Title
Request Authorization to Submit Federal Transit Administration Areas of Persistent Poverty Grant Application and Enter into Grant Agreement (Ordinance S-47898)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to: submit an application to the Federal Transit Administration for grant assistance from the Areas of Persistent Poverty Program; execute an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration for the purpose of accepting the grant, if awarded; and enter into an agreement with Valley Metro for receiving its pass-through share of the awarded grant. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item in accordance with the terms of the aforementioned grant and agreements. The total of all grant funds in the application is $850,000.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix is the designated recipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant funds for the Phoenix-Mesa Urbanized Area. As such, Phoenix submits FTA grant applications on behalf of all local governments and agencies in the region.
The Public Transit Department is requesting authorization to apply for FTA’s Areas of Persistent Poverty Program to receive grant funding for Phoenix and Valley Metro to study High Capacity Transit options in West Phoenix, approximately from 35th to 67th avenues and from McDowell to Camelback roads. This area not only has high levels of current transit ridership, but much of the area is made up of communities that are federally-designated as “areas of persistent poverty,” with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent of the population. The study will be a continuation of previous transit planning studies in the area, and through the research of existing data and extensive public outreach, the study will analyze multiple alternatives to identify a locally preferred alternative.
FTA announced this funding opportunity on June 30, 2021, and the application deadline is Aug. 30, 2021.
Financial Impact
The project will be utilizing pass-through funding from the FTA, in addition to $95,000 of Public Transportation Funds, provided through Proposition 400 and managed by Valley Metro. No Phoenix funds are included in the application.
Location
An approximate area from 35th to 67th avenues and from McDowell to Camelback roads.
Council Districts: 4, 5 and 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.