Locally Coordinated Public Transit Human Service Transportation Plan
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Locally Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plan for the State of Connecticut as required under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users July 19, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS The Stage for the Plan .............................................................................................2 Plan Development ....................................................................................................3 Gap Analysis.............................................................................................................5 General Strategies..................................................................................................10 Selection Process ....................................................................................................12 Relationship Between Planning and Competitive Selection ..............................13 Next Steps................................................................................................................13 ATTACHMENT 1 – Table of Funding Allocation ATTACHMENT 2 – Map of Local Boundaries ATTACHMENT 3 – Frequently Asked Questions ATTACHMENT 4 – Survey ATTACHMENT 5 – Prioritization Criteria ATTACHMENT 6 – List of Acronyms ATTACHMENT 7 – Gap Identification Form (Blank) APPENDIX A – Eastern Region APPENDIX B – North Central Region (Hartford Urbanized Area) APPENDIX C – Northwest Region APPENDIX D – South Central Region (New Haven Urbanized Area) APPENDIX E – Southwest Region (Bridgeport-Stamford Urbanized Area) - 1 - Locally Coordinated Public Transit-Human Service Transportation Plan (LOCHSTP) The Stage for the Plan The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) reauthorized federal transportation funding programs through Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2009. In an effort to enhance transportation options for individuals with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with limited income, SAFETEA-LU calls for the development of a Locally Coordinated Public Transit-Human Service Transportation Plan (LOCHSTP). The plan is to be developed through a local process that includes representatives of public, private, and non-profit transportation and human service providers along with public participation. The focus of the planning process is to identify comprehensive unified strategies for public transportation service delivery which address customer needs by developing cost effective strategies to serve unmet needs, improving the quality and accessibility of services, and eliminating duplicative services through coordination. The following Federal Transit Administration (FTA) programs are coordinated and will be funded through this planning process: Section 5310 Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Program; Section 5316 Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (JARC); and Section 5317 New Freedom Initiative (NFI). Attachment 1 shows the appropriated funds by urbanized area (UZA) in the state of Connecticut for FFY2006 - FFY2009. History In Connecticut, the JARC program has been in operation since 1999 using FTA funds. Five regional partnerships were developed to support the JARC program. Each has developed a program of services specific to the region’s needs and resources. To be eligible for JARC funds, FTA required an Area Wide Job Access and Reverse Commute Plan. This effort included a broad partnership of involved parties to identify existing transportation services, where the jobs were located and where low-income workers resided. These three pieces were put together to determine the gaps in transportation services specific to the employment related needs of low-income workers. Transportation services were developed to fill those gaps. Prior to SAFETEA-LU, the JARC program was discretionary and Connecticut was able to obtain up to $3.5 million annually through the competitive grant process or via earmarks. The program required a 50/50 match for operating which allowed the state to develop a $7 million annual program. Since SAFETEA-LU formularized the program, Connecticut will receive significantly less FTA funding; only about $1.1 million in FFY 2006. In State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2007, the State of Connecticut appropriated additional bus operations funding to replace the lost federal funds. Federal JARC funds are matched by Department of Social Services (DSS)-Transportation to Work funds as well as State Job Access funds administered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Because of the well-developed JARC program in the State, prioritization criteria developed during the LOCHSTP process included “extra points” for continued operation of existing services. - 2 - The SAFETEA-LU LOCHSTP process will assist the JARC program by identifying new gaps and potential new service solutions. These solutions can then be prioritized within each region. The Section 5310 Program (formerly called “Section 16”) has existed in Connecticut since 1975. This program provides grant funding for the purchase of vehicles to private nonprofit corporations and associations or public bodies for the purpose of transporting elderly persons and persons with disabilities. Under ConnDOT’s management plan for the program, the federal grant provides 80% of the cost of the vehicle (up to $40,000) with the remainder supplied by the entity receiving the vehicle grant. SAFETEA-LU mandates that this Federal transportation program be administered by the State. The Governor has designated ConnDOT as the agency to receive and administer funds under that program. ConnDOT works with regional planning organizations (RPO) to administer the annual application process and review and prioritize the submitted applications. The SAFETEA-LU LOCHSTP process will assist the Section 5310 program by identifying opportunities for coordination with existing recipient agencies as well as new service gaps. Each region can prioritize the strategies that will be funded in their region. For example, if the gap analysis shows that an area is lacking in evening or weekend service, the region can give a higher priority to applicants that will provide transportation at those times. The NFI program was created in SAFETEA-LU to provide new public transportation services and public transportation alternatives for people with disabilities that go beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) This grant program will provide federal money to cover up to 50 percent of operating subsidies and up to 80 percent of capital purchases. While ConnDOT does not have a specific line item in the 2008/09 budget to match NFI projects, the proposed budget should be able to cover those needs for the NFI program. The SAFETEA-LU LOCHSTP process will expose the gaps in transportation for people with disabilities and seek strategies to fill those gaps. Plan Development ConnDOT’s approach for conducting the planning process consists of two transportation study areas: (a) large UZAs where the various participants in the large UZAs decide how the coordinated planning process will be conducted and who the lead agencies for plan development should be and (b) small UZAs and non-UZAs where the state is designated by the SAFETEA-LU guidance as the agency responsible for preparing the plans. ConnDOT took a lead role in assuring locally coordinated plans are prepared statewide in a consistent fashion and in accordance with the FTA program and grant guidelines. ConnDOT held a statewide meeting and proposed that the state facilitate the coordination of all plans statewide by acting as the lead agency in the small UZA’s and non-urbanized areas and coordinating a collaboration of local planning efforts in the large - 3 - UZA’s. The benefits of ConnDOT providing the lead include: developing a consistent format for the process and plans across the state and the ability for ConnDOT to pull in representation from state agencies. Since each large UZA has multiple RPOs, having ConnDOT as the lead provides consistency for the planning effort and can balance the roles and responsibilities of the RPOs. ConnDOT also proposed that it be the designated recipient for FFY 2006 program funding for all three programs. Governor M. Jodi Rell designated ConnDOT as the recipient on April 17, 2007. This will provide continuity in how JARC and Section 5310 are managed while awaiting final guidance from FTA during the first year’s planning process. In order to apply for FFY 2006 funds, FTA required that a plan be in place, but final guidance had not been issued by FTA. This first plan was prepared in accordance with interim guidance issued in 2006. Final guidance was issued by FTA on March 29, 2007 and will take effect May 1, 2007. Future plans will be modified to encompass said guidance. In an effort to engage a diverse set of partners in the planning process, ConnDOT worked with the FTA interim guidance, the RPOs and JARC partners. In addition, the University of Connecticut (UCONN) University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) arranged for a representative in each region. Consumers who are advocates on public transportation issues were also encouraged to participate in the planning process and assisted in keeping the regional planning committees focused on consumer concerns. The agencies and/or individuals who participated in the planning process vary by region. SAFETEA-LU requires a “locally-coordinated” plan, but does not define local. To define “local”, ConnDOT drew proposed boundaries