Enhancement Projects

 

 

TEA-21 Transportation Enhancements Program

 

On January 11, 1999, CDTC sent letters to local communities and other potential applicants under New York State's first round of the TEA-21 Transportation Enhancements Program.  Applications were due to NYSDOT by July 1, 1999.  CDTC evaluated all applications within CDTC's TIP area and identified a short list of high priority projects, which NYSDOT compared with submissions from across the state in selecting projects for funding.  Two CDTC area proposals were selected for Enhancements Program funding: the City of Albany's Waterfront Intermodal Enhancement project (A415), and the City of Troy's Pedestrian and Bicycle Trail project (R223).  These projects were added to the TIP by amendment at the CDTC Planning Committee's September 6, 2000 meeting. CDTC's evaluation procedure for these projects is in Appendix J.

 

 

CDTC "Second Chance" Enhancements Program

 

CDTC's commitment to bicycle, pedestrian, and canal projects goes beyond the federal Enhancement funds.  At its May 27, 1999 meeting, the CDTC Policy Committee voted to endorse the 1999-04 Transportation Improvement Program, which included as project RG83 a "second chance" program setting aside $1 million of STP-Flex funds for "high priority" Transportation Enhancements Program candidates not funded in Round One of the TEP.  Following the March 21, 2000 announcement of statewide selection of projects for Round One of the Transportation Enhancements Program, CDTC recanvassed the responsible agencies for the highest-ranked unsuccessful candidates to inquire as to whether they wished to submit their proposals for consideration under the CDTC program.  As the average total cost of initial proposals was over $850,000, and in the interest of getting as many strong projects implemented as possible, this recanvass included the requirement that candidates for the "Second Chance" program reflected a minimum 50 percent local match and/or a cap of $200,000 on the federal fund share of project cost.  Three additional proposals were selected for funding as a result of this process:  the City of Saratoga Springs' Spring Run Trail project (SA181), which was reduced in scope from the original proposal; Schenectady County's Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail project (S156), for which the local match was increased to 50%; and the Town of Malta's Ruhle Road Bridge project (SA182), which was not modified from the original proposal.

 

 

Enhancement-Type Projects Funded with Flexible Funds

 

CDTC also set aside additional funds in the 1997 TIP for bicycle, pedestrian, and canal projects.  The intention is to administer these projects as if they were Enhancement Program projects.  The significance of this is two-fold:

 

1.     The Enhancement program was administered as a grant program.  The federal contribution is fixed at the time of project programming at a maximum of 80% of project cost.  Any cost increases above 80% of the original project cost estimate are the responsibility of the project sponsor to absorb.  Any cost decreases cannot have the effect of increasing the federal share above 80%.

 

2.     An agreement is negotiated with the project sponsor for project implementation.  The project sponsor is the lead agency and builds the project on a reimbursement basis.

 

Since the original set of enhancement-type projects, others have been added.  In some cases, the local match exceeds 20%.  The TIP includes a notation on the projects in Table 2 that they will be administered as Enhancement projects (regardless of federal funding source) and that the federal contribution is capped at the specified percentage of the original total cost estimate.

 

 

Table 2

 

ENHANCEMENT Projects Funded With Flexible Funds

 

 

TIP#/PIN

SPONSOR

PROJECT

A347/1754.50

Colonie (V)

Sidewalks and bike circulation

A376/1754.60

Albany (City)

Waterfront Pedestrian Bridge

A377/1754.67

Voorheesville

Pedestrian Circulation

A406/1755.61

Albany (County)

Albany County Sign Management

A407/1755.62

Albany (City)

City of Albany Sign Management

A415

Albany (City)

City of Albany Waterfront Intermodal Enhancements

R178/1754.52

Troy

Troy-Menands Bridge Bicycle Access

R197/1754.69

Rensselaer

Washington Avenue Sidewalks

R198/1754.70

North Greenbush

Brooking, Peck and Pershing Sidewalks

R223

Troy

Troy Pedestrian Bicycle Trail

SA135/1754.56

Halfmoon

Sitterly and Woodin bike path

SA136/1754.57

Saratoga Springs

Downtown Pedestrian Improvements

SA140

Canal Corporation

Erie Canal Lock 2 Rehabilitation

SA156/1941.05

Canal Corporation

Mechanicville Terminal Wall

SA158/1754.71

NYSOPRHP

Peebles Island Bridge (Waterford)

SA181/1755.93

Saratoga Springs

Spring Run Trail Construction

SA182

Town of Malta

Ruhle Road Pedestrian Bridge

S140/1754.63

Schenectady (City)

Mohawk-Hudson Bikepath Improvements

S141/1754.65

Schenectady (City)

Rail corridor bridge improvements

S142/1754.64

Schenectady (City)

Kings Road sidewalks

S143/1754.66

Glenville

Lock 8 Bicycle and Pedestrian Access

S156

Schenectady County

Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail Connector