IN THIS EDITION:

• Travis Air Force Base presents Base Access Priorities to STA Board
• STA releases Call For Projects One Bay Area Grant (OBAG 3)
• Highway Projects Update – New West Bound Truck Scales Under Design & Construction Begins on I-80 Express Lanes Project
• STA & Caltrans presented Highway 12 Improvement Projects to City of Rio Vista
• STA approves adding new Bike & Pedestrian Projects for the Countywide Active Transportation Plan
• STA Board releases Draft Overall Work Plan for FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24
• Suisun City Community-Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) Open House
• Solano County Bicyclists Celebrate Bike Month & Bike To Work Day
• Solano Mobility Update
• Get Involved with STA Advisory Committees
• STA Staff Updates

Travis Air Force Base presents Base Access Priorities to STA Board

Travis Air Force Wing Commander Colonel Corey Simmons attended the May 11 STA Board Meeting to provide the STA Board with a presentation on base access priorities for Travis Air Force Base. STA is coordinating with staff from Travis AFB, the Capitol Corridors, City of Fairfield, City of Vacaville, and County of Solano on projects such as completing the next and final phases of the Jepson Parkway located in Vacaville and Fairfield, access improvements at the North Gate, and safety improvements at the Vanden and Canon Roads’ rail crossing.

STA releases Call For Projects One Bay Area Grant (OBAG 3)

At the May 11th STA Board Meeting, the STA Board approved issuing a Call for Projects for $15.11 million in One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) 3 grant program funds and an amended Option 3 Call for Projects allocation plan that would create a countywide program or programs to fund the following eligible projects. 

1. Countywide Vision Zero/Active Transportation Program - $11 million in OBAG funds: 

Safety Projects and Active Transportation Projects combined with an Arterial/Complete Streets Program; Safe Routes to Schools Programs and Projects; and Safe Routes to Transit Project

2. Suburban Housing Incentive Program (SubHIP)- $2.5 million in OBAG funds:

Transportation infrastructure in PDAs adjacent to Regional Transit in support of Affordable Housing Projects

3. Electrification Efforts and Mobility Programs - $1.5 million in OBAG funds:

Solano Mobility Programs – One-Stop Call Center and Employer/Commuter Programs

Project sponsors will have until Thursday, June 30, 2022, to submit their OBAG 3 projects. A STA Board workshop has been scheduled for July 13th, prior to the STA Board meeting, to hear from project sponsors and STA’s advisory committees and community based organizations before the STA Board recommends OBAG 3 projects to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in September.

Click here for more information and to download the application. Contact STA Assistant Planner Kathrina Gregana for any questions. 

Highway Projects Update – New West Bound Truck Scales Under Design & Construction Begins on I-80 Express Lanes Project

STA Projects Department staff presented an update on the Solano I-80 Express Lanes Project and the West Bound Truck Scales Project at the May STA Board meeting. The I-80 Westbound Truck Scales Project is in its design stage due to procured design funding in the last round of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) funds. Some of the goals of this project are to increase inspection and enforcement capacity, improve travel times and traffic safety, and reduce the environmental impact of freight movement. Once funding is procured, the West Bound Truck Scales Project will be ready to go to construction in late 2024.

On May 16, 2022, Caltrans hosted the groundbreaking event for the start of construction for the I-80 Express Lanes Project at the historic Pena Adobe Park. State Senator Bill Dodd, Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (Suisun City), Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett, Caltrans acting Director Steven Keck, STA Board Chair and Mayor of Vallejo Robert McConnell, Solano County Supervisors Jim Spering, John Vasquez, Mitch Mashburn, Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission board/Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, and Caltrans Bay Area public information officer Pedro Quintana were among the government officials and dignitaries in attendance.

The Project required several environmental permits from various resource agencies with environmental impacts that need to be mitigated. At the May 11 STA Board meeting, the STA Board authorized STA to enter into one or more agreements with qualified mitigation banks to provide required mitigation for the Project in an amount not-to-exceed $210,000 for the I-80 Express Lanes Project - Red Top Road to I-505.

STA & Caltrans presented Highway 12 Improvement Projects to City of Rio Vista

On April 26th, STA participated in a Rio Vista Town Hall with Caltrans District IV staff focused on future safety and complete highway improvements on SR 12, called the Rio Vista Complete Streets Update. An estimated 71 Rio Vista residents participated in person and via zoom along with the Rio Vista City Council. Topics of interest included roadway construction, installation of bicycle and pedestrian access improvements, beautification of the Rio Vista section of the highway with landscaping and hardscaping, the addition of acceleration/deceleration lanes and a left turn pocket at the Church Road intersection, the funding plan, and the schedule of construction.

Click here to see the presentation slides by Caltrans and STA. Watch a recording of the meeting by clicking here.

STA Board approves adding new Bike & Pedestrian Projects for the Countywide Active Transportation Plan

At the May Board meeting, the STA Board approved the addition of 39 bike and pedestrian projects to update the Solano Active Transportation Plan (ATP) adopted in 2020. The Solano ATP is an element of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) and is meant to be viewed as a living, guiding document that can be amended annually with new projects and priorities based on the requests of the seven cities and the county. The ATP will be used as the basis from which future bike and pedestrian projects are selected and prioritized by STA for federal, state and regional grant funding sources like Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3, Transportation Funds for Clean Air (TFCA), OBAG 3, and State and regional ATP grants.

For the list of projects to be added to the ATP, click here.

STA Board releases Draft Overall Work Plan for FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 

On May 11, the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) Board approved the release of the STA’s draft two-year Overall Work Plan (OWP) for FY 2022-23 and 2023-24 for a 30 day review and comment period. The 51 plans, projects and programs contained in the current OWP have been updated to reflect milestones achieved and contain new additions approved by the STA Board during FY 2021-22 that increase the OWP to 56 items. Members of the public, staff, and stakeholder input are provided through the STA’s public Board meetings, the STA Technical Advisory Committee, the Solano Express Transit Consortium, and the STA Citizen-Based Advisory Committees. To review the draft Overall Work Plan for FYs 2022-23 and 2023-24, please click here.

Suisun City Community-Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) Open House

On Monday, June 6, the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) and the City of Suisun City are hosting an in-person public Community-Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) Open House at STA’s offices in Suisun City to share survey results and proposed recommendations for transportation and mobility improvements in Suisun City. STA has received over 400 hundred surveys from the Suisun City community. We invite you to join us to learn more about Suisun City’s mobility priorities, proposed recommendations, next steps, and to provide your thoughts. By providing their feedback, community members will help Suisun City design transportation system improvements that work for them.

For more information on the Suisun City CBTP Open House event, view the flyer here or call the Solano Mobility Call Center at (800) 535-6883.

Solano County Bicyclists Celebrate Bike Month & Bike To Work Day

Bike to Work Day (BTWD) is a celebration of bicycles as a fun and healthy way to get to work, as well as an opportunity for those who don’t usually bike commute to try it out. It’s also a time to advocate for improved bicycle infrastructure and safety. This year, we celebrated Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 20, 2022. Volunteers passed out free swag bags at the Suisun Amtrak station, Vallejo Ferry building, and on the Benicia Bike path during the early morning commute hours. Fisk’s Cyclery in Dixon, Rays Cycle in Vacaville, and Wheels In Motion in Benicia provided bags all day. The public was invited to come by and learn more about the Bucks for Bikes program, which reimburses 60% of the cost of a new bicycle and helmet (up to $300) purchased for commuting. For more information on Bike To Work Day, #BikeMonth or #BikeMonth events, visit Solanomobility.org or call (800) 535-6883.

Vallejo Ferry Building energizer station

Benicia Bike Path energizer station

Suisun Fairfield Amtrak Station energizer station

If you are looking for more ways to participate in Bike Month, download the Xplore Solano App. Solano Transportation Authority and Solano Land Trust partnered with cities and local agencies to create Xplore Solano, one convenient place for Solano residents to find events, activities, trails, parks, and destinations in Solano County using their mobile device. Visit the Xplore Solano app website for more information, and download the Outerspatial app at the Apple Store or on Google Play to access the Xplore Solano Community account and make plans to celebrate Bike Month!

Solano Mobility Update

April 2022 continued to be a busy month for Solano Mobility, particularly for the programs for older adults and people with disabilities. The Suisun City local taxi program was implemented in January 2022 and has 38 Suisun residents registered with 150 total trips so far this year. The Travel Training program held 21 total (individual and group) trainings for April, increasing the total number of trainees in FY 2021-22 to 138, already double last fiscal year’s total of 65.  

Solano Mobility’s Medical Trip Concierge Program with GoGo Grandparent currently has a total of 1,265 registered program users, 343 of which are low-income users. The Medical Trip Concierge program has provided a total of 746 trips in April, 530 of which were taken by low-income clients. A total of 6,748 trips have been taken YTD, exceeding the total of 4,836 trips taken through all of FY 2020-21.  

On April 1, the Intercity Taxi Card and Medical Trip Concierge programs were expanded to also provide rides to Veterans. So far, the concierge program has been able to provide 15 trips for Veterans to medical facilities both within Solano County and to Martinez. For more information on Solano Mobility's programs, visit the Solano Mobility website here, or contact Solano Mobility at 800-535-6883.

Get involved with STA Advisory Committees

STA is asking for your help to build a more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly Solano County. The STA currently has open positions on our Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC). The BAC and PAC advise the STA on the development of bicycle and pedestrian facilities as an active mode of transportation in Solano County. Committee members also help STA develop countywide transportation plans and projects and provide funding recommendations for active transportation projects.

We are looking for the following representatives:

Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC)

• City of Fairfield 
• City of Suisun
• City of Rio Vista

Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC)

• City of Dixon 
• City of Vacaville
• Member-at-Large
• Member-at-Large (Solano Community College)

For more information on the BAC Open Positions, click here, and click here for more information on the PAC Open Positions.

On May 16, Amy Antunano made the move from Senior Program Coordinator to begin her duties as the new Assistant Program Manager for Safe Routes to School. She will be supervised by STA Director of Planning, Robert Guerrero. 

Brent Rosenwald, one of STA’s Assistant Planners, accepted a position with a consultant firm and has departed the STA after a successful two and a half year tenure.