Since the TLC program's inception in 1997, over $28 million in planning and capital grants have been awarded to 65 projects in locations around the region. In all, MTC has designated more than $50 million to fund the Transportation for Livable Communities program (including the new HIP program) through the year 2004. The TLC program is financed with funds made available through the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.

Informational materials explaining the Transportation for Livable Communities program and the Housing Incentive Program – and their respective project application procedures – are available through the MTC-ABAG Library by e-mail (library@mtc.ca.gov), fax (510/817-5932) or telephone (510/817-5836). Information about the program may also be obtained from MTC's Web site, at <www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/>.

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

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Attachment


MTC Transportation for Livable Communities Program
Planning Grants Approved February 7, 2001

Project: Santa Clara Caltrain Transit Village Plan (City of Santa Clara)

Sponsors: City of Santa Clara; Caltrain Joint Powers Board; Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA); HomeSafe of Santa Clara

Scope: To develop a comprehensive plan for a multimodal development village incorporating existing historic railroad facilities, future plans for BART, Caltrain, the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), existing and future VTA bus lines, and the proposed people mover to the San Jose International Airport.

Amount: $30,000 (MTC contribution); $20,000 local match

Contact: MTC Commissioner John McLemore, Councilmember, City of Santa Clara, 408/615-2250; Richard Yee, City of Santa Clara, 408/615-3000


Project: Coliseum BART Station Area Plan (Oakland)

Sponsors: BART; City of Oakland

Scope: To identify capital improvements to the Coliseum BART station in East Oakland that will enhance patrons' feelings of personal safety in the station vicinity and promote transit, bicycle and pedestrian access.

Amount: $35,000 (MTC contribution); $15,000 local match

Contact: Jerry Goldberg, BART, 510/464-4734


Project: Hesperian Corridor Transit Improvements Design Phase (Alameda County)

Sponsors: San Lorenzo Village Homes Association; Alameda County
Scope: To develop a detailed plan for transit amenities and public improvements, including traffic-calming features and streetscape enhancements, along Hesperian Boulevard in the unincorporated community of San Lorenzo.

Amount: $40,000 (MTC contribution); $10,000 local match

Contact: Dorothy Partridge, President, San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, 510/276-4554; Eileen Dalton, Alameda County, 510/670-6509


Project: Visitacion Valley/Muni Third Street Light Rail and New Caltrain Station Land Use Plan (San Francisco)

Sponsors: City of San Francisco Planning Department; Visitacion Valley Planning Alliance, San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni); San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)

Scope: To guide strategic land-use and transit decisions associated with the planned Muni Third Street Light Rail line and its connection to Caltrain via an intermodal station near the San Francisco-Brisbane border.

Amount: $45,000 (MTC contribution); $10,000 local match

Contact: Amit Ghosh, Chief of Comprehensive Planning, San Francisco Planning Department, 415/558-6378


Project: Depot Street Design Project (Morgan Hill)

Sponsors: City of Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency

Scope: To plan, design and estimate the cost of constructing pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly streetscape improvements to Depot Street between East Fifth Street and East Main in Morgan Hill.

Amount: $50,000 (MTC contribution); $15,000 local match

Contact: Bill Newkirk, City of Morgan Hill, 408/776-7373


Project: Sereno Quadrant Strategic Concept Plan (Vallejo)

Sponsors: City of Vallejo; Citizens Housing Corporation

Scope: To develop a concept plan for two projects – the City of Vallejo's Sereno Bus Transit Center and a 125-unit affordable housing development by the Citizens Housing Corporation – that provides bikeway and pedestrian linkages and encourages transit usage.

Amount: $40,000 (MTC contribution); $20,000 local match

Contact: Marci Malaster, City of Vallejo, 707/649-3408

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