Agenda Date: 02/16/2021
Subject:
Title
CARES Act and CDOT Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) Supplemental Funding Discussion and Alternatives
Body
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Prepared By: |
Keith Reester, Public Works Director and Brent Thompson, City Engineer |
PURPOSE:
The federal CARES Act and the statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) have notified local transportation planning regions that supplemental funding is available. This item will review alternatives and how this could impact Littleton. Direction to staff is necessary as a result of upcoming decision dates.
PRESENTATIONS:
Staff Presenter(s): Keith Reester, Public Works Director and Brent Thompson,
City Engineer
Additional Presenter(s): N/A
SUMMARY:
Executive Summary
Every four (4) years federal transportation programming requires each state to develop and administer a Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). The planning for these is then done by region and subregion within Colorado. Littleton is part of DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) and the Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson County Subregions. Two additional pots of funding have become available to all the subregions. Arapahoe County subregion’s allocation impacts Littleton.
The city must respond to the availability of funds for transportation projects in the Arapahoe County Subregion from CARES Act stimulus and additional TIP funds. Staff recommends passing on additional funds for the Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue intersection project while potentially accepting funds for a corridor study on Broadway. Funds allocated under the CARES ACT must be under contract by the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 based on a policy position established by the state Transportation Commission.
Additionally, each FasTracks rail corridor has some remaining funds that are currently available that must remain in the corridor and tied to light rail. Littleton should consider options for these funds with the other three additional decision-making partners - Douglas County, CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation), and RTD (Regional Transportation District). Staff recommends consideration of these supplemental funds for pedestrian improvements around Mineral Station.
The timeline to make a decision on the CARES Act funding is within the next two (2) weeks. The Arapahoe County Transportation Forum Executive Committee will meet the first week in March to make a final recommendation to DRCOG on allocations in the Arapahoe County Subregion.
The allocation of new funds provides an opportunity to support critical projects identified in the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) while effectively managing the city’s local match requirements. It should also be noted that the current Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) project’s timeline calls for project priority recommendations in Q3 2021 and the highest priority projects proceeding into preliminary NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) review in 2022 allowing for these projects to potentially secure funding in the next TIP cycle. (2024-2028).
City Council will have multiple opportunities to continue to review the spending decisions in this process. All projects will need to execute intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with CDOT and council can reconsider any decisions when the IGAs come forward for review and approval.
Background
In 2019, the City of Littleton submitted a grant application for the TIP administered by DRCOG for operational improvements at the Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue intersection. The city was successful in securing a project with a total cost of $11.44M, which is split 80% federal funding ($9.152M) and 20% local match ($2.288M). The awarded project amount equates to the cost estimate to construct a quadrant road in the southwest corner of the intersection.
The concept of the quadrant road is to remove left turning movements from the main intersection and reroute those vehicles onto the quadrant road. This diversion allows all of the traffic signal green time to be dedicated to through movements either north-south on Santa Fe Drive or east-west on Mineral Avenue, which will reduce congestion and reduce the number of rear-end accidents.
Coordination with River Park Development (Evergreen)
Staff has been coordinating with the River Park Development (Evergreen), located in the southwest corner of this intersection to incorporate the quadrant road into their development plan. The quadrant road is mutually beneficial to both the city and Evergreen because it helps to improve traffic operations at the intersection, and without the quadrant road Evergreen would not be allowed a full-movement access onto Santa Fe Drive from their property.
Construction of the southwest quadrant road will require dedication of right-of-way from Evergreen since the quadrant road will be a public roadway. This right-of-way will be platted and dedicated to the city. As part of the Subdivision Improvement Agreement, Evergreen will provide some financial contribution towards design and construction of the quadrant road. The exact dollar amount of this contribution will be negotiated with Evergreen over the next few months. This financial contribution could be used as the local match for the TIP project. However, there is a risk that if Evergreen pulls out of the development project, the city is still on the hook for the local match.
It must be noted that the entire 90+ acres associated with the Ensor properties, potentially being developed by Evergreen Company (30 acres) and Toll Brothers (60 acres), are fully exempted from impact fees as a result of the annexation agreement executed in 1982.
Northwest Quadrant Road
The intersection study completed by HDR in 2019 also suggested the possibility of a quadrant road in the northwest corner of the Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue intersection. A quadrant road in both corners of this intersection would further help to improve intersection operational efficiency and split the volume of vehicles using either roadway.
The northwest quadrant road is more complicated due to:
• Impacts to RTD parking lot and bus circulation
• Acquisition of RTD property for right-of-way
• RTD’s current strategic initiatives do not show significant commitments to broader improvements at this station (despite high volume end-of-line usage and the Littleton Mineral Station Area Master Plan that highlights needs and opportunities at this site)
• Possible opportunities to tie into potential redevelopments at Aspen Grove
• Future opportunities to incorporate structured parking mixed with ground-level retail
• COVID’s impacts on RTD are dramatic and expectations of funding partnerships with RTD in the near future should be very tempered
TIP Waiting List and COVID Relief Funds
As part of the TIP development process, each subregion, in this case Arapahoe County, created a list of projects to place on a waiting list in the event that municipal sponsors of awarded projects changed their scope or canceled projects, or if additional federal funds became available. Supplemental funding becoming available during a 4-year TIP cycle is very common.
The current waiting list for the Arapahoe Subregion is:
In December 2020, the federal government passed a COVID relief package which contained funds dedicated to surface transportation improvements. The funds allocated to the State of Colorado were divided according to established TIP policy. These funds, combined with changes in existing TIP projects, resulted in the availability of approximately $7.7M in the Arapahoe County subregion, with COVID funds making up $5.6M. The State Transportation Commission has established two criteria on these funds, first the previously mentioned contracting by Q3 2022 and second the allocation of the funds with a zero percent match requirement.
The zero percent match requirement has presented forums with questions. Questions include should this be allocated to projects already awarded TIP funds that can meet the 2022 deadline? Or does this create an equity issue for communities as all previous project ranking decisions involved consideration of the local match component? Initially it was projected that COVID funds would be rolled out at the 80/20 cost-split standard. To further complicate decisions, project sponsors can elect to accept a portion or all of the allocation, with the 80/20 cost split. Alternatively, sponsors can pass and the funds would be offered to the next project on the waiting list. If there are still funds available after going through the waiting list, a new call for projects will be issued.
This also presents a “color of money” option; can projects that meet the 2022 deadline accept the COVID funds releasing the previously assigned TIP funds to be utilized by other projects further down the list that did not receive funds in the earlier distribution plan? If this occurs how should the newly allocated COVID funds and the newly awarded TIP funds be treated related to local match requirements?
Other Waiting List Projects
For projects currently on the Arapahoe County Waiting List, our current understanding of the status and analysis is as follows:
1. Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue (remaining amount) - Littleton. See analysis above
regarding northwest quadrant road.
2. Havana Street & Easter Avenue - Centennial. Staff’s understanding is that Centennial
will likely pass on this project.
3. Broadway Corridor Study - Littleton. Outside of the Santa Fe Drive corridor, the
Broadway corridor continues to have the highest number of crashes in the city. There are 4 intersections along Broadway within the top 15 highest frequency of injury crashes within the city. Many intersections have deficient turn lane lengths, inconsistent access management, and inadequate bicycle/pedestrian facilities. The Broadway corridor has ranked high on RTD’s list of potential future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes. In addition, current land use is incongruent with the new Comprehensive Plan in places. Staff feels that on the heels of completion of the Comprehensive Plan, TMP, and Unified Land Use Code (ULUC), a corridor study on Broadway would be beneficial to aid in defining the vision for this corridor as the community seeks to optimize land use, improve traffic operations and transit options, and enhance economic vitality throughout the corridor, which would benefit several communities.
4. Federal Boulevard & Bowles Avenue - Littleton. Safety improvements were completed
at this intersection in 2020. The requested funding in the TIP was to realign the intersection to 90 degrees to further improve safety and operational efficiency. Staff would not recommend this proposed project at this time.
5. Peoria Street & Easter Avenue - Arapahoe County. Unknown.
FasTracks Funding
Within the FasTracks light rail project there were funds dedicated to each rail corridor. In the Southwest Light Rail corridor there are $2.3M in remaining funds, $2.7M with local match. These funds have a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) component, require an 80/20 match and are required to be used in the corridor. For the Southwest Corridor the decision-making partners are the City of Littleton, Douglas County, RTD and CDOT. In discussions in 2019/20 with the partners led by DRCOG staff, no consensus was reached on possible uses of the funds. Since that time intermittent discussions have considered ideas for using these funds around the Mineral Station area. Connectivity for multi-modal uses, including trail connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists, have been focus areas and staff believes other partners would be supportive of multi-modal enhancement opportunities. The projected cost to extend the SW Rail Line to Lucent is $180M.
Based on the projected development in the southwest corner of Santa Fe Drive & Mineral Avenue and the city’s investment in the southwest quadrant road, a strong argument could be made to invest these funds in a pedestrian overpass facility spanning Mineral Avenue to the Evergreen development. HDR has recently completed sketches for the city to show possible alignments and landing points for such a structure. Alternatively, a connection with Aspen Grove to create a more transit-oriented development might be an option. Another consideration is making an argument to invest the $2.7M around the downtown Littleton Station.
For a cost comparison in 2017 a similar pedestrian bridge was constructed in RINO by RTD for $6.7M not including additional structured parking. The project did spur additional transit-oriented development adjacent to the site. A pedestrian crossing over Mineral would require a longer span and with inflation is likely to near $10M in costs. For parking structures, 2020 national averages put a 150,000 square foot parking structure at $9,750,000 with most structures, not including upbuilds such as retail or exterior improvements, at $24,500/space. Depending on configurations a 150,000 square foot garage can hold 375-500 cars.
A decision on this issue does not need to be made at this time, staff recommends working through alternatives with all partners as the PEL project progresses and begins to delineate high priority alternatives in the corridor.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
The Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue Operational Improvement project has been discussed with city council many times over the past two years, including intersection alternative concepts. City council approved an IGA with CDOT for this project as Resolution 38-2020 on May 5, 2020.
ANALYSIS:
Staff Analysis
The next TIP cycle will be starting its development in 2022, with funds slated for FY24 - FY28. Staff would recommend passing on the current waiting list project for the northwest quadrant road at Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue and applying for this project in the next TIP cycle or an additional solution potentially derivative of the PEL project. Of course, there is a risk that such a project wouldn’t make the cut for funding in the midst of many other needs throughout Arapahoe County, particularly because this intersection had already received funding in the current TIP. However, due to timing, local match shortfalls, and project partner coordination, staff feels that accepting the additional funds for the north quad road is not in the city’s best interest at this time.
Staff does not believe that a contract for construction of the northwest quad road option can go to advertisement by Q3 of 2022 based on design schedules, land and right-of-way issues, and decision making clearances.
Staff does however recommend seeking funds for the Broadway Corridor Study to look at transportation, land use, and economic development. It is likely this project would be undertaken in 2023/2024. If the city pursued this route a local match of $200,000 would be required. A Broadway corridor study has benefits to multiple jurisdictions including Centennial, Englewood, Arapahoe County, and RTD. Staff would vigorously seek funding partners to participate, including potential FTA funds through RTD, as the corridor is currently ranked 4th among locations in RTD for potential BRT investment.
Council Goal, Objective, and/or Guiding Principle
This project is specifically identified in the TMP. This project meets Council Goal 2: Financial Sustainability/Objective 5: Identifying, assessing, and prioritizing funding for capital needs by leveraging grant funds through CDOT.
Fiscal Impacts
The city’s local match obligation on the current Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue Intersection project of $2.288M could be funded by the Transportation Impact Fund because the project aims to reduce congestion impacts related to growth in the immediate area and surrounding region. $375,000 has been included in the 2021 Budget from the Transportation Impact Fund for preliminary design of this project, anticipated to take place from July 2021 to December 2022. The budgeted amount will be sufficient to meet the city’s local match obligations for design. A funding source for the balance of the city’s local match obligation ($1,914,000) has not yet been identified but will be critical to ensure this project can continue. Based on revenue projections, it is unlikely the Transportation Impact Fund will have adequate funds to support this obligation by the time a construction contract is executed in early 2023. As discussed at Council’s Goal Setting session on February 9th, one possible source for the unfunded match could be the new retail marijuana sales tax revenue.
If the city were to accept the additional $6.048M in funds for the northwest quad road, there would be an additional local match obligation of $1.512M.
If the city decides to accept funds for the waiting list project of a Broadway Corridor Study, the local match on this project would be $200,000. This level of local match is manageable within current budget projections. Staff would also reach out to other partner agencies along the corridor including Centennial, Englewood, and Douglas County to gauge their interest in involvement and possible financial contribution to this project.
Alternatives
1. Request supplemental CARES ACT/TIP funds to accelerate the construction of both quad roads
2. Pass on additional funding for Mineral/Santa Fe
3. Seek supplemental CARES ACT/TIP funds for a multi-partner corridor study on Broadway incorporating land use, economic development, transportation, and BRT alternatives
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends passing on additional funds for the Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue intersection project but seeking funds for a corridor study on Broadway.
Staff also recommends further discussions with SW Corridor partners on the potential use of FasTracks funds.