DIVISIONS PLANNING
Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plan |
Project Team
Jared Carvalho - Transportation Planner II jcarvalho@sbcag.org |
Project Background
The purpose of the Coordinated Plan is to identify unserved and underserved populations and find ways to improve transit service delivery to meet their needs while also creating a plan that, when implemented, will provide for high-quality transit service over the long term by accounting for evolving needs.
The Coordinated plan will identify local transit needs for seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income communities, and facilitate applications for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 grant program. As required by the 2015 FAST Act, the Coordinated Plan must include the following elements:
The existing plan was developed in 2006 and is obsolete due to its age, demographic changes, service changes, and funding sources. The plan update will find efficiencies in the multimodal transportation system and recommend expansions where needed. Disadvantaged and other vulnerable population groups will benefit by realizing improved transit options to meet their daily needs.
The study area for this project is Santa Barbara County, an area experiencing growth in elderly and minority populations—both of which have unique transportation needs. The region can be characterized as having two sub regions, the North County and the South Coast, as well as a variety of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The region’s geography, distance between population centers, and development patterns all contribute to a challenging environment for efficient transit service, particularly for those relying on specialized and human service transportation services.
This project will be built around a robust public outreach phase that seeks to gather input from hard-to-reach populations. Santa Barbara County has communities of concern throughout the region including; the Cities of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, the Goleta Valley, the Cities of Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Reservation. The final deliverable for this project will be an updated plan with a list of recommendations to address existing system inefficiencies that accommodates the changing demographics and diverse needs of the region.
Opportunities for Public Input
Survey of Community Transit Needs:
To access the survey, CLICK HERE (opens in new window)
Virtual Affinity Group Meetings:
Opportunity to meet in a small virtual group to share feedback. For a Zoom meeting invitation please RSVP via email to Jared Carvalho at JCarvalho@sbcag.org and indicate which meeting date you would like to attend:
Meeting Times:
The purpose of the Coordinated Plan is to identify unserved and underserved populations and find ways to improve transit service delivery to meet their needs while also creating a plan that, when implemented, will provide for high-quality transit service over the long term by accounting for evolving needs.
The Coordinated plan will identify local transit needs for seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income communities, and facilitate applications for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310 grant program. As required by the 2015 FAST Act, the Coordinated Plan must include the following elements:
- An assessment of available services and current transportation providers (public, private, and non-profit);
- An assessment of transportation needs for seniors and persons with disabilities. This assessment can be based on the experiences and perceptions of the planning partners or on more sophisticated data collection efforts, and gaps in service;
- Strategies, activities, and/or projects to address the identified gaps between current services and needs, as well as opportunities to achieve efficiencies in service delivery; and
- Priorities for implementation based on resources (from multiple program sources), time, and feasibility for implementing specific strategies and/or activities
The existing plan was developed in 2006 and is obsolete due to its age, demographic changes, service changes, and funding sources. The plan update will find efficiencies in the multimodal transportation system and recommend expansions where needed. Disadvantaged and other vulnerable population groups will benefit by realizing improved transit options to meet their daily needs.
The study area for this project is Santa Barbara County, an area experiencing growth in elderly and minority populations—both of which have unique transportation needs. The region can be characterized as having two sub regions, the North County and the South Coast, as well as a variety of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The region’s geography, distance between population centers, and development patterns all contribute to a challenging environment for efficient transit service, particularly for those relying on specialized and human service transportation services.
This project will be built around a robust public outreach phase that seeks to gather input from hard-to-reach populations. Santa Barbara County has communities of concern throughout the region including; the Cities of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, the Goleta Valley, the Cities of Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Reservation. The final deliverable for this project will be an updated plan with a list of recommendations to address existing system inefficiencies that accommodates the changing demographics and diverse needs of the region.
Opportunities for Public Input
Survey of Community Transit Needs:
To access the survey, CLICK HERE (opens in new window)
Virtual Affinity Group Meetings:
Opportunity to meet in a small virtual group to share feedback. For a Zoom meeting invitation please RSVP via email to Jared Carvalho at JCarvalho@sbcag.org and indicate which meeting date you would like to attend:
Meeting Times:
- TBD