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Instructor Information: Wulf Grote, P.E. M.ASCE
Course Length: 1 Hour
This webinar was co-sponsored by ASCE's Transportation and Development Institute and ASCE Continuing Education
Purpose and Background
This webinar will provide an overview of the High Capacity Transit Alternatives Analysis process for projects seeking Federal Transit Administration (FTA) major capital investment funding. An alternatives analysis is the first step in the process to receive FTA Section 5309 New or Small Starts funding. The webinar will be presented from a project sponsor's perspective, but will include references to FTA guidance. It will explain how to work with FTA during the study and will highlight how the alternatives analysis is related to subsequent new and small starts submittals to FTA.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn how an alternatives analysis should be conducted and how to engage the FTA in the project
- Gain a better understanding of the alternatives analysis process and the relationship to other FTA requirements to develop and fund a high capacity transit project
Seminar Benefits
- Become familiar with the FTA alternatives analysis process
- Gain an understanding of how an alternatives analysis relates to FTA's New Starts processes
- Understand the level of effort needed to do an alternatives analysis
- Increase the potential for success with FTA
Intended Audience
This webinar is intended for agency and consultant staff who are (or will be) engaged in high capacity transit corridor planning with the intent of applying for federal Section 5309 major capital investment discretionary funding for the project(s). This is intended as a high level overview of a complex, rigorous federal transit corridor planning process. It is primarily for people with limited past exposure to the alternatives analysis and New Starts/Small Starts processes and those desiring to understand how to engage FTA.
Seminar Outline
- Purpose of the alternatives analysis
- Relationship to the FTA New Starts/Small Starts process
- Who should lead the alternatives analysis
- Alternatives analysis level of effort and duration
- Primary steps in an alternatives analysis
- Appropriate transit mode and alignment options to consider
- Evaluation criteria
- Importance of community participation
- Role of policymakers and politicians
- Coordination with the FTA
- FTA guidance
- The locally preferred alternative and regional transportation plan update
- Project definition work prior to start of preliminary engineering/ project development
- New Starts/Small Starts application to FTA for preliminary engineering/project development