One Bay Area Grant 3
One Bay Area Grant 3 (OBAG 3)
Background
The One Bay Area Grant, now in its third iteration, guides how the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) distributes federal transportation funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to projects and programs that improve safety, spur economic development and help the Bay Area meet climate change and air quality improvement goals.
The third round of One Bay Area Grant funding (OBAG 3) was adopted by the MTC in January 2022 and includes more than $750 million in federal funding for projects from Fiscal Year 2022-2023 to Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
The OBAG 3 program is divided into a Regional Program, managed by MTC, and a County and Local Program, managed by MTC in partnership with the nine Bay Area County Transportation Agencies. This means that MTC will have sole discretion over how they spend the Regional Program funding. MTC will ultimately also determine how the County and Local Program dollars are spent after considering nomination lists from the Countywide Transportation Agencies.
CCTA’s Role and Nomination Process
CCTA is responsible for developing and submitting a prioritized countywide project nomination list to MTC. Contra Costa County is estimated to receive $47.3 million in OBAG 3 funding between 2023-2026.
During the summer of 2022, CCTA coordinated with all 19 cities/towns, transit agencies, park district(s), and unincorporated Contra Costa County to consider project and program proposals that meet MTC’s adopted criteria. CCTA submitted a project nomination list to MTC in September, 2022.
Contra Costa is focusing efforts around encouraging active transportation like bicycling and walking, supporting safe routes to schools, implementing complete streets, and upgrading our countywide traffic signal system to ‘smarter’ signals that can prioritize transit and emergency vehicles and help improve safety for people walking/biking at intersections.
Below is a brief timeline showing the process for securing OBAG funds:
May 2022
CCTA announced a call for projects for Contra Costa County. View the May 18 presentation to the Authority Board.
June 2022
CCTA hosted two workshops on June 7 and June 8 about the project submission process. View workshop presentation.
July – August 2022
Applications were due July 15. In addition to CCTA’s sponsored projects, 29 project applications were submitted by the 16 cities/towns, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, and East Bay Regional Park District.
Applicants were invited to present their projects to a panel consisting of six members from the CCTA Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) and Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (CBPAC).
The panel met to review and prioritize the projects. View the evaluation criteria in CCTA’s scoring sheet.
September 2022
CCTA staff presented the project nomination list to the Authority Board for approval on September 21. View the September 21 presentation to the Board for more details.
CCTA submitted the prioritized project list to MTC in late September 2022.
October – December 2022
MTC reviews project nominations.
January 2023
MTC announces approval of projects and final funding awards.
October 2023
OBAG 3 funds will become available.
Contra Costa County’s Nominated Projects
In September 2022 CCTA submitted the following projects to MTC for consideration for OBAG 3 funding. The projects fall into three categories: Active Transportation and Safety, Safe Routes to Schools Programs (Non-Infrastructure), and Countywide Smart Signals. The nominated projects total $56.78 million; CCTA estimates receiving $47.31 million.
For more information about the nominated projects view the September 21 presentation to the Board for more details.
Active Transportation and Safety
The Active Transportation and Safety (ATS) project category focuses on bicycle, pedestrian, and Safe Routes to Schools infrastructure projects, including local streets and roads projects.
Out of the 29 applications submitted for ATS projects, the following 10 were nominated for OBAG funding:
The amount of OBAG funding nominated for the ATS category of projects is $26,555,142.
Safe Routes to School Programs (Non-Infrastructure)
This CCTA-sponsored project promotes safety and encourages walking and bicycling activities through student education and encouragement. The program will expand upon the three subregional Safe Routes to School programs. The expanded program will be made available to serve all 170,000 students attending each of the 274 elementary, middle, and high schools within Contra Costa County’s 18 school districts. The program will be offered annually to all schools for a four-year period.
The amount of OBAG 3 funding nominated for this project is $3,664,716.
Countywide Smart Signals
This CCTA-sponsored project will upgrade existing traffic signal systems at 326 intersections, including controllers and communication systems, to provide interconnectivity throughout the 19 cities/towns and unincorporated communities. The project will enhance the sharing of real-time data between agencies. Having a unified traffic signal system complemented with other technologies will provide the ability to implement video analytics, transit priority lanes, bicycle signals/phases, signal control, and prioritization strategies to promote transit use by reducing delay and travel times for transit vehicles.
The amount of OBAG 3 funding nominated for this project is $26,555,142.
Continue the Conversation
We want to hear from you! Share your ideas for the future of transportation in Contra Costa by taking a quick survey.
