Reconnecting Communities: Highways to Boulevards Program

Purpose

The California Department of Transportation is launching the Reconnecting Communities: Highways to Boulevards (RC:H2B) Pilot Program. $149 million was established for the conversion of underutilized highways into multi-modal corridors to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure. The historical harm will be addressed through community-based planning to address the transportation barrier.

Description

The Reconnecting Communities: Highways to Boulevards Pilot Program (RC:H2B) was established within the State of California Streets and Highways Code Section 104.3 for the purpose of awarding competitive grants to eligible entities, in partnership with Caltrans, for planning or implementing the conversion or transformation of underutilized state highways into multimodal corridors that serve residents of underserved communities. The RC:H2B Program Guidelines were developed through workshops that included participation from a broad range of stakeholders such as local government agencies, transit agencies, and tribal governments and others. The primary goal of the RC:H2B Pilot Program is to reconnect communities harmed by transportation infrastructure, through community-supported planning activities and capital construction projects that are championed by those communities. One hundred percent of the program funds are awarded to projects that benefit underserved communities. The Program will release their Call for Communities in mid-June, with an application submittal deadline in September of this year. Pursuant to the statute, the intent of the RC:H2B is to achieve the following goals: (1) Restore community connectivity through the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities that create barriers to mobility, access, or economic development. (2) Provide matching funding for potential federal grant funds. (3) Advance health and equity outcomes for underserved communities by removing health, safety, and access barriers associated with transportation infrastructure within communities. (4) Improve access to opportunity by improving travel options and reducing combined household transportation and housing costs for underserved communities. (5) Create opportunities for implementation of affordable housing and affirmatively furthering fair housing. (6) Avoid or minimize direct and indirect displacement effects from project implementation. (7) Advance community-based or community-driven transportation planning.