Transportation Alternatives Program Call for Projects

SRTC is releasing a call for projects for the Transportation Alternatives program (TAP) for the fiscal years of 2014-2017. SRTC anticipates awarding $2.2 million in TAP funds under this solicitation. The final amount for the call is subject to change, based on actual annual allocations of TAP funds to SRTC.

To apply, please download and fill out the application packet to the left under "Downloads" and return by emailing matkinson@srtc.org, mailing or delivering to SRTC at 221 W 1st Ave, Suite 310, Spokane, WA 99201, or faxing to 509-343-6400.

The deadline to submit project applications is Tuesday, April 30th at 4:00 p.m.

TAP OVERVIEW

The Transportation Alternatives program (TAP) is a new funding program introduced with the current federal transportation legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). The TAP program is a consolidation of three previous funding programs: Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trails, and Safe Routes to School.

Projects require a 13.5% local fund match.

Eligible Project Types
The most common project types funded through the TAP program are:

Bicycle and pedestrian facilities (including improvements to meet ADA);
Facilities that provide safe routes for non-drivers (including children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities);
Conversion and use of abandoned railroad corridors for nonmotorized trails; and
Safe routes to school project and/or program*.

For a full list of eligible activities please refer to FHWA’s Interim Guidance on the TAP program: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/guidance/guidetap.cfm

Please note that Washington State intends to use State allocations of the TAP program to continue its statewide Recreational Trails and Safe Routes to School programs.

Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include:

Local governments;
Regional transportation authorities;
Transit agencies;
Natural resource or public lands agencies;
School districts, local education agencies, or schools;
Tribal governments; and
Any other local or regional governmental entity with responsibility for oversight of transportation or recreational trails (other than a metropolitan planning organization or a State agency) that the State determines to be eligible, consistent with the goals of subsection (c) of section 213 of title 23.

All projects must be administered by a certification acceptance (CA) agency. Non-CA agencies can apply for TAP funds but must have a CA agency sponsor the project. The sponsorship must be in place prior to project selection. The CA agencies within Spokane County are: WSDOT, Spokane County, City of Spokane, and City of Spokane Valley.

FUNDING INFORMATION

Funds Available

Funding Distribution
TAP funding is suballocated to SRTC based on populations of US Census-defined urbanized, urban, and rural areas within Spokane County. In addition, a portion of the funds are flexible and can be programmed in any area. Please refer to the 2010 Urbanized Area map to identify the area the project is located in.

A minimum of 53.4% of the allocation must be spent on projects within the Spokane Urbanized Area, 1.5% on projects within the small urban area, and 10% on projects within rural Spokane County. The remainder, 35.1% may be spent anywhere within Spokane County. These percentage minimums, based on SRTC’s 2013 allocation, may fluctuate over time based on population growth within the region and across the state.

AREA	MINIMUM ALLOCATION
Urbanized (areas with population > 200,000)	54%	$1,193,767
Urban (areas with population < 200,000 and > 5,999)	2%	$44,214
Rural (areas with population < 5,000)	10%	$221,068
Flexible (any area)	34%	$751,631
Total	100%	$2,210,680

PROJECT SELECTION PROCESS

Evaluation Process
A subcommittee composed of volunteers from the TTC and TAC and SRTC staff will be formed to score projects based on the evaluation criteria outlined below. Preliminary results from the scoring subcommittee will be reviewed by the full TTC, TAC, and SRTC Board. The TTC and TAC will each recommend a prioritized list of projects for Board approval. The SRTC Board will make the final project selection.

Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria for the TAP call were developed by a voluntary subcommittee of TTC and TAC members and SRTC staff.

CRITERIA	POINTS
Choice and Mobility	30
Safety	20
Economic Vitality	15
Cooperation & Leadership	10
Stewardship	10
Quality of Life	10
Operations, Maintenance & Preservation	5
Total	100
Bonus Points: Community Support	3

Timeline

DATE	ACTION
March 1	TAP Call for Projects Released
March 7 10 am - 12pm	Applicant Workshop, Q&A
April 30	TAP Applictions Due by 4 p.m.
May 1-10	SRTC staff screens project applications for completeness
May 13-17	Project Scoring- Voluntary subcommittee of TTC/TAC members and SRTC staff
May 20, 22	TAC/TTC Meetings- Review preliminary results
June 13	SRTC Board- Review preliminary results
June 24, 26	TAC/TTC Meetings- recommend prioritized list of TAP projects for Board approval
July 11	SRTC Board meeting- Approve prioritized list of TAP projects and contingency list
August-September	Selected TAP projects incorporated into 2014-2017 TIP

* Note: For non-infrastructure projects, please fill out the Choice and Mobility and Quality of Life sections as follows:

Choice and Mobility- only answer the Transportation Choices question
Quality of Life- only answer the second question, related to health-promoting transportation options