In this edition: In Memorium: Mayor Richardson 2018 STIP Programming Transit Assistance Funds Allocated Vallejo Ferry Ridership Growth EV Charging Station Grant ADA Assessment Report Walk to School Day a Success New STA Director of Programs Local Preference Policy Report Mobility Summits Update 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 in the transportation arena in Solano County.  Please  sign up here  to receive this newsletter directly in your inbox.  UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS: STA Board Meeting 12/13

In Memorium – Rio Vista Mayor and STA Board Member Norman Richardson STA Board and staff were sad to learn of the passing of Rio Vista Mayor and Board Member Norman Richardson on October 10, 2017. Mayor Richardson was dedicated to his Rio Vista community, and was a strong advocate of transportation for Rio Vista and Solano County as an STA Board member, on which he served since 2012. He was active in seeking improvements to State Route 12 that runs through the City of Rio Vista, improving mobility options for seniors and people with disabilities, improving the walkability of Rio Vista’s waterfront and downtown, and participated every year and in this month’s “Walk to School Day” with his local school community.   Mayor Richardson served on the following STA policy committees: SR 12 Corridor Advisory and Steering Committees; Arterials, Highways and Freeways Committee; Transit and Rideshare; Regional Transportation Impact Fee Policy Committee; Seniors and People with Disabilities Transportation Advisory Committee; and the Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (CTSA) Advisory Committee. Mayor Richardson participated in the STA Board’s legislative meetings in Sacramento and Washington DC. He will be missed by the STA Board and staff.

Programming of 2018 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) With the recent passage of Senate Bill 1, the funding for the STIP was restored in time for the STA Board to program the 2018 STIP. Based upon a reprogrammed balance of $11.198 million from 2016 STIP funds being restored and $12.404 million of new STIP programming funds, Solano County has $22.657 million in available STIP funds to be programmed. 2018 STIP funds were programmed for the I-80/I-680/SR12 Interchange Phase 2A – Design Phase, Jepson Parkway –Vacaville segment for construction, SR 37/Mare Island Interchange for environmental phase, and SR12/Church construction phase. These STIP investments will help leverage other state and regional funds for these SB 1 funded projects and advance these priority projects closer to construction.

Allocation of State Transit Assistance Funds (STAF) for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19 In addition to the STIP, the STA Board also programs Regional Paratransit funds and North County Transit Funds (STAF) for Solano County. These are the primary source of transit funding available to the STA to invest in various countywide transit priorities such as SolanoExpress, Solano Mobility, and the Intercity Taxi Scrip program. For Regional Paratransit STAF, a total of $428,995 was programmed in Fiscal Year 2017-18 and $429,674 was programmed in FY 2018-19. The primary investment for these funds is the funding of the Countywide ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Assessment Program, and the update of the 2011 Solano Transportation Study for Seniors & People with Disabilities with seven mobility summits organized with one in each of the seven cities. A total of 1,227 people were ADA certified in FY 2016-17.   For North County STAF, $2,235,488 was programmed for FY 2017-18 and $2,739,860 for FY 2018-19. This includes funding fourteen transit-related priorities included in the STA Board’s adopted Overall Work Plan and the STA budget for FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19 and the funding of five new work task items supported by the STA Board and by the SolanoExpress Consortium of transit operators. Transit priorities are SolanoExpress bus replacement, Solano Mobility Call Center, Travel Training, and SolanoExpress service plan and marketing. These programmed funds include a new call for projects for Solano transit operators to submit requests for $165,000 of STAF funding. Applications will be reviewed and recommended to the STA Board by the Board’s Transit Committee.

Vallejo Ferry Ridership Continues to Grow Nina Rannells and Anthony Intintioli of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) reported at the October STA Board meeting that Vallejo ridership is at 97% of capacity. The City of Vallejo is looking to add a second phase parking structure in the downtown area to serve the growing demand. STA and WETA are partnering together to complete a Solano Countywide Water Transit Plan and Financial Feasibility Study to help understand potential water transit options in order to assess feasible locations, origin-destinations with sufficient ridership demand, and the potential for waterways to handle various types of vessels/vehicles. The Study will evaluate the potential for ferry service between Vallejo and Marin County.

STA Pursues EV Charging Station Grant STA is implementing the Solano EV Transition Program that seeks to identify and eliminate barriers to the deployment of electric vehicles in Solano County. The competitive Charge! Grant Program administered by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is an opportunity to support some of the goals of the Solano EV Transition Program by installing more charging stations around the county. STA staff will work with the Cities of Fairfield, Suisun City, and Vallejo, as well as Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) and SolTrans to apply for this grant and, if awarded, install the charging stations at four transit oriented locations within these cities: Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station, Amtrak Park and Ride in Suisun City, Red Top Park and Ride in Fairfield, and Vallejo Ferry Terminal Parking Area. The City of Benicia has already installed an EV Charging Station at the new Benicia Bus Hub. STA has a website that provides information for electric vehicle drivers, installers, local governments and site owners to assist with locating and constructing EV facilities.

ADA Assessment Program Annual Report for FY 2016-17 The Countywide In-Person ADA (Americans with Disability Act) Assessment Program Annual Report covers the fourth year of the program since it was established by the STA. The Program completed 1,227 assessments last year. Implementation of the new automatic renewal policy resulted in a program savings of $12,387 last fiscal year as 88 applicants qualified for the auto-renewal process. To learn more, contact the Solano Mobility Call Center at 800-535-6883.

Walk to School Day A Success 10,000 walkers participated in this year’s International Walk to School Day in Solano County on October 4 th . 47 schools participated, with several STA Board members showing their support in their communities as part of the STA’s Safe Routes to School Program. For more information about the SR2S program, click here.

New Director of Programs Ron Grassi  Ron Grassi began as STA’s new Director of Programs on October 2nd. He will be overseeing the STA’s Solano Mobility Call Center, Safe Routes to School, Solano Express, and various Solano Mobility programs. He is a resident of Sacramento and a regular Capitol Corridor rider. Ron worked for the Solano County Administrator’s Office for the last 7 years. Local Preference Policy Report The year-end report for STA’s Local Preference Policy identifies that over $1 million has been spent with local vendors over the last two fiscal years. Since the inception of the STA’s Local Preference Policy in 2010, a total of $9.3 million has been spent locally.

Mobility Summits 2017 Recap In 2017, STA held Mobility Summits for Seniors and People with Disabilities in 4 cities: Rio Vista, Suisun City, Benicia and Dixon. In 2018, Mobility Summits will be held in Vallejo (February), Vacaville (March) and Fairfield (May). A lot of data and quality public input is being gathered from the attendees to learn what the transportation challenges are in each individual community. Check the website for upcoming summit information and summaries of summits already held. You can complete a survey online to give us your feedback directly!

2017 STA Board Members

Jim Spering, Chair, Solano County Supervisor Pete Sanchez, Vice Chair, Mayor of Suisun City Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor of Benicia Thom Bogue, Mayor of Dixon Harry Price, Mayor of Fairfield Norman Richardson, Mayor of Rio Vista Len Augustine, Mayor of Vacaville Bob Sampayan, Mayor of Vallejo         STA website: http://www.sta.ca.gov