A regional program managed by the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) that encourages walking and biking as transportation will invest $13.7 million over the next four years to improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Funding comes to SJCOG from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) and Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. SB 1 invests an average $5.4 billion annually to fix roads, freeways, and bridges, and provide transit and bike and pedestrian improvements throughout California. Some SB 1 money goes to the state’s Active Transportation Program (ATP), which includes regional funding that SJCOG manages in San Joaquin County.
“These projects are important to the people who live in San Joaquin County because they make our sidewalks, streets, bike lanes and intersections safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists,” San Joaquin County Board of Supervisor and SJCOG Chair Robert Rickman said. “And because they get people out of cars, it creates a healthier environment by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and better connecting communities. Everyone in San Joaquin County benefits from these investments.”
This is ATP’s sixth cycle and the regional funding in San Joaquin County includes:
- San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission’s East Channel Street Streetscape and Connectivity Project, $3.5 million.
- San Joaquin County’s Countywide Sidewalks Connectivity Plan, $452,800.
- Stockton’s Main and Market Complete Streets Project, $8.23 million.
- Tracy’s East Schulte Safety and Multimodal Community Corridor, $1.53 million.
Three other projects in San Joaquin County received full funding from the statewide ATP program and by policy were removed from consideration for regional funding:
- San Joaquin County’s Harrison Elementary Active Transportation Improvements project, nearly $3.89 million.
- Stockton’s Alpine Pershing Mendocino Bicycle Pedestrian Connectivity project, $7.4 million.
- Stockton’s Downtown Stockton Weber Avenue Bike and Ped Connectivity, nearly $9.43 million.
Overall, this is the most successful the region has been in garnering ATP funding.
SB 1 each year directs $100 million from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account to the ATP. Once combined with other state and federal funds, there was about $650 million available in the most recent funding cycle, which was split into statewide, rural and regional funding allocations. SJCOG initially received $5.23 million for Cycle 6 regional funding, but the state later added another $8 million for a total of nearly $14 million in regional funding.
ATP’s goals include:
- Increase the proportion of trips by biking and walking.
- Increase safety and mobility for people using nonmotorized modes of transportation.
- Advance regional efforts to achieve greenhouse gas reduction.
- Enhance public health.
- Ensure underserved communities fully share in the program’s benefits.
- Offer broad range of projects to benefit many types of active transportation users.
Learn more by visiting SJCOG’s Active Transportation Program webpage.