IN THIS EDITION:

• STA Board selects 2023 Chair & Vice-Chair, New Board Members join the STA
• STA Supported Projects Receive Three Federal Appropriations Earmarks
• STA Board Adopts 2023 Legislative Platform and Priorities
• STA Updating Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)
• STA & Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority co-sponsor application for $600k for Solano Rail Hub Project
• STA Board Approves Consolidated Short Range Transit Plans (SRTPs) for Five Transit Operators 
• STA partners with Suisun City to launch Microtransit Program in Suisun
• Suisun City’s Crystal Middle School Traffic Calming Project Completion
• Solano Mobility Update: Commute Challenge for Commuters & Employees
• Solano Mobility Programs Outreach and Travel Training Trips
• Explore Solano with the OuterSpatial App’s 2023 Explorer Challenge
• Openings Still Available for STA Advisory Committees
• STA Staff Update

STA Board selects 2023 Chair & Vice-Chair, New Board Members join the STA

The STA Board selected City of Benicia Mayor Steve Young as the new STA Chair and City of Rio Vista Mayor Ron Kott as STA Vice-Chair during their January 11th STA Board Meeting. Chair Young and Vice-Chair Kott will assume their new positions beginning with the February 8, 2023, Board Meeting.

City of Fairfield Mayor Catherine Moy, City of Vacaville Mayor John Carli, and District 5 Supervisor Mitch Mashburn were sworn in as new STA Board members. City of Benicia Vice-Mayor Terry Scott was also sworn in as a new Board Alternate.

STA Supported Projects Receive Three Federal Appropriations Earmarks 

With the passing of the Omnibus Bill on Dec. 30, 2022, three STA supported projects received a total of $10 million in Community Project Funding (earmarks) by U.S. Congressmen John Garamendi and Mike Thompson:



1. Canon Road Overcrossing: City of Fairfield ($4 million)
2. I-505/Vaca Valley: City of Vacaville ($4 million)
3. Solano Express Electrification/Electric Bus Requests: SolTrans ($2 million)

STA Board Adopts 2023 Legislative Platform and Priorities

The STA Board adopted the 2023 Legislative Platform and Priorities at their January 11, 2023, Board meeting. This year’s focus includes advancing projects such as the I-80 Westbound Truck Scales Project, closing the gaps on the I-80 Express Lanes Network in the cities of Dixon and Vallejo, SR 37 Fairgrounds Interchange Project, completing Jepson Parkway, and rail crossing projects located in the cities of Dixon and Fairfield.

To view STA’s 2023 Legislative Platform, please click here.

STA Updating Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP)

STA Planning staff has scheduled the next Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) update to begin this year to coincide with Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s update of their regional transportation plan, titled Plan Bay Area 2050, which is also scheduled to begin in Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The CTP is STA’s foundational planning document for all countywide modes of transportation and consists of three sections or elements: 1) Arterials, Highways and Freeways Element, 2) Rideshare and Transit Element, and 3) Active Transportation Element. The Comprehensive Transportation Plan also includes a Transportation Equity Chapter and a Transportation and Land Use Chapter. 

The CTP was last updated in 2020 with most of the planning work completed between 2015-2019 and was the basis for STA submitting Solano County projects and programs to be included in MTC’s Plan Bay Area 2040. Updating the CTP will enable STA to review its priority projects before submitting them as part of MTC’s anticipated Plan Bay Area 2050 update, which is a requirement in order to be eligible for regional, state, and federal transportation funding.

To view STA’s 2040 CTP online, click here.

STA & Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority co-sponsor application for $600k for Solano Rail Hub Project

The STA has been working closely with the cities of Suisun City and Fairfield, the County of Solano, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA), Amtrak, and Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transit to move the Solano Rail Hub Project forward. 

Following approval at the January STA Board meeting, the STA will submit a co-sponsored Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) application for the Solano Rail Hub Project in partnership with the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) and application partners: City of Sacramento, City of Hercules, and Link21. The STA will be requesting $600,000 for the Environmental and 30% Initial Design Phases of the Solano Rail Hub. Additionally, STA was able to secure a 50% funding match in the amount of $600,000 from Amtrak, one of the partners on the project. The deadline for TIRCP applications is on February 10th, and funding awards are anticipated to be announced in April.

STA Board Approves Consolidated Short Range Transit Plans (SRTPs) for Five Transit Operators

The STA Board approved the completed Short Range Transit Plans (SRTPs) for the five Solano County Transit operators and will submit each to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC): Dixon Readi-Ride, Fairfield And Suisun Transit (FAST), Rio Vista Delta Breeze, Solano County Transit (SolTrans), and Vacaville City Coach. The SRTP for SolTrans includes both their local service, covering Benicia and Vallejo, and the broader Solano Express service.

Over the past year, STA and consultants developed the SRTPs in partnership with each local transit operator’s staff. To view the approved SRTPs, please click below:

1. Dixon Readi-Ride SRTP 
2. FAST SRTP 
3. Rio Vista Delta Breeze SRTP 
4. SolTrans SRTP 
5. Vacaville City Coach SRTP 

STA partners with Suisun City to launch Microtransit Program in Suisun

On January 3, 2023, the STA and City of Suisun City launched the Suisun Microtransit service with FREE fares throughout the month of January, providing door to door service within the city limits of Suisun City and to nine (9) locations within Fairfield: Fairfield Transportation Center, David Grant Medical Facility, Solano County Government Center, Sutter Medical Campus, NorthBay Medical Center, Kaiser Medical Offices, Ole Health Clinic, DaVita Dialysis Center, and the Solano Health and Social Services Center. 

Effective January 9, 2023, Suisun City students can also access the following schools via the fixed-route service schedule outlined below:

• Dan O. Root Elementary
• Suisun Elementary
• Crystal Middle School
• Armijo High School

For more information, visit the Suisun Microtransit webpage here or call (707) 673-2129 to reserve your ride.

Suisun City’s Crystal Middle School Traffic Calming Project Completion

Suisun City Public Works recently completed the Crystal Middle School Traffic Calming Project. This Safe Routes to School Project is aimed to improve the safety of the crosswalk adjacent to Suisun City’s Crystal Middle School, for pedestrian students as well as parents using the school’s main drop-off/pick-up location. The completed improvements included upgrading the curb ramps to ADA-compliant curb ramps, high visibility crosswalk, concrete bulb-out, rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFB), striping and signage. The project was completed in the Fall of 2022 and was partially funded by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Transportation Funds for Clean Air (TFCA) and 40% County Program Manager Funds.

Solano Mobility Update: Commute Challenge for Commuters & Employees

STA’s Commute Challenge Program rewards Solano County commuters who sign up and log their smart commutes at commuterinfo.net with gift cards of their choice for FREE. Solano Mobility’s Commute Challenge Program encourages commuters to use alternate forms of transportation to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMTs), reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and ease congestion on Solano County roadways. Active transportation trips (biking/walking) earn 30 points, ridesharing (carpool/ vanpool) and transit (rail/ferry/bus) trips earn 20 points, and teleworking days earn 10 points. Commuters who receive 100 points can redeem a $10 gift card; 500 points earns a $25 gift card; and 1,200 points earns a $50 gift card. 

This fiscal year Solano Mobility’s Commute Challenge Program has rewarded 18 commuters with 35 gift cards totaling $930. 239 commuters have redeemed 581 gift cards for $16,881 since the program began in February of 2020.

For more information, visit the Solano Mobility Commute Challenge webpage here.

Solano Mobility Programs Outreach and Travel Training Trips

STA’s Solano Mobility staff attended a Joint Chamber Mixer at Solano Community College to provide information on Solano Mobility Programs for Older Adults, People with Disabilities and Commuters on November 3rd. Presented by Kaiser Permanente and The Solano Community College Education Foundation, the mixer connected local businesses and education, drawing more than 150 attendees. STA engaged 60 individuals and business representatives.

Solano Mobility's Travel Training program provides one-on-one instruction and group training designed to teach people how to travel independently on fixed-route public transportation in their community. This FREE service teaches everything, from how to read a schedule to how to pay for your travel. A total of 161 trainings (individual and field trips) were conducted during FY2021-22.

For more information on Solano Mobility's Travel Training program, please click here.

Explore Solano with the OuterSpatial App’s 2023 Explorer Challenge 

Solano Land Trust, Solano Transportation Authority, Solano County Office of Education, Cities of Fairfield and Vacaville, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD), and Solano County Parks have partnered together to create the Xplore Solano community via the OuterSpatial app, a community app for Solano residents. Xplore Solano offers families one location to find where to go and what to do outdoors in Solano County. Using the OuterSpatial app, each partner organization adds local events, activities, trails, parks, and destinations to the Xplore Solano Community account. 

Xplore Solano participants will have from January to December 2023 to use the app to check-in at all the required locations to complete the Explorer Challenge. Participants who complete the full challenge will be submitted into a drawing for prizes from the Xplore Solano Organizations. Visit the Explorer Challenge 2023 website for more information on the 2023 challenge, visit STA’s Active Transportation page for more information on the Xplore Solano app, and download the OuterSpatial app at the Apple Store or on Google Play to access the Xplore Solano Community account and get outside today!

Openings Still Available for 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 
• Member-At-Large

Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC)

• City of Vacaville
• City of Rio Vista
• City of Suisun City
• 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. 

STA Staff Update

On January 9, Julie Davidson joined STA’s Solano Mobility Program as a part-time Customer Service Representative for the Employer Commuter Program. She is a resident of the City of Fairfield and reports to Lorene Garrett, Program Coordinator II.