7B Motion to Direct Staff to Apply for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Transportation Enhancements Funding

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TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENTS PROJECTS - QUALIFYING CRITERIA 1.Qualifying Activities. The applicant must show that the proposed project falls under at least one of the following list of twelve qualifying activities and must state the specific category(ies) the project qualifies under. The list of qualifying TE activities provided in 23 only U.S.C. 101(a)(35) of SAFETEA-LU is intended to be exclusive, not illustrative. That is, those activities listed therein are eligible as TE activities. 1.Provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles. 2.Provision of safety and educational activities for pedestrians and bicyclists. 3.Acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites including historic battlefields. 4.Scenic or historic highway programs (including the provision of tourist and welcome center facilities). 5.Landscaping and other scenic beautification. 6.Historic preservation. 7.Rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities (including historic railroad facilities and canals). 8.Preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including the conversion and use thereof for pedestrian or bicycle trails). 9.Inventory, control and removal of outdoor advertising. 10.Archaeological planning and research. 11.Environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway runoff or reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity. 12.Establishment of transportation museums. One or more of these activities must constitute at least 70% of the project cost. Unlisted ancillary activities such as paving a parking lot, constructing buildings or providing restrooms must constitute no more than 30% of the total project cost. Applicants whose project is part of a larger transportation project must provide a construction cost summary demonstrating that at least 70% of the project is eligible for Transportation Enhancement funds. Many projects include a number of activities – some which are on this list and others that are not. Only those project activities that are on the list may be counted as TE activities. For example, a rest area might include a historic site purchased and developed as an interpretive site illustrating local history. The historic site purchase and development would qualify as a transportation enhancement activity. Work that is made possible because a project presents an opportunity to improve and enhance the environment and or aesthetics in the vicinity of a project may be eligible for enhancement funding. For example, a construction project may present an opportunity to improve the condition of an adjacent stream bed to improve water quality, construct a vital link for a community bikeway system and develop a landscaped green area to enhance the downtown environment. Activities that are not explicitly on the list may qualify if they are an integral part of a larger qualifying activity. For example, if the rehabilitation of a historic railroad station required the construction of new drainage facilities, the entire project could be considered for TE funding. 2. The funded activities must be accessible to the general public or targeted to a broad segment of the general public, and must be ADA compliant. 3. Projects must relate to surface transportation.