IN THE JULY ISSUE

Final Call for Public Comment: WFRC’s Draft 2023-2028 Transportation Improvement Program

Here’s a reminder that in the June newsletter, the Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) invited you to provide input on the Draft 2023-2028 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) via an online interactive map and corresponding air quality conformity determination (Memorandum 40b). We value your input, and if you haven’t already done so, encourage you to comment by this Saturday, July 30. The TIP is a six-year program of roadway, transit, and active transportation projects funded by federal, state, and local revenues in Salt Lake, Davis, Morgan, Tooele, and Weber counties, as well as the urbanized portion of Box Elder County. TIP development is a collaborative effort with local governments, UDOT, UTA, and other community stakeholders. Major projects that improve transportation capacity in the TIP are selected from Utah’s Unified Transportation Plan.

WFRC, UTA and UDOT staff inform members of the public, and collect their input, on the Draft 2023 TIP at Salt Lake Central Station and Ogden Intermodal Transit Center

Fresh WFRC Staff Photo, We're Here to Help!

In March of this year, WFRC staff transitioned back into the office on a hybrid schedule after working remotely for approximately two years. It’s been great seeing many of you in person again, and inviting you back into our office space. In the years since the pandemic began, and moreover since our last team photo was taken, our ranks have changed slightly to welcome new additions and talent. This summer, we thought it a perfect opportunity to capture the whole group of us together again. 

We continue to value our partners across the region and state, and encourage you to reach out to any one of us whenever we can be of assistance. Our current roster and contact information can be found on our staff directory page.  

Pictured from left to right - Top row: Josh Reynolds, Ned Hacker, Jory Johner, Andy Li, Kip Billings, Andrew Gruber, Hugh Van Wagenen, Andrea Pearson, Bert Granberg, and Mike Sobczak. Middle Row: Wayne Bennion, Bill Hereth, Miranda Jones Cox, Megan Townsend, Christy Dahlberg, Lauren Victor, Marcia White, Chris Day, and Ben Wuthrich. Front Row: Marian Florence, Amber Gonzales, Kevrine Wells, Nikki Navio, Suzie Swim, Matthew Silski, Rosie Hernandez, Mikala Jordan, Julie Bjornstad, Ted Knowlton, and Chad Worthen.

“Where is everybody going?” – this is perhaps the key question for understanding how well our transportation system serves the region today, and for planning for our future.

UDOT, UTA, WFRC and the 3 other Utah MPO’s recently purchased access to a statewide trip movement data product -- licensed from a company called StreetLight -- that estimates travel between traffic analysis zones from an anonymized sample of mobile and onboard GPS devices.

Our July Map of the Month features “StreetLight Index” trip movements (a.k.a. origin - destination flows) summarized across 123 small areas of the Wasatch Front. By default, the map provides trip information for your choice of StreetLight’s two mainstay travel modes – All Motorized Vehicles or Truck Freight.

Recently, WFRC Executive Director Andrew Gruber authored an op-ed that appeared in the Deseret News about how housing affordability must be considered in direct correlation with transportation costs.

“A well-functioning and efficient state and local road network needs to be complemented by a robust transit system, as well as safe and comfortable options for people to bike and walk.

Providing transportation choices – and coordinating transportation investments with housing, economic opportunity, and parks and public spaces – can improve overall household affordability and quality of life.”

Read Andrew’s full op-ed here.

State

UEOC Growth and Transportation Working Group

The Unified Economic Opportunity Commission (UEOC) Growth & Transportation Working Group met earlier this month to discuss current and future transportation funding, value capture on new growth, state-local partnerships to increase housing supply, and condo development regulations. To further the UEOC study items, three subgroups to the Working Group were formed: Statewide Infrastructure Investment Visioning, Regional Growth Alignment, and Transportation Funding. These subgroups have met over the last two weeks. The Working Group is expected to meet every two weeks through June and July and report back to the UEOC in August. 

Station Area Plan (SAP) Consultant Webinar, Training for City Staff

On Thursday, July 14, WFRC partnered with its colleagues from MAG to host a webinar and training on station area plans (SAP). The webinar session informed consultants about forthcoming opportunities to provide technical assistance to communities developing SAPs, while the training focused on informing and providing support to city staff in communities that require SAPs. Both sessions were recorded, with the webinar for consultants hosted on WFRC’s YouTube page here, and the training here.

Station Area Plans support many of the goals of the Wasatch Choice Vision by promoting shared objectives such as housing availability and affordability, access to opportunities, sustainable environmental conditions, and transportation choices and connections. As a result of the 2022 state Legislative session, HB462 (titled Housing Affordability Amendments) passed and was signed into law requiring a city that has a fixed-guideway public transit station (rail or BRT) to develop a Station Area Plan for that station and update its general plan and zoning to implement the Station Area Plan. Click here to learn more about SAPs.

Federal 

Federal Transportation Appropriations

On Wednesday, July 20, the House passed, on a largely party-line vote of 220-207, a package of six appropriations bills—including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Bill. The Senate is not expected to take up any FY23 spending bills before the August Congressional Break. As an agreement between Congressional Democrats and Republicans has not yet been reached on the topline numbers for the FY23 Appropriations bills, Congress is expected to need to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government past the end of the current fiscal year ending on September 30, 2022. Historically, the CR would fund the federal government at FY22 levels through at least the November midterm election.

The House-passed THUD bill provides $105.4 billion in total budgetary resources to USDOT, with much of the funding supporting infrastructure investments authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (PL 117-58). This amounts to about a $2.4 billion increase from last year.

The House-passed THUD Appropriations Bill also includes $3.7 billion for 1,827 Community Project Funded “earmarked” projects designated by Members of Congress. A full list of transportation projects funded in the bill can be found here. 

A summary of Community Project Funded projects in Utah in the FY23 THUD Appropriations Bill: 

• Ogden City: Ogden Canyon Shared Use Pathway
• Morgan City: Young Street Bridge Project
• Tooele County: Ibapah Road Safety Project
• Ivins City: Old Highway 91 Improvement Project
• St. George City: SR-7 Exit 5 Interchange Project
• St. George City: River Road to Dixie Drive Interchange (I-15) Project
• Ephraim City: Ephraim Canyon Road Improvements 
• Juab County: SR-174 Improvements Phase 1
• West Valley City: 4700 South Reconstruction Project 
• Millcreek City: Neffs Canyon Trailhead Improvements Project
• Kearns Metro Township: 4700 South Roadway Reconstruction Phase 3
• UTA: Westside Express Project
• Housing Authority of Salt Lake City: Net Zero HVAC Replacement

"Inflation Reduction Act"

After many months of on-again-off-again negotiations, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin have come to an agreement on a package of domestic spending. This proposal is anticipated to move through the budget reconciliation procedure which requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate. The Senate may take up this package as soon as the first week of August, with the House expected to pass it shortly thereafter.

The Democrats' reconciliation proposal includes health care, tax, and energy/climate provisions. The legislation is expected to raise about $739 billion in revenue through minimum corporate taxes, drug pricing reform, closing tax loopholes, and enhanced IRS enforcement. The legislation would also spend $433 billion to fight climate change and invest in energy and extend Affordable Care Act subsides for another three years. The bill also aims to reduce the deficit by $300 billion. A summary of the bill can be found here.

Also included in the package are some significant transportation provisions—most notably expanded tax credits for electric vehicle purchases. Specifically, the bill includes a $4,000 tax credit for low- and middle-income Americans to buy used electric vehicles and up to a $7,500 tax credit to buy new electric vehicles. The reconciliation proposal also includes $3 billion in grants to invest in community-led projects that address neighborhood equity, safety and affordable transportation. Additionally, the package provides $1 billion in grants for clean heavy-duty vehicles like school and transit buses and garbage trucks.

Semiconductor Manufacturing "CHIPS" Legislation

This week, the Senate and House passed legislation to boost America’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities to better compete again foreign competitors like China. Specifically, the legislation appropriates $50 billion over five years to implement the US Department of Commerce semiconductor incentive to develop domestic manufacturing capabilities. The bill also spends $11 billion on research and development through the National Semiconductor Technology Center and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program. The CHIPS bill also invests $81 billion for the National Science Foundation over five years, including for key activities such as research, STEM education, and major research equipment. The bill is now headed to President Biden’s desk. A summary of the bill can be found here.

Summertime is flying by, and so are the due dates for federal funding opportunities through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). We continue to keep an eye on new opportunities and candidate projects to share and partner with communities and partners in our region. Since our last writing, a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program was released, applications for which are due on October 4, 2022 with additional details below. 

Current Federal Grant Opportunity Deadlines:

• Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program: This program provides funding for highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods. Eligible projects include but are not limited to grade separations or closures (including through the use of a bridge, embankment, tunnel, or combination thereof, track relocation, improvement or installation of protective devices, and more). Applications are due no later than 5:00 p.m. ET, October 4, 2022. See the FY 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information.

• Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP): The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) established the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot discretionary grant program, funded with $1 billion over the next five years. It is the first-ever program to help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. Funding supports planning grants and capital construction grants, as well as technical assistance, to restore community connectivity through the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities. The FY22 Notice of Funding Opportunity is open now through October 13, 2022.

• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A): This program is expected to include $1 billion in funding per year exclusively for local governments to make improvements to reduce fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians, commonly referred to as ‘‘Vision Zero’’ or ‘‘Toward Zero Deaths’’ initiatives. Eligibility includes the creation of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, as well as planning, design, and construction of projects identified in a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. The SS4A NOFO has been released and applications will be due no later than September 15th, 2022. WFRC, along with our partners, will be applying for an SS4A Grant to create a regional Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, which will ultimately include local projects or strategies that can be applied for in subsequent years.

• Bridge Investment Program: The purpose of the bridge investment discretionary grant program is to improve the condition, safety, efficiency, and reliability of bridges. This $12.5 billion program will provide grants to states, MPOs, local governments, and tribal governments to replace, rehabilitate, preserve, or protect one or more bridges on the National Bridge Inventory. This program works in conjunction with formula funds the Utah Department of Transportation has received to serve these same purposes. The notice of funding opportunity is available here.

You can find an updated schedule of upcoming NOFO releases HERE.

Resources

If you would like to stay up to date with the latest information on federal grants and want to receive our “Federal Funding Opportunities Notice” emails, or if you have any questions regarding federal funding, please reach out to federalgrants@wfrc.org or visit our Federal Funding Opportunities Webpage.

WFEDD, EDA Cares Grant Success Story: Tooele City Business Trainings

Tooele City received a $50,000 EDA CARES grant through the Wasatch Front Economic Development District to assist the local community with education and training in bookkeeping and business strategies and marketing. Tooele City staff coordinated efforts associated with this grant with Tooele Technical College as well as a local bookkeeping business, to offer trainings to business owners. There were three bookkeeping classes, a marketing class, a three-part Amazon e-commerce class, a digital advertising class, digital training resources for the Tooele Downtown Alliance, and a four-part series on digital business strategies and marketing. Each course was selected to help businesses transition into a digital economy and recover from the adverse effects of COVID-19. Across all trainings offered, 116 business owners were served. The final training series was recorded and provided online, further extending benefits to businesses in the community into the future.

Scenes from trainings conducted to provide Tooele City business owners business management courses