Tag: grant

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Monday, January 22, the city of West Hollywood announced on its website that they received a $150,000 funding award from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which aims to support the city’s housing goals. Funding is part of SCAG’s allocation of $45 million in Lasting Affordability Program funding in support of 14 innovative housing finance projects across Southern California.

According to a news release from the city’s website, the grant received will be dedicated to a feasibility study for the development of a community land trust within WeHo. The City’s Long Range Planning Division will examine the creation of a community land trust to expand approaches for attaining affordable housing and affordable homeownership.

The expected outcome from forming such a community land trust includes progress toward meeting West Hollywood’s objective of creating 500 new affordable housing units by the year 2029.

The Lasting Affordability Program is one of the three funding areas in the Programs to Accelerate Transformative Housing (PATH) program, which is part of SCAG’s REAP 2.0 Program Framework. REAP 2.0 is a statewide grant administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that focuses on reaching state housing goals and climate commitments. It makes $45 million available to support programmatic level investments in housing trust funds, community land trusts, and catalyst funds.

SCAG is the country’s largest metropolitan planning organization, representing six counties, 191 cities and nearly 19 million residents. SCAG undertakes a variety of planning and policy initiatives to prepare for a livable and sustainable Southern California presently and in the future. For more details about SCAG’s regional efforts, visit www.scag.ca.gov.

For information about the project and Long-Range Planning in the region contact Francisco Contreras, West Hollywood’s Long-Range Planning Manager at (323) 848-6874 or at fcontreras@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.

By Trevor

BEVERLY HILLS—The Beverly Hills Police Department announced on November 8 that they were awarded an $80,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant will support ongoing enforcement and education programs to help decrease the number of serious injuries and deaths on roads.

“This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community,” said Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook. “We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving, and speeding.”

The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including:

-DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.

-High visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.

-Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.

-Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign, and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.

-Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

The grant program will run through September 2024. Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

By Trevor

SANTA MONICA—The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) announced that Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (BBB) will receive a $22.9 million grant to purchase 5 battery electric buses (BEBs) and develop infrastructure to support on-site charging for more than 100 buses.

The city of Santa Monica indicated in a press release from April 27 that the BBB is one of 28 transit agencies in the state to be awarded grant funding through CalSTA’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). It is part of a multiyear investment to improve the state’s transit system to support transportation equity, improve service and mobility options, and reduce overdependence on driving.

Funding will help BBB complete Phases 2 through 4 of its Fleet Electrification Master Plan, which outlines the agency’s fleet transition from renewable natural gas to zero-emission by 2030. It will support electric utility and charging equipment upgrades at BBB’s depot, including construction of a large canopy with overhead reel charging dispensers. The grant will allow BBB to create green jobs, provide over 1,100 hours of advanced, high-voltage safety training for its staff in partnership with the California Transit Training Consortium, and improve transportation outcomes for marginalized communities impacted by climate change.

The Big Blue Bus will use TIRCP funds to enhance the customer experience, by purchasing and deploying 5 BEBs on Route 3 and Rapid 3, as part of a comprehensive plan to reimagine service along the Lincoln Boulevard corridor, between Downtown Santa Monica and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Route 3 and Rapid 3 will be rerouted to connect to both the Metro Rail K Line and the LAX People Mover, when the new LAX/Metro Transit Center is completed in 2024.

An additional mile of bus lanes will be implemented on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice during peak hours, and BBB will add 11,500 service hours annually on Route 3 and Rapid 3, to increase frequency to every 10 minutes during the day.

“This is a landmark moment for Big Blue Bus and the City of Santa Monica in our collective efforts to realize carbon emission reduction goals; provide frequent, sustainable, and equitable transit service to low-income and disadvantaged communities; and strengthen the region’s transportation network,” said Ed King, Director of Santa Monica’s Department of Transportation. “The funds will be used to make substantial investments in climate and workforce resilience, as well as capital improvement projects that increase ridership and improve the customer experience on our system.”

As part of Phase 1 of the Fleet Electrification Master Plan, BBB installed 20 standalone chargers at its depot and purchased 19 BEBs. In February 2023, the Santa Monica City Council approved BBB’s request to purchase 15 additional BEBs. Funds received from CalSTA’s TIRCP will elevate the agency’s number of zero-emission buses to 39, and support the construction of infrastructure capable of charging up to 104 buses at its depot.

TIRCP provides grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, to fund transformative capital improvements that modernize California’s transportation systems and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion.

By Casey