AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Consider approval of Resolution 2023-88R, supporting the City’s application for the San Marcos Shared Use Pathway project to the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2023 Transportation Alternatives Set-aside (TA) call for projects; and declaring an effective date.
Body
Meeting date: May 16, 2023
Department: Engineering/CIP
Amount & Source of Funding
Funds Required: NA
Account Number: NA
Funds Available: NA
Account Name: NA
Fiscal Note:
Prior Council Action: NA
City Council Strategic Initiative: [Please select from the dropdown menu below]
Mobility & Connectivity
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Comprehensive Plan Element (s): [Please select the Plan element(s) and Goal # from dropdown menu below]
☐ Economic Development - Choose an item.
☐ Environment & Resource Protection - Choose an item.
☐ Land Use - Choose an item.
☐ Neighborhoods & Housing - Choose an item.
☐ Parks, Public Spaces & Facilities - Choose an item.
☒ Transportation - Multimodal transportaion network to improve accessibility and mobility, minimize congestion and reduce pollution
☐ Core Services
☐ Not Applicable
Master Plan: [Please select the corresponding Master Plan from the dropdown menu below (if applicable)]
Transportation Master Plan
Background Information:
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) administers Transportation Alternatives Set-aside (TA) funds for locally sponsored bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects in communities across the state. In December of 2022, TxDOT’s TA program issued a call for up to 3 projects that meet the program criteria. City staff submitted the San Marcos Shared Use Pathway project as one of the three applications.
The TxDOT review process is a two-step process. In step 1, TxDOT received a total of 465 preliminary applications from 304 unique entities, totaling more than $1.7 billion dollars in funding requests. It is anticipated that TXDOT will award only $250 million dollars with this call for projects.
This project was reviewed in step 1 and is eligible to proceed to step 2, which is a more detailed application process. One of the requirements in step 2 is obtaining a resolution of support for each application. No funding is required at this time. If the project is selected by TXDOT, the City will use the federal funding to pay for 80% of the construction costs. The City will fund its required 20% local match using CIP funding. This project is identified in the FY 2024 CIP as project ID 34.
The San Marcos Shared Use Pathway project scope includes providing a Shared Use Path (SUP) for pedestrians and cyclists across San Marcos River and IH35. Proposed project will construct a 12-foot-wide SUP along south side of William & Eleanor Crock Park and across San Marcos River from existing bridge to the newly constructed SUP underneath IH 35 at San Marcos River crossing. This connection will provide a direct east-west pedestrian & bike route across IH35 and connect to trail system on the east side of IH35. Major construction items include concrete SUP and a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over San Marcos River.
The current construction cost is estimated at $1.1M. If selected, the project is anticipated to start construction in 2026.
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
NA
Alternatives:
NA
Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of this resolution to support TA detailed application.