In this edition
  • STA Board Allocates Air Quality Funds for Seven Local Projects
  • Partial Restoration of SolanoExpress Service in July & COVID-19 Safety Protocols 
  • STA Board Adopts Support for Priority Projects in Plan Bay Area 2050
  • MTC’s Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force Recommends CARES Act Funding Allocation
  • SolanoExpress Marketing
  • First Last Mile/Micro Transit Offers Local Service Options at STA Board Transit Workshop on the Future of Transit in Solano County
  • Cities and County Utilize SB 1 Funds to Make Progress on Local Streets and Roads
  • Moving Solano Forward 3.0 Partnership Proposed to Update Economic Strategy
  • All Eight Jurisdictions to Partner Through STA’s SolHIP for Housing Elements Consultant 
  • Vacaville Public Works Director to Retire
STATUS Newsletter

The STATUS Newsletter is published every month after the STA Board meeting to inform the public and our stakeholders of what’s happening with transportation in Solano County. 

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  • None (STA Board Meeting will resume in September)
STA Board Allocates Air Quality Funds for Seven Local Projects

On July 8th, the STA Board approved a funding allocation of $196,450 of FY 2019-20 Transportation for Clean Air (TFCA) funds for seven local sponsor projects as follows: 

  • $35,000 for the City of Vallejo’s EV Fleet Chargers;
  • $17,500 for the City of Vallejo’s Radar Feedback Signs Project;
  • $26,000 for the City of Benicia’s Panorama Drive School Safety Pedestrian Crossing Improvements;
  • $45,950 for the City of Suisun City’s Traffic Calming Project at Suisun and Dan O. Root Elementary Schools;
  • $40,000 for Cal Maritime’s DC EV Fast Charger;
  • $20,000 for Cal Maritimes EV Van Purchase; and
  • $12,000 for Paradise Valley Estates Optimus Ride Autonomous and Electric Pilot Shuttle

Earlier in the year, the STA Board had approved $340,000 in TFCA funding for the Solano Mobility Program and Electric Vehicle Implementation Program. TFCA funding is provided in partnership with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).
Partial Restoration of SolanoExpress Service in July & COVID-19 Safety Protocols 

Based on the action taken by the STA Board on June 10, 2020, Solano County Transit (SolTrans) and Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) began the implementation of partial restoration of SolanoExpress service on July 5th and 6th respectively. The Red and Yellow Lines operated by SolTrans began the partially restored service on Sunday, July 5th, while the Blue Line and Green Express operated by FAST began the partially restored service on Monday, July 6th. The updated budget approved by the STA Board for SolanoExpress is $10.3 million, with the 80,000 pre-COVID 19 pandemic annual service hours partially restored from the low of 37,000 during the pandemic to 44,843 annual service hours. This added back some critically needed service for essential workers. Fares were restored on all four SolanoExpress lines on June 15, 2020, with some financial assistance from the federal funded CARE Act, which provided for the sustaining of essential transit service.

Also on June 10, 2020, the STA Board adopted the SolanoExpress Safety Protocols which include implementing safety measures on all four SolanoExpress routes to protect the riders and drivers. To view the Safety Protocols, visit the SolanoExpress website by clicking HERE .
STA Board Adopts Support for Priority Projects in Plan Bay Area 2050

On July 8th, the STA Board supported three large priority projects be included in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for the Bay Area, called Plan Bay Area 2050. The RTP is a long range transportation plan for the nine county Bay Area region that forecasts future transportation needs. Over the past year, the STA Board submitted priority transportation projects and programs for inclusion in the new RTP. As part of this process, MTC staff analyzed high cost projects in an effort to gauge how they performed towards addressing the regions goals and objectives. Three projects were assessed by MTC’s RTP Guiding Principles, Benefit to Cost Ratio and Equity. As a result, the projects were categorized as “Under Consideration” for being removed from the RTP unless commitments were made to address areas that were noted in their assessment. MTC requested letters of commitment towards improving the project performance, which were approved by the STA Board to be included in the Plan Bay Area 2050 RTP for the following three projects:
 
  1. I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange Project
  2. SR 37 Corridor Project
  3. I-80 Express/Managed Lanes Project

Projects must be part of the fiscally constrained RTP in order to be eligible for future state and federal transportation funding.
MTC’s Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force Recommends CARES Act Funding Allocation  

On June 29, 2020, MTC’s Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force held its third meeting. After three hours of discussion, it recommended an allocation option for the remaining $500 million of one time only federal CARES Act transit funding (called Tranche 2) among the region’s 26 transit operators. The total amount of CARE Act funding for Tranche 1 and 2 included $11,260,517 million for Solano County’s three fixed-route transit operators (SolTrans, FAST and City Coach) and $548,1t,000 for Solano County’s two rural operators (Dixon Readi-Ride and Rio Vista Delta Breeze). This recommendation is scheduled to be considered by the full MTC Commission at their meeting of July 22, 2020 after a stop at MTC’s Programming and Allocation Committee on July 8, 2020. Federal CARES Act funds are one time only funding intended to help the nation and region’s transit operators sustain service through 2020. $2.3 million in CARES Act funds from Tranche 2 are needed to fully fund the FY 2020-21 SolanoExpress budget adopted by the STA Board .
SolanoExpress Marketing

STA, SolTrans and FAST are working together to market the SolanoExpress service. New schedules highlighting the partially restored service have been developed and new, large maps and posters are being produced and distributed at transit centers throughout the County to highlight the service and to inform riders regarding the new COVID-19 Safety Protocols .
First Last Mile/Micro Transit Offers Local Service Options at STA Board Transit Workshop on the Future of Transit in Solano County

As a result of the June 10th STA Board Transit Workshop, STA staff has summarized the comments and suggestions from the STA Board members and is scheduling follow up meetings with local transit operators to discuss the future of transit service throughout Solano County within the constraints of reduced funding resources, both in the near term during the COVID Pandemic (next two to three years) and in the longer term. At the July meeting, the STA Board approved requests from Suisun City to expand the First/Last Mile Program throughout the entire city connecting to the Suisun Amtrak Station and SolanoExpress Red and Green Line Express services; and to initiate steps to coordinate potential micro transit pilot programs within the cities of Rio Vista and Dixon. Over the past year, STA has partnered with Solano County Transit (SolTrans) on successful First Last Mile services in the City of Benicia linking to the Solano Express Yellow and Blue Lines and linking Mare Island to the downtown Vallejo Transit Center and Ferry Terminal.
Cities and County Utilize SB 1 Funds to Make Progress on Local Streets and Roads

Since the passage by the State Legislature of SB 1 and the subsequent rejection by California voters of Proposition 6 that would have repealed SB 1, SB 1 funds have helped stabilize the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), expanded funding for Caltrans to maintain the state highways through the State Highway and Operations Protection Program (SHOPP), increased state funding for transit, and provided a dedicated funding source for cities and counties to maintain their local streets and roads. Solano County’s seven cities and the County have taken advantage of these SB 1 funds to conduct critically needed repair and maintenance work on their local streets and roads. STA staff provided the STA Board with a project report received from all eight local agencies as an information item for the Board and the traveling public. Altogether, by the end of FY 19-20, Solano County jurisdictions have received approximately $34.4 M of SB 1 funds since FY 17-18. A copy of the presentation is available HERE .
Moving Solano Forward 3.0 Partnership Proposed to Update Economic Strategy

In June, the Solano Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Dr. Robert Eyler provided a presentation to the STA Board on “Recent Impacts on Solano Economy and Opportunities for Recovery.” At July 8th Board meeting, the STA Board authorized the STA to partner with Solano EDC, the County of Solano and all seven cities to pursue an Economic Development Agency (EDA) grant to help fund an update to the “Moving Solano Forward” economic strategy that was initially developed in 2016. The Moving Solano Forward Strategy Update is timely given the recent economic land use designations for eleven Priority Production Areas (PPAs) and transit oriented land use for thirteen Priority Development Areas (PDAs). Its primary objective is to develop short and long term strategies for Solano County's economy and local businesses to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic with an emphasis on investment in transportation infrastructure.
All Eight Jurisdictions to Partner Through STA’s SolHIP for Housing Elements Consultant 

STA planning staff and consultants continue to work through the Solano Housing Investment Partnership (SolHIP) in coordination with all seven cities and the County to plan for, fund, and implement affordable housing projects located in PDAs and adjacent to regional transit services. STA is assisting all seven cities and the County with obtaining their Local Early Action Plan (LEAP) funding available from the State Housing and Community Development (HCD). These funds are available to help all local agencies update their housing elements by 2022 with the new housing production numbers to be provided by HCD to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process later this year. Five cities are planning to coordinate with STA through the SolHIP partnership to hire one planning consultant to conduct their five separate housing element updates. This is intended to help save time and staff resources .
Vacaville Public Works Director to Retire

Vacaville’s Public Works Director, Shawn Cunningham, recently announced his retirement after a long and productive career with the City of Vacaville. STA has worked with Shawn and his hard working staff on the funding and delivery of a number of local and regionally significant transportation projects, including the Vacaville Transportation Center and Jepson Parkway. He was an active and vocal member of the STA’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and during his tenure with the City of Vacaville, set the standard for project delivery in the County for project delivery and delivery of quality projects, winning the STA Award twice each for Project Delivery, Project of the Year, and Agency of the Year. The STA wishes him well in his forthcoming retirement. 
2020 STA Board Members

  • Ron Rowlett, Chair, Mayor of Vacaville
  • Bob Sampayan, Vice-Chair, Mayor of Vallejo
  • Harry Price, Mayor of Fairfield
  • Thom Bogue, Mayor of Dixon
  • Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor of Benicia
  • Ronald Kott, Mayor of Rio Vista
  • Jim Spering, Solano County Supervisor
  • Lori Wilson, Mayor of Suisun City
     
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