Technical Assistance ToolkitTechnical Assistance Profile: Transit and Intercity Capital Rail Program
Summary
Created by SB 862 (2015), the Transit and Intercity Capital Rail Program (TIRCP) provides grants to transit agencies for projects that enhance priority populations’ access to improved rail and bus systems. Projects receive funding based on their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand and improve existing rail service to increase ridership, and improve safety. In 2018, the Strategic Growth Council partnered with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to provide implementation technical assistance (TA) for TIRCP awardees to maximize the projects’ benefit to priority populations1. A technical advisory committee composed of subject-matter experts in community engagement best practices and transportation equity recommended several TIRCP awardees to receive TA. Nelson/Nygaard, the lead TA provider, partnered with four community-based organizations (CBOs) that were embedded in the communities the TIRCP projects served to carry out assistance that was tailored to the needs of each community. In addition, the TA providers created frameworks to help the agencies employ community engagement best practices when planning and implementing future projects.
TA Providers
Lead TA Provider
Nelson/Nygaard
Community Based Organization Partners
- El Concilio
- San Jose Job Corps
- Public Matters
- Redding First United Methodist Church
TA Recipients
- San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority and San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
- Los Angeles Dept of Transportation
- Shasta Regional Transit Agency
Total Budget
$200,000
Program Activities
Each of the four TA recipients worked with TA providers to employ different approaches to engaging community members around the future bus and rail infrastructure projects:
- The Shasta Regional Transportation Agency (SRTA) partnered with a local church to carry out community engagement and education. They organized an event at Redding’s Whole Earth Festival called BUS-TA-MOVE with creative exercises, including games, dances, and crafting activities to promote the new transit route between Redding and Sacramento.
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) and the Transportation Communications Union (TCU) created a Work-Based Learning program to train students in transportation administration, public outreach and project management with the goal of ensuring benefits to the local community by supporting the development of future transportation professionals.
- Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) worked with Public Matters to create a framework for future public engagement efforts related to new transportation infrastructure. The framework focuses on establishing sustained public engagement in areas that have been historically underserved and may be prone to gentrification.
- The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) and San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) partnered with El Concilio to develop an outreach approach to share information with and gather input from local priority populations, including a walking audit to help community members identify accessibility and safety improvements to new and existing stations.
Outcomes
Each TIRCP TA project helped build partnerships between transit agencies and local CBOs, building the capacity of these agencies to engage priority populations more effectively. SRTA’s creative outreach and engagement raised awareness of the new transit route, gathered useful community input, and educated community members about the benefits of public transit. VTA and TCU’s internship can be replicated in future projects and created an opportunity for VTA to continue collaborating with TCU on developing future job training efforts. The framework created by Public Matters will be utilized in future LADOT engagement efforts and can also be utilized elsewhere to conduct outreach that is tailored to historically underserved populations. Lastly, the partnership between SJJPA, SJRRC, and El Concilio established a deeper relationship between these transit agencies and the community by developing tools to collectively identify barriers and opportunities for existing and future transportation infrastructure projects.
Lessons Learned
This pilot surfaced a number of helpful lessons learned that may be useful for other technical assistance efforts:
- It is important to work with CBOs that have deep roots in the community and to establish clear expectations among partners, which are key factors to having a successful collaboration.
- State agencies should be as flexible as possible in order to be responsive to the needs of the TA recipients and meet the projects’ goals and objectives.
- Factoring in some extra time for TA activities can help to create a buffer for unpredictable setbacks, such those caused by the Carr Fire disaster in Redding during the course of this project.