Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in the Parks

 

The Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program was established to address the challenge of increasing vehicle congestion in and around our national parks and other federal lands The Transit in Parks Program was repealed by Congress under MAP-21, and FTA announced the final selection of competitive project awards on February 18, 2013. Alternative transportation projects formerly eligible under Transit in Parks are now eligible under the Federal Highway Administrations Federal Lands Transportation Program and the Federal Lands Access Program.

Active 20.520 Federal Transit Administration, Department of Transportation B - Project Grants Not applicable. Section 3021 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) enacted August 10, 2005 [Public Law 109-59], established the Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands program. The name of the program was changed to the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks under the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act, 2008. The Transit in Parks Program was repealed by Congress under MAP-21. Alternative transportation projects formerly eligible under Transit in Parks are now eligible under the Federal Highway Administration’s Federal Lands Transportation Program and the Federal Lands Access Program., 49 U.S.C. 5320 Eligible applicants are:(1) The following Federal land management agencies: The National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land management, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation; and (2) State, tribal and local governments with jurisdiction over land in the vicinity of an eligible area acting with the consent of a Federal land management agency, alone or in partnership with a Federal land management agency or other governmental or non-governmental participant. The program has been repealed however when active the end user was the public and beneficiary of the new alternatives in transportation in each park. Any project sponsor must be acting with the consent of a Federal land management agency as documented by the provision of a letter of support from the relevant federal land unit accompanying the project proposal. Any project proposed must be consistent with the metropolitan and statewide planning and public participation requirements found in 49 U.S.C 5303, 5304, and 5307(d). If the project is a "capital project" in contrast with a "planning project," the capital project must be in the metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) or State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), or, if selected, will not receive funds until it is incorporated into the TIP or STIP. Projects also must be consistent with Federal land management agency plans. Preapplication coordination is required. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. The program allows the Department of Transportation to spend up to 10 percent of program funds to carry out planning, research and technical assistance activities. Funds allocated to technical assistance will be used to assist program participants in planning, implementing, and evaluating alternative transportation projects. In addition, the Federal Transit Administration will provide planning guidance and will disseminate research findings. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. In previous fiscal years, proposals were submitted to FTA online via the GRANTS.GOV website. Proposals were collected by the FTA and uploaded into a structured evaluation system and evaluated by an interagency team which includes representatives from FTA, each of the Federal land management agencies, and the Department of the Interior. When this program was funded the projects were evaluated on the basis of criteria in the law and further explained in Section 180 under Criteria for Selecting Proposals, the team provided a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with and in cooperation with the Secretary of Transportation, determined the final selection and amount of funding for each project. The Department of the Interior notified each Federal land management agency of projects awarded for sites under the agency's jurisdiction. FTA published the list of all selected projects and funding levels in the Federal Register. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Consistent with the considerations identified in Title 49, Chapter 53 at Section 5320(g)(2), evaluation of proposals were based on the following criteria: - 736-1472; Demonstration of need * Documentation of problem in plans and other reports * Severity of problem - Protection of natural and cultural resources * Protection or improvement of cultural, historical, scenic, and natural resources * Environmental benefits reduction of pollution (including air pollution, noise pollution, and visual pollution) - 1472;Operational efficiency and financial sustainability * Evaluation of costs and benefits of all reasonable alternatives * Financial planning (including for capital, operations, maintenance, and equipment replacement expenses; and revenues, including user fees) * Cost effectiveness * Innovative financing or joint development strategies * Deferred maintenance issues - Public benefits * Enhancing visitor experience * Mobility issues (reduces congestion, improves intermodal connectivity, improves public access, including access for persons with disabilities) * Safety * Partnership with public and private entities, and benefits to gateway communities. - Additional consideration will be given to projects based upon geographic diversity, balance between urban and rural projects, and balance in size of projects. Finally, projects that demonstrate innovative funding mechanisms or partnerships will be given extra consideration. The proposal template contains specific questions related to each of these criteria to guide the applicant in justifying the project. A qualified project was a planning or capital project in or in the vicinity of a Federally-owned or managed park, refuge, or recreational area that is open to the general public and meets the goals of the program. Project evaluation was based on the considerations listed in the law and explained in section 180 of this notice. The following types of projects are eligible: (1) Planning Projects: Activities to comply with metropolitan and statewide planning provisions (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) referencing 49 U.S.C. 5303, 5304, and 5305). These activities include planning studies for an alternative transportation system, including evaluation of no-build and all other reasonable alternatives, traffic studies, visitor utilization studies, transportation analysis, feasibility studies, and environmental studies. (2) Capital projects for ‘‘acquiring, constructing, supervising, or inspecting equipment or a facility for use in public transportation, expenses incidental to the acquisition or construction (including designing, engineering, location surveying, mapping, and acquiring rights-of-way), payments for the capital portions of rail trackage rights agreements, transit-related intelligent transportation systems, relocation assistance, acquiring replacement housing sites, and acquiring, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating replacement housing;’’ (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) referencing 49 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)(A).) (3) Fixed Guideway and Bus Projects: (i) New fixed guideway capital projects including the acquisition of real property, the initial acquisition of rolling stock for the systems, the acquisition of rights-of-way, and relocation, for fixed guideway corridor development for projects in the advanced stages of alternatives analysis or preliminary engineering; (ii) Capital projects to modernize existing fixed guideway systems; (iii) Capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, including programs of bus and bus-related projects for assistance to subrecipients that are public agencies, private companies engaged in public transportation, or private non-profit organizations; and (iv) The development of corridors to support new fixed guideway capital projects, including protecting rights-of-way through acquisition, construction of dedicated bus and high occupancy vehicle lanes and park and ride lots, and other nonvehicular capital improvements that the Secretary may decide would result in increased public transportation usage in the corridor. (49 U.S.C. 5320(b)(5)(A) referencing 49 U.S.C. 5309(b).) (4) Purchase of rolling stock that incorporates clean fuel technology or the replacement of buses of a type in use on August 10, 2005, with clean fuel vehicles; (5) The deployment of alternative transportation vehicles that introduce innovative technologies or methods; (6) The capital costs of coordinating Federal land management agency public transportation systems with other public transportation systems; (7) Non-motorized transportation systems (including the provision of facilities for pedestrians, bicycles and non-motorized watercraft); and (8) Any other alternative transportation project that: - Enhances the environment; - Prevents or mitigates an adverse impact on a natural resource; - Improves Federal land management agency resource management; & #61589; & #61472;Improves visitor mobility and accessibility and the visitor experience; - Reduces congestion and pollution (including noise pollution and visual pollution); or - Conserves a natural, historical, or cultural resource (excluding rehabilitation or restoration of a nontransportation facility). Not applicable. Not applicable. Recipient was required to retain intact, for three years following submission of the final expenditure report, all contract documents, financial records, and supporting documents. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is . 100%. The Federal share may equal up to 100% of project capital or planning costs.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Funding was provided on an annual basis. Funds that were awarded do not have an established date of expiration. When the program was active, lump sum and/or reimbursement of qualified expenses Although the program is no longer funded, you can contact FTA's Regional Offices at this link for other programs that may be similar https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/regional-offices/regional-offices Vanessa Williams
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590 US
Vanessa.Williams@dot.gov
Phone: 202-366-4818 https://www.transit.dot.gov/ 69-8350-0-1-407 (Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 22$0.00; FY 23 FY 24 FY 21$0.00; FY 20$0.00; FY 19$0.00; FY 18$0.00; FY 16$0.00; FY 17 est $0.00; - The Transit in Parks Program was repealed under MAP-21, and funds are no longer available. This program was repealed under MAP-21. The range varied based on the project. No one project could receive more than 25 percent of funds. Guidance was included with each Federal Register notice that announced project selections. Not applicable.