Programming and Grants

The Programming and Grants section of VTA's Congestion Management Agency is charged with countywide fund programming and administration for Federal and State transportation grant funding recipients.

    Call for Projects

    2016 Measure B

    Santa Clara County voters approved 2016 Measure B, a 30-year, half-cent countywide sales tax to enhance transit, highways, expressways and active transportation (bicycles, pedestrians and complete streets).

    Noise Abatement Program Project Sites for Study Solicitation

    The 2016 Measure B Highway Interchanges program provides funding for eligible highway projects throughout the valley that will provide congestion relief, improved highway operations and freeway access, noise abatement, roadway connection overcrossings, and deploy advanced technology through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Within the Highway Interchanges Program Category is the Noise Abatement Program – which is dedicated to the reduction of noise pollution within Santa Clara County. This solicitation is for new project sites to be considered for inclusion as part of the 2016 Measure B Highway Interchanges Noise Abatement Study Technical Update to the 2011 Soundwall Study projects list.

    Submit your application online only:https://www.jotform.com/form/230126857202045

    SOLICITATION dOCUMENTS:

    1. Solicitation Memo

    2. 2016 Measure B Noise Abatement Program Pre-Screening Criteria

    3. VTA 2011 Soundwall Study Projects List

    Project applications are due 4:00 PM, Friday, March 31, 2023.

    If you have any questions, please contact 2016MeasureB@vta.org. 

    Lifeline Transportation Program

    Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established the Lifeline Transportation Program to improve mobility for low-income residents of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Funds are distributed to each county based on each county's proportional share of Bay Area residents living in poverty.

    In Santa Clara County, the Social Services Agency of the County of Santa Clara and VTA jointly administer the Lifeline Transportation Program. A Joint Lifeline Transportation Committee solicits, reviews, and recommends projects to the VTA Board, the County Board of Supervisors and MTC.

    To access the Cycle 5 Lifeline application and supporting documents, please click on the link below.

    Lifeline Transportation Program Cycle 5 Documents

    This grant opportunity is now closed.

    OneBayArea Grant (OBAG) Program

    MTC's framework for programming 2023-2026 Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds is called the "One Bay Area Grant” Program (OBAG).

    The One Bay Area Grant Program integrates the region’s federal transportation program with California’s climate law (Senate Bill 375, Steinberg, 2008) and the Sustainable Communities Strategy. Santa Clara county OBAG 3 funding target amount is $91 million.

    Funding targets to the counties consider progress toward achieving local land-use and housing policies codified in Plan Bay Area 2050 by:

    • Rewarding jurisdictions that accept housing allocations through the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) process and support housing through transportation projects.
    • Supporting the Sustainable Communities Strategy for the Bay Area by promoting transportation investments in Priority Development Areas (PDAs).
    • Allowing flexibility to invest in transportation categories such as Transportation for Livable Communities, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, local streets and roads preservation, safe routes to school, and mobility management.

    OBAG Program documents

    Critical Dates

    Call-for-projects release date: June 3, 2022.

    Applications are due July 25, 2022.

    Applications

    All applications should be submitted to Celeste Fiore by the due date with all legible attachments. Please ensure that maps clearly identify the project location.

    Interested county residents are encouraged to contact their local representatives found on the OBAG 3 brochures.

    For additional information, contact your local agency listed on the OBAG 3 brochure -or- Celeste Fiore at celeste.fiore@vta.org or 408.321.5693

     

     

    Priority Development Area (PDA) Planning Grant Program

    The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has directed that each Congestion Management Agency design its Priority Development Area (PDA) planning program to emphasize and support growth in housing, employment, and transportation within its PDAs.

    VTA staff has developed a PDA Planning Grant program with the goal of enabling transit-oriented housing and employment growth in Santa Clara County’s PDAs. The PDA Planning Program is an initiative to fund comprehensive planning in PDAs that will result in intensified land uses around public transit hubs and bus and rail corridors in Santa Clara County.

    The purpose of the PDA Planning Grants is to provide local jurisdictions with assistance in planning and creating vibrant places with adequate housing for all income levels, a mix of uses, access to jobs, and multi-modal transportation infrastructure. VTA envisions that these grants will help local jurisdictions enhance their planning activities to enable developments in the planned or potential PDAs.

    PDA Planning Grant Program Documents 

    This grant opportunity is now clos​​​ed.

    TDA Article 3 Program

    Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds are derived from a 1/4-cent of the State's general sales tax. Article 3 of the TDA makes a portion of these funds available for use on bicycle and pedestrian projects.

    The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) programs TDA Article 3 funds in the nine Bay Area counties. Each year, MTC requests that the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) in each Bay Area county coordinate and submit annual TDA Article 3 program funding priorities for their respective counties. Each year VTA, as the CMA for Santa Clara County, works with member agencies to develop the countywide program. After the VT A Board adopts the program, the list is forwarded to MTC for approval and project sponsors apply for reimbursement directly to MTC.

    Only Santa Clara Congestion Management Program (CMP) Member Agencies are eligible to apply. The 15 incorporated cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) are member agencies. All other parties, including public agencies, must work with a CMP Member Agency in order to apply for TDA Article 3 Funds.

    Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) County Program Manager Fund

    The County Program Manager Fund is a part of the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant program, which is funded by a $4 surcharge on motor vehicles registered in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) administers these funds in the nine-county Bay Area. Funds are available for allocation to alternative fuels, arterial management, bicycle, and trip-reduction projects that reduce vehicle emissions.

    The management district returns 40% of TFCA funds to the county in which they are collected for allocation by a “county program manager.” This fund is called the TFCA County Program Manager Fund (TFCA CPM). VTA is the program manager for Santa Clara County and project sponsors apply directly to VTA for funding. The VTA Board of Directors allocates these funds to projects in Santa Clara County, subject to approval by the BAAQMD. To be approved by BAAQMD, all TFCA projects must conform to its board-adopted policies and cost-effectiveness requirements, which are explained in the “County Program Manager Fund Expenditure Plan Guidance.”

    VTA released the FY 23/24 call for projects on March 10, 2023. Applications are due April 28, 2023 by 5:00pm (see the call for projects, application form, and cost effectiveness worksheets below).

    Only Santa Clara Congestion Management Program (CMP) Member Agencies are eligible to apply. The 15 incorporated cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) are member agencies. All other parties, including public agencies, must work with a CMP Member Agency in order to apply for Program Manager Funds.

    For additional information, contact your local agency or email Larissa Sanderfer at larissa.sanderfer [at] vta.org

    Vehicle Emissions Reductions Based at Schools (VERBS) Program

    The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) created a funding program Climate Initiative Safe Routes to School Program that focuses on reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) by promoting walking, biking, transit, and carpooling to school. Each county receives federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds based on local total school enrollment.

    The VTA Board of Directors established the Vehicle Emissions Reductions Based at Schools (VERBS) program to distribute these funds. ​

    This grant opportunity is now clos​​​ed.

    Bicycle Expenditure Program (BEP)

    The Bicycle Expenditure Plan, part of VTA's Bicycle Program was first adopted in 2000 by the VTA Board of Directors as the funding mechanism for countywide bicycle projects. The program is the bicycle element of the Valley Transportation Plan, Santa Clara County’s Long Range Transportation Plan. It allocates approximately $165 million to fund 80 bicycle projects for the projected 2010-2035 time period.

    There are no grant opportunities at this time.

     

    Programming and Grants Responsibilities

    • Carrying out VTA’s legally mandated Congestion Management Agency responsibilities for programming and monitoring certain Federal, State and Local grant funds.
    • Assuring that VTA maintains its own eligibility as a transportation agency for State and Federal grant funds.
    • Submitting the annual State and Federal Grant requests that fund the majority of VTA’s non‐Measure A Capital program and up to 25% of its annual operating budget.

    The Programming and Grants section contributes to VTA's organizational success by:

    • Positioning the agency as a key player and partner in regional transportation funding, resulting in enhanced visibility and influence.
    • Developing and recommending funding strategies for VTA’s long‐range and short‐range service initiatives.
    • Assuring that VTA obtains the grant funding to which it is entitled.

    The Programming and Grants section of VTA's Congestion Management Agency is charged with countywide fund programming and administration for Federal and State transportation grant funding recipients.

      Call for Projects

      2016 Measure B

      Santa Clara County voters approved 2016 Measure B, a 30-year, half-cent countywide sales tax to enhance transit, highways, expressways and active transportation (bicycles, pedestrians and complete streets).

      Noise Abatement Program Project Sites for Study Solicitation

      The 2016 Measure B Highway Interchanges program provides funding for eligible highway projects throughout the valley that will provide congestion relief, improved highway operations and freeway access, noise abatement, roadway connection overcrossings, and deploy advanced technology through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Within the Highway Interchanges Program Category is the Noise Abatement Program – which is dedicated to the reduction of noise pollution within Santa Clara County. This solicitation is for new project sites to be considered for inclusion as part of the 2016 Measure B Highway Interchanges Noise Abatement Study Technical Update to the 2011 Soundwall Study projects list.

      Submit your application online only:https://www.jotform.com/form/230126857202045

      SOLICITATION dOCUMENTS:

      1. Solicitation Memo

      2. 2016 Measure B Noise Abatement Program Pre-Screening Criteria

      3. VTA 2011 Soundwall Study Projects List

      Project applications are due 4:00 PM, Friday, March 31, 2023.

      If you have any questions, please contact 2016MeasureB@vta.org. 

      Lifeline Transportation Program

      Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established the Lifeline Transportation Program to improve mobility for low-income residents of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Funds are distributed to each county based on each county's proportional share of Bay Area residents living in poverty.

      In Santa Clara County, the Social Services Agency of the County of Santa Clara and VTA jointly administer the Lifeline Transportation Program. A Joint Lifeline Transportation Committee solicits, reviews, and recommends projects to the VTA Board, the County Board of Supervisors and MTC.

      To access the Cycle 5 Lifeline application and supporting documents, please click on the link below.

      Lifeline Transportation Program Cycle 5 Documents

      This grant opportunity is now closed.

      OneBayArea Grant (OBAG) Program

      MTC's framework for programming 2023-2026 Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds is called the "One Bay Area Grant” Program (OBAG).

      The One Bay Area Grant Program integrates the region’s federal transportation program with California’s climate law (Senate Bill 375, Steinberg, 2008) and the Sustainable Communities Strategy. Santa Clara county OBAG 3 funding target amount is $91 million.

      Funding targets to the counties consider progress toward achieving local land-use and housing policies codified in Plan Bay Area 2050 by:

      • Rewarding jurisdictions that accept housing allocations through the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) process and support housing through transportation projects.
      • Supporting the Sustainable Communities Strategy for the Bay Area by promoting transportation investments in Priority Development Areas (PDAs).
      • Allowing flexibility to invest in transportation categories such as Transportation for Livable Communities, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, local streets and roads preservation, safe routes to school, and mobility management.

      OBAG Program documents

      Critical Dates

      Call-for-projects release date: June 3, 2022.

      Applications are due July 25, 2022.

      Applications

      All applications should be submitted to Celeste Fiore by the due date with all legible attachments. Please ensure that maps clearly identify the project location.

      Interested county residents are encouraged to contact their local representatives found on the OBAG 3 brochures.

      For additional information, contact your local agency listed on the OBAG 3 brochure -or- Celeste Fiore at celeste.fiore@vta.org or 408.321.5693

       

       

      Priority Development Area (PDA) Planning Grant Program

      The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has directed that each Congestion Management Agency design its Priority Development Area (PDA) planning program to emphasize and support growth in housing, employment, and transportation within its PDAs.

      VTA staff has developed a PDA Planning Grant program with the goal of enabling transit-oriented housing and employment growth in Santa Clara County’s PDAs. The PDA Planning Program is an initiative to fund comprehensive planning in PDAs that will result in intensified land uses around public transit hubs and bus and rail corridors in Santa Clara County.

      The purpose of the PDA Planning Grants is to provide local jurisdictions with assistance in planning and creating vibrant places with adequate housing for all income levels, a mix of uses, access to jobs, and multi-modal transportation infrastructure. VTA envisions that these grants will help local jurisdictions enhance their planning activities to enable developments in the planned or potential PDAs.

      PDA Planning Grant Program Documents 

      This grant opportunity is now clos​​​ed.

      TDA Article 3 Program

      Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds are derived from a 1/4-cent of the State's general sales tax. Article 3 of the TDA makes a portion of these funds available for use on bicycle and pedestrian projects.

      The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) programs TDA Article 3 funds in the nine Bay Area counties. Each year, MTC requests that the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) in each Bay Area county coordinate and submit annual TDA Article 3 program funding priorities for their respective counties. Each year VTA, as the CMA for Santa Clara County, works with member agencies to develop the countywide program. After the VT A Board adopts the program, the list is forwarded to MTC for approval and project sponsors apply for reimbursement directly to MTC.

      Only Santa Clara Congestion Management Program (CMP) Member Agencies are eligible to apply. The 15 incorporated cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) are member agencies. All other parties, including public agencies, must work with a CMP Member Agency in order to apply for TDA Article 3 Funds.

      Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) County Program Manager Fund

      The County Program Manager Fund is a part of the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant program, which is funded by a $4 surcharge on motor vehicles registered in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) administers these funds in the nine-county Bay Area. Funds are available for allocation to alternative fuels, arterial management, bicycle, and trip-reduction projects that reduce vehicle emissions.

      The management district returns 40% of TFCA funds to the county in which they are collected for allocation by a “county program manager.” This fund is called the TFCA County Program Manager Fund (TFCA CPM). VTA is the program manager for Santa Clara County and project sponsors apply directly to VTA for funding. The VTA Board of Directors allocates these funds to projects in Santa Clara County, subject to approval by the BAAQMD. To be approved by BAAQMD, all TFCA projects must conform to its board-adopted policies and cost-effectiveness requirements, which are explained in the “County Program Manager Fund Expenditure Plan Guidance.”

      VTA released the FY 23/24 call for projects on March 10, 2023. Applications are due April 28, 2023 by 5:00pm (see the call for projects, application form, and cost effectiveness worksheets below).

      Only Santa Clara Congestion Management Program (CMP) Member Agencies are eligible to apply. The 15 incorporated cities, the County of Santa Clara, and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) are member agencies. All other parties, including public agencies, must work with a CMP Member Agency in order to apply for Program Manager Funds.

      For additional information, contact your local agency or email Larissa Sanderfer at larissa.sanderfer [at] vta.org

      Vehicle Emissions Reductions Based at Schools (VERBS) Program

      The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) created a funding program Climate Initiative Safe Routes to School Program that focuses on reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) by promoting walking, biking, transit, and carpooling to school. Each county receives federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds based on local total school enrollment.

      The VTA Board of Directors established the Vehicle Emissions Reductions Based at Schools (VERBS) program to distribute these funds. ​

      This grant opportunity is now clos​​​ed.

      Bicycle Expenditure Program (BEP)

      The Bicycle Expenditure Plan, part of VTA's Bicycle Program was first adopted in 2000 by the VTA Board of Directors as the funding mechanism for countywide bicycle projects. The program is the bicycle element of the Valley Transportation Plan, Santa Clara County’s Long Range Transportation Plan. It allocates approximately $165 million to fund 80 bicycle projects for the projected 2010-2035 time period.

      There are no grant opportunities at this time.

       

      Programming and Grants Responsibilities

      • Carrying out VTA’s legally mandated Congestion Management Agency responsibilities for programming and monitoring certain Federal, State and Local grant funds.
      • Assuring that VTA maintains its own eligibility as a transportation agency for State and Federal grant funds.
      • Submitting the annual State and Federal Grant requests that fund the majority of VTA’s non‐Measure A Capital program and up to 25% of its annual operating budget.

      The Programming and Grants section contributes to VTA's organizational success by:

      • Positioning the agency as a key player and partner in regional transportation funding, resulting in enhanced visibility and influence.
      • Developing and recommending funding strategies for VTA’s long‐range and short‐range service initiatives.
      • Assuring that VTA obtains the grant funding to which it is entitled.

      Related Documents