Active Transportation Program

The City of Visalia has a strong history of promoting active transportation to its residents. Since the early 1990s, the City has persistently worked to improve and increase the City’s streets, bikeways, and trail networks. Every two years, the City can submit applications to the Active Transportation Program (ATP), for various projects that would be beneficial to our community. The City of Visalia has been successful in receiving ATP funds for the following projects during the corresponding cycles:

Mill Creek Trail - $150k - Cycle 1
Green Acres Middle School Enhanced Crosswalk - $80k - Cycle 2
Greenway Trail Phase 1 - $1M – Cycle 3
Houston Connectivity Project - $2.5M – Cycle 6
Goshen Trail Reconstruction Project Phase 1 - $800K – Cycle 6

We recently completed Cycle 7 of the program submitted four (4) applications: two (2) safe routes to school projects and two (2) bike and pedestrian improvement projects:

What is the Active Transportation Program?

The Active Transportation Program (ATP) is a statewide grant program, created by Senate Bill 99 and Assembly Bill 101, to encourage use of active modes of transportation, such as biking and walking. The goals of the ATP are to:

Increase the number of trips accomplished by biking and walking
Increase the safety and mobility of non-motorized users.
Reduce greenhouse gas
Enhance public health
Ensure disadvantaged communities fully share in the benefits of the program
Provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit many types of active transportation users.

This program is consistent with the City’s adopted Active Transportation Plan’s primary goal and vision.

Goal: The City of Visalia will work to provide the means to support active transportation, specifically bicycling and walking, as an alternative mode of transportation for work, daily activities, and recreational trips.

Vision: The City of Visalia shall strive to be a city where active transportation, specifically bicycling and walking, is fully integrated into daily life, providing healthy and environmentally friendly transportation alternatives that are both safe and convenient for people of all ages and abilities. Similarly, the City’s General Plan incorporates the concept of “Complete Streets.” Complete Streets are designed and operated to enable safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for all users, including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and users of public transportation.

Grant Award Process:

To be awarded grant funding, the City of Visalia must submit a robust and lengthy application that defines the project’s scope, clearly articulates how the project meets the community needs, and demonstrates project consistency with program goals.

These applications are reviewed and scored based on a statewide process and scoring criterium. The program is highly competitive as it is a statewide program that evaluates project applications from all submitting jurisdictions throughout California.

There are many different types of active transportation projects such as the Safe Routes to School projects, bike lane projects, pedestrian improvements, trail projects and others that meet the ATP goals.

The ATP was originally established in 2008. In 2013 it was augmented to absorb other grant programs that overlapped with Active Transportation projects (Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA), Transportation Enhancement Activities (AE), Recreational Trail Program (RTP), federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS), and state Safe Routes to School (SR2S)).

For more information on the Active Transportation Program, please visit:

https://catc.ca.gov/programs/active-transportation-program

Thank you for being an important part of this public feedback process.

For more information or questions about the ATP, please contact Diego Corvera, Civil Engineer at (559) 713-4209 or [email protected].