Funding & Grants

In early May, California Senior Policy Manager Jonathan Matz joined our partners in the Sustainable Communities for All coalition (SC4A) in Sacramento to lobby state lawmakers for an equitable portfolio of investments from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Among the programs SC4A would like to see funded from the GGRF this year are Urban Forestry and Urban Greening; the Low Income Home Weatherization Program; and transit passes for K-14 students in public education institutions.

Proponents of an effort to repeal SB 1 (last year’s increase in the State Gas Tax) submitted nearly 1 million signatures to place a proposition on the statewide ballot this November, widely exceeding the minimum number to qualify (584,000).

The Call for Projects for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP) is set for May 16, with applications due by July 31.  Until they are released, the latest draft applications and guidelines are available at http://catc.ca.gov/programs/atp/.  New this year are separate applications for different project types and more detailed questions concerning local health disparities.

A June ballot measure to be voted on in the nine counties of the Bay Area will help address the region’s air quality, congestion, and transportation needs. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the state legislature worked to place the measure on the ballot, which will raise bridge toll revenue to finance $4.45 billion in transportation improvements, including:

• $500 million for new BART cars

The California Transportation Commission has announced another (likely final) workshop on the applications and guidelines for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program on Tuesday April 17 in Sacramento. The workshop will also cover SB 1 accountability guidelines. Please see the meeting announcement with full details including how to participate remotely here.

The Fresno Council of Governments has issued a call for projects fo

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) held the final public workshop for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program on March 1, releasing the latest draft applications the night before. While we had initially pushed to retain standalone questions on public health, we had agreed to a compromise to have public health addressed in the Statement of Need question. We were heartened to see much of our compromise language for those questions adopted, even though our suggestions for questions pertaining to addressing the need were apparently not included this round.

In late February, we joined our partners in the Sustainable Communities for All (SC4A) Coalition for a lobby day at the State Capitol, meeting with staff in the Governor’s Office, State Senate and State Assembly to discuss how to spend revenues from California’s Cap and Trade program.

The Safe Routes Partnership facilitates regional active transportation networks (ATNs) in several locations throughout California with quarterly meetings. These ATNs serve as an informational hub for community based organizations and public agencies to share information on best practices and upcoming funding competitions and to engage in increasing active transportation investments and policy.