Introduction
In May 2012, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) adopted the inaugural OBAG Program (Cycle) 1 to better integrate the region’s federal transportation program with its Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). Pursuant to SB 375 (Steinberg 2008), the SCS aligns regional transportation planning with land use and housing in order to meet state greenhouse gas reduction targets. The OBAG County program established funding guidelines and policies to reward jurisdictions that accept housing allocations through the Regional Housing Need Allocation process and that have historically produced housing. It also promoted transportation investments in Priority Development Areas (PDAs), which are places near public transit planned for new homes, jobs and community amenities, created and planned by local governments, which nominate eligible areas to the Association of Bay Area Governments for adoption. In November 2015, MTC adopted the OBAG Cycle 2 framework, largely maintaining the same framework and policies as OBAG 1, with some refinements that attempted to address the region’s growing challenge with the lack of housing and affordable housing, in particular.
In January 2022, MTC adopted the OBAG Cycle 3 framework. Like past cycles, the OBAG 3 framework is designed to advance the implementation of Plan Bay Area 2050, incorporate recent MTC policy initiatives, address federal planning and programming requirements, advance equity and safety, and emphasize a partnership between MTC and county transportation agencies like the Transportation Authority.
As the Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority is responsible for managing San Francisco’s OBAG 3 County Program.
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The Transportation Authority has funded San Francisco projects over two OBAG funding cycles. The first cycle, covering Fiscal Years 2012/13 to 2016/17, programmed over $35 million and the second cycle, covering Fiscal Years 2017/18 to 2021/22, programmed over $42.2 million to projects.
Approximately $340 million in federal funds are available for the OBAG 3 County Program to support a wide range of project types including but not limited to transit expansion, reliability, and access improvements; safety, streetscape, and complete streets improvements; transportation demand management programs including education and outreach, and mobility hub planning and implementation; Safe Routes to School capital and non-infrastructure programs; and PDA planning and implementation.
San Francisco's project nomination target is 15.2% of funds available regionwide.
MyStreetSF Project Map
View all projects funded by the One Bay Area Grant Program on the MyStreetSF project map.
Funding Cycles
The Transportation Authority has funded San Francisco projects, shown in the charts below, over two OBAG funding cycles. The first cycle, covering Fiscal Years 2012/13 to 2016/17, programmed over $35 million and the second cycle, covering Fiscal Years 2017/18 to 2021/22, programmed over $42.2 million to projects. The third cycle, which was approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in January 2023, covers Fiscal Years 2022/23 to FY 2025/26 with $50.6 million programmed.
Cycle 1
| Project Sponsor | Project Name | OBAG Funds | Total Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed | |||
| SF Public Works | Broadway Chinatown Streetscape Improvement | $3,477,537 1,3 | $7,102,487 |
| SF Public Works | ER Taylor Elementary School Safe Routes to School | $400,115 3,4 | $604,573 |
| SF Public Works | Longfellow Elementary School Safe Routes to School | $670,307 | $852,855 |
| SF Public Works | Second Street Streetscape Improvement | $10,567,997 4 | $15,415,115 |
| SFMTA | Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) Procurement | $10,227,540 2 | $175,000,000 |
| SFMTA | Lombard Street US-101 Corridor | $1,910,000 1 | $24,263,920 |
| SFMTA | Mansell Corridor Improvement | $1,762,239 | $6,807,348 |
| SFMTA | Masonic Avenue Complete Streets | $0 2 | $22,785,900 |
| Transbay Joint Powers Authority | Transbay Transit Center Bike and Pedestrian Improvements | $6,000,000 | $11,480,440 |
| Cycle 1 Total | $35,015,735 | ||
Cycle 2
| Project Sponsor | Project Name | OBAG Funds | Total Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed | |||
| SF Public Works | John Yehall Chin Elementary Safe Routes to School | $0 6 | $4,200,000 |
| SFMTA | Geary Bus Rapid Transit Phase 1 | $6,939,000 | $64,656,000 |
| SFMTA | San Francisco Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Project, 2019 – 2021 | $2,813,264 | $3,177,752 |
| SFMTA | Central Subway | $15,980,000 | $1,931,000,000 |
| Work Progressing | |||
| SF Public Works | Better Market Street | $3,366,000 5,6 | $603,720,000 |
| Caltrain | Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project | $11,187,736 | $1,980,253,000 |
| BART | Embarcadero Station: New Northside Platform Elevator and Faregates | $2,000,000 | $25,537,000 |
| Cycle 2 Total | $42,286,000 | ||
Cycle 3
| Project Sponsor | Project Name | OBAG Funds | Total Project Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work Progressing | |||
| SFMTA | 29 Sunset Improvement Project Phase 1 | $5,976,000 | $13,661,000 |
| SFMTA | Central Embarcadero Safety | $6,320,000 | $10,695,000 |
| SFMTA | Light Rail Vehicles (for SFCTA West Side Bridges) | $14,899,000 7 | $1,126,960,331 |
| SFMTA | San Francisco Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Project | $7,082,000 | $8,000,000 |
| BART | Elevator Modernization Phase 1.3 (Embarcadero, Montgomery St, Powell St, Civic Center/UN Plaza, Glen Park) | $13,300,000 | $42,900,000 |
| SFCTA | Yerba Buena Island Multi-Use Pathway | $3,000,000 | $79,200,000 |
| Cycle 3 Total | $50,577,000 | ||
1 As part of OBAG 1, MTC assigned $1.91 million in STIP Transportation Enhancement funds to SFPW's Chinatown Broadway IV streetscape project. However, the STIP funds were unavailable when needed so the funds were swapped with SFMTA local revenue bond funds. In October 2015, the Transportation Authority Board reprogrammed the funds to SFPW's Lombard Street US-101 Corridor Improvement via the 2016 Regional Transportation Improvement Program, as requested by SFMTA and SFPW Resolution 16-19 (PDF).
2 In order to minimize risk of losing federal funds due to project delays, in February 2015, the Transportation Authority Board reprogrammed
$10,227,540 in OBAG funds from SFMTA's Masonic Avenue project to the LRV Procurement project, with the condition that SFMTA continue to
follow OBAG reporting requirements for the Masonic Avenue project. See the Plans and Programs Committee memo (PDF) (February 3, 2015) and Resolution 15-42 (PDF) for more detail.
3 On December 15, 2015, the Transportation Authority Board approved SF Public Works' request to reprogram $67,265 cost savings from the recently completed ER Taylor SR2S to Chinatown Broadway, which received a higher-than-anticipated bid to its original construction contract advertisement.
4 On June 28, 2016, the Transportation Authority Board approved SF Public Works' request to reprogram additional $51,215 from the completed ER Taylor SR2S to Second Street to cover the cost of the pedestrian lighting, which was added to the scope per the community's request.
5 On November 27, 2018, the Transportation Authority Board approved a Prop K fund exchange with Better Market Street to help backfill the Central Subway RIP commitment. See Resolution 19-22 for more detail.
6 On July 23, 2019, the Transportation Authority Board approved a Prop K/OBAG fund exchange between Better Market Street and John Yehall Chin to assist with project delivery. See Resolution 20-02 for more detail.
7 On December 13, 2022, the Transportation Authority Board approved a Prop K/OBAG fund exchange between SFCTA’s Yerba Buena Island West Side Bridges Seismic Retrofit project and SFMTA’s Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) Procurement project to assist with project delivery. See Resolution 23-22 for more detail.
On May 10, 2022, the Transportation Authority released a call for projects for the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Cycle 3. See the OBAG 3 County Program Framework memo and presentation and call for projects schedule below:
- OBAG Cycle 3 County Program Framework Memo and Presentation (4/27/2022)
- San Francisco One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Cycle 3 Call for Projects Schedule
Key Documents
OBAG Cycle 3
- Resolution 22-51 in June 2022 (PDF)
- Resolution 23-10 in September 2022 (PDF)
- Resolution 23-22 in December 2022 (PDF)
- OBAG Cycle 3 County Program Framework Memo and Presentation (4/27/2022)
- San Francisco One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) Cycle 3 Call for Projects Schedule
- Metropolitan Transportation Commission One Bay Area Grant webpage
OBAG Cycle 2
The Transportation Authority programmed $42.2 million in Cycle 2 OBAG funds to six projects in three actions:
- Resolution 18-5 in July 2017 (PDF)
- Resolution 18-13 in September 2017 (PDF)
- Resolution 18-29 in January 2018 (PDF)
OBAG Cycle 1
In June 2013, the Transportation Authority programmed $35 million in Cycle 1 OBAG funds to seven projects:
- Resolution 13-63 (PDF)
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San Francisco One Bay Area Grant Cycle 3 Call For Projects
Call for Projects is closed: Applications were due July 1, 2022
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (Transportation Authority) is pleased to announce a call for projects for $52,855,600 through the One Bay Area Grant Cycle 3 (OBAG 3) County Program for San Francisco over the next four years (Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/23 to FY 2025/26). We are also using this solicitation to inform the reprogramming of $1,021,021 in Prop AA vehicle registration fee funds.
In January 2022, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) adopted the OBAG Cycle 3 County & Local Program Call for Projects Guidelines. Through the OBAG County program, MTC directs federal funding to projects and programs that implement Plan Bay Area, with particular focus on projects that support Priority Development Areas (PDAs) — places near public transit planned for new homes, jobs, and community amenities. As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority is responsible for identifying San Francisco’s OBAG 3 county priorities and submitting them to MTC by September 30th. MTC staff will evaluate the CMA project nominations using regional criteria and recommend a subset of projects from the regionwide candidate pool to their Commission in January 2023.
Who is Eligible for Funds?
Bay Area cities, counties, transit agencies, federally-recognized Tribal governments, and CMAs are eligible to apply.
Types of Projects that Are Eligible
Eligible project types include but are not limited to transit expansion, reliability, and access improvements; safety, streetscape, and complete streets improvements; transportation demand management programs including education and outreach, and mobility hub planning and implementation; Safe Routes to School capital and non-infrastructure programs; and PDA planning and implementation.
The Prop AA funds that are available for reprogramming are from the Transit Reliability and Mobility Improvements category and can fund the design or implementation of transit stop improvements, transit signal priority, travel information improvements, parking management pilots, and transportation demand management.
Available Funding
OBAG 3
This competitive call for projects is for $52,855,600 in OBAG 3 County Program funds over the four-year programming period of FY 2022/23 to FY 2025/26.
The minimum grant amount is $500,000 and there is no maximum grant amount beyond that which fits within the funds available. The local match is 11.47% in committed or programmed funds for the requested phase. For capital projects, sponsors may demonstrate fully funding the pre-construction phases (e.g. project development, environmental or design) with local funds and claim toll credits in lieu of a match for the construction phase.
Prop AA
We will use the OBAG 3 call for projects to inform the reprogramming of $1,021,021 in FY 2021/22 Prop AA vehicle registration fee funds from the Transit Reliability and Mobility Improvements category.
Screening and Prioritization Criteria
MTC requires CMAs to use its established screening and prioritization criteria but allows us to add criteria to prioritize projects based on the needs within our county. The county nominated projects will go into the regionwide pool for evaluation and prioritization by MTC, making it important that San Francisco submit competitive projects.
San Francisco’s evaluation criteria take into consideration the need to position San Francisco projects to score well regionally since MTC will ultimately select projects from the regional pool of CMA-nominated projects.
Given the challenge of meeting the timely use of funds requirements on these federal OBAG funds and MTC’s emphasis on deliverability, we will give strong consideration to project readiness when selecting projects. For more detail on the timely use of funds requirements, including deadlines for sponsors to receive federal authorization to spend the funds, please refer to MTC’s Regional Project Delivery Policy Guidance below. In general, the more criteria a project satisfies and the better it meets them, the higher a project will be ranked within the San Francisco project nomination list.
Monitoring And Support
As CMA, the Transportation Authority is responsible for ensuring that projects are delivered in a timely manner, that the projects remain consistent with the original purpose and general scope approved by the Board and MTC, and that no OBAG funds are lost to San Francisco or the region. As such, sponsor agencies awarded OBAG 3 funds will be required to provide regular updates to Transportation Authority staff on project status and activities, and any issues that may affect project delivery and costs. We expect these updates in a timely manner but no less frequently than quarterly via the Transportation Authority’s online grant portal. Ongoing communication enables Transportation Authority staff to assist with resolving issues and keep our commissioners and the public up to date on delivery of San Francisco’s OBAG 3 program of projects.
Schedule
- May 12, 2022: Transportation Authority issues OBAG 3 Call for Projects
- May 19, 2022 10:30 a.m.: Transportation Authority Technical Working Group — Workshop for potential applicants (Zoom meeting link)
- May 24, 2022: Transportation Authority Board anticipated final approval of OBAG 3 County Framework
- July 1, 2022 by 5 p.m.: Applications due to the Transportation Authority
- August 18, 2022: Transportation Authority Technical Working Group Meeting — Review draft OBAG 3 staff recommendations
- September 7, 2022: Transportation Authority Community Advisory Committee — ACTION
- September 13, 2022: Transportation Authority Board — PRELIMINARY ACTION
- September 27, 2022: Transportation Authority Board — FINAL ACTION
- September 30, 2022: Transportation Authority submits OBAG 3 San Francisco Project Nominations to MTC for evaluation
- January 2023: MTC approves OBAG 3 projects and programs OBAG 3 funds
Transportation Authority Board and Community Advisory Committee meeting dates and materials are subject to change. Please check the Transportation Authority's website for the most up to date information.
Application Guidance and Materials
To apply, please submit an electronic version of the OBAG 3 application form and associated attachments in the original format (e.g. MS Word or Excel), as well as one PDF of the entire application, and a completed MTC Complete Streets Checklist via email to obag@sfcta.org by 5 p.m. on July 1, 2022. If a project is CMAQ eligible, please also include the Supplemental Air Quality Inputs Form in the application. Every project must have its own application. If a sponsor submits more than one application, please indicate project priority order in the project applications. See MTC's Complete Streets website for more information on the checklist.
Call for Project Materials
OBAG 3 Call for Projects — Memo only (PDF); Memo with all attachments (PDF) (Revised June 29, 2022)
OBAG 3 Application (Word); Supplemental Schedule and Funding Tables (Excel)
MTC's Complete Streets Checklist (PDF). See also MTC's Complete Streets website.
Supplemental Air Quality Inputs Form (Word).
OBAG 3 Screening and Prioritization Criteria (PDF)
MTC’s Regional Project Delivery Policy Guidance (Resolution 3606) (PDF)
Maps
Priority Development Area (PDA) Map (PDF)
Equity Priority Communities (PDF)
Vision Zero High Injury Network (Interactive map)