Building Consensus and Partnerships for Implementing the MAP-21 Section 5310 Program in California

Abstract:

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)—the legislation that currently provides funding for federal transportation—allows metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) or eligible large, urbanized area (UZA) agencies to assume administrative responsibility for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310—the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities grant program. Caltrans engaged Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) to conduct research and facilitate a dialogue with the State’s 5310 stakeholders. The MTI team conducted interviews with key stakeholders and Caltrans staff and performed in-depth quantitative analysis of the existing administrative activities of the 5310 program. This research was followed by two statewide 5310 program workshops led by Drs. Ferrell and Appleyard to facilitate discussion among stakeholders and reach consensus on how the new MAP-21 program would be implemented.

The key findings from this research and dialogue are:

A “full transition” to MPO Program administration could significantly reduce the benefits of the 5310 program for the entire state.
A full transition could leave smaller MPOs lacking sufficient administrative funds to adequately run the program in their jurisdictions.
Stakeholders are concerned that their local project funding priorities may not receive enough attention if Caltrans retains sole administrative responsibilities for the program.
A majority of stakeholders prefer to pursue a partnership with Caltrans to jointly run the 5310 program (the “Hybrid/Partnership Option”).
The Hybrid/Partnership Option can provide the maximum amount of flexibility for the program over the long term while building the administrative capacities of all partners.

Publications:

Building Consensus and Partnerships for Implementing the MAP-21 Section 5310 Program in California (516K)

Research Brief (201K)

Authors:

CHRISTOPHER FERRELL, PhD

Dr. Ferrell began his planning career in 1995 working for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications for traffic management. Since 2000, he has worked as a transportation consultant, and in 2010 he co-founded CFA Consultants, a transportation planning and research firm. Dr. Ferrell completed his doctoral studies in City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley in 2005. His studies focus on the relationships between transportation and land use. His research experience includes the evaluation of transit facilities, transportation policy analysis, transportation and land use interactions, travel behavior, and the analysis of institutional structures. As a practitioner, he has developed traffic impact studies for mixed-use, infill and transit-oriented projects, analyzed the impacts of specific and general plans and planned and implemented intelligent transportation systems, and developed bicycle and pedestrian plans. He recently completed TCRP Report 145: Reinventing the Urban Interstate: A New Paradigm for Multimodal Corridors. He has also taught several graduate planning classes in the San José State University Urban Planning Department and the University of California, Berkeley City and Regional Planning Department.

BRUCE APPLEYARD, PhD

Dr. Appleyard is a Principal with the planning and research and firm, CFA Consultants and an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning at San Diego State University. Previously, Bruce served as an Associate Research Professor of City & Metropolitan Planning in the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Utah (UU) and an Adjunct Professor of Real Estate Development in the UU David Eccles School of Business. Bruce has 20 years of experience working as a Planner and Urban Designer, focusing on the intersection between transportation, design and environmental quality in support of a diverse range of sustainability and livability objectives. Bruce has written for both academics and practitioners and has developed and taught numerous professional and community workshops. Bruce is skilled at bridging professional, academic and public divides in order to create joyful and enriching community places that are both economically viable and able to yield numerous environmental and health benefits for all.

Published:

April 2014

Keywords:

MAP-21

5310

Mobility

Seniors

MPO