Title
U.S. Department of Transportation Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionary Transportation Grant Opportunity for Federal Fiscal Year 2022 - Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding (Ordinance S-49136)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept and, if awarded, enter into agreements for disbursement of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Fiscal Year 2022 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionary Transportation grant opportunity. If awarded, the funding will be used to initiate planning level demonstration/pilot projects to validate emerging technology in support of safer transportation infrastructure. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item. Funding for these grant opportunities is available through the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The total grant funds applied for will not exceed $2 million, and there is no participating local match required as a part of this grant submittal.
Report
Summary
On Sept. 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for $100 million nationwide under the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionary Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. Newly established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the SMART grant offers an opportunity to partner with academia and the private sector to explore technology interventions to solve real-world challenges facing communities.
There are two funding opportunities through a planning, demonstration/pilot grant (Stage 1) or an implementation grant (Stage 2). At this time, only Stage 1 grants are allowed. It is expected that Stage 2 grants would begin in fiscal year (FY) 2023. Successful grants will seek to build sustainable partnerships across sectors and levels of government as well as industry, academia, non-profits and other traditional and non-traditional partners.
A few SMART Grant Program priorities include the following:
- Safety and reliability - to improve the safety of systems for pedestrians, bicyclists, and the broader traveling public.
- Resiliency - to increase the reliability and resiliency of the transportation system, including cyber-security and resiliency to climate change.
- Equity and access - to connect or expand access for underserved or disadvantaged populations while improving access to jobs, education, and essential services.
- Climate - to reduce congestion and/or air pollution, including greenhouse gases or improving energy efficiency.
- Partnerships - to contribute to economic competitiveness and incentivize private sector investments or partnerships, including technical and financial commitments on the proposed solution.
- Integration - to improve integration of systems and promote connectivity of infrastructure, connected vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and the broader traveling public.
The City's SMART grant will focus on building data and technology capacity and expertise. Technology investment is most beneficial when it is tailored to the community needs. The City will work to submit a Stage 1 grant application that will focus on emerging technology in support of creating or maintaining safer transportation infrastructure. Staff will partner with local universities to identify and evaluate the latest and greatest technology, methodology, or systems that are being pursued nationally to see if they are appropriate for our region. The goal will be to identify a process or system that can be implemented within current systems or applications to enhance the overall safety benefit.
The SMART grant submittal deadline is Nov. 18, 2022.
Financial Impact
The estimated total cost for the project is approximately $2 million. The maximum federal participation for a Stage 1 planning, demonstration/pilot grant submittal is 100 percent. There is no minimum local match under a Stage 1 planning, demonstration/pilot grant submittal.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.