Title
Approve TIGER Grant Application: Naval Air Station Alameda Multimodal Regional Connections Project
Body
Joint Transportation Commission and Planning Board Special Meeting
February 25, 2015
Item 6
Action
Approve TIGER Grant Application:
Naval Air Station Alameda Multimodal Regional Connections Project
Background
The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant program is a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) grant available to municipal governments and transportation agencies looking to invest in road, rail, transit, and port projects. Since 2009, Congress has dedicated more than $4.1 billion to the program, with the most funding ($1.5 billion) being available the first year. In subsequent years annual funding for the program has been in the $500 million range.
TIGER grants come in two variations: planning grants, which have no minimum grant amount, and the more highly lucrative and competitive capital project grants, which range from $10 to $200 million. Including both planning and capital grants, USDOT awards between 40 and 50 grants annually across the United States and its territories. The 2014 TIGER grant process declined to award any capital grants in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Under the Obama Administration, TIGER has specified that grants will be awarded to projects that accomplish the following goals:
* Maintain existing transportation infrastructure
* Increase economic competitiveness
* Improve citizens' quality of life
* Improve safety
* Use innovative technology and funding mechanisms
* Incorporate disciplinary integration
It is expected that the Notice of Funding Availability (NoFA), the formal announcement of the rules and deadlines for the 2015 TIGER grant cycle, will be announced imminently. Previous years have allotted less than three months for applicants to assemble a highly comprehensive and lengthy grant application, so City staff is beginning its ...
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