Planning partners have asked questions about the SACOG Mode Shift funding program to invest in, test, and expand new and existing programs that reduce car trips, provide new mobility solutions, and make options like biking, walking, taking transit, and sharing rides the easy choice for all types of trips. These questions and answers are shared below; more will be added as the questions are identified.

Where can I learn more about what is eligible for CMAQ funding?

The CMAQ guidelines online describe eligible expenses. The sub-section for “Travel Demand Management” eligibility has useful information for many types of Mode Shift projects. 

If you still have questions, reach out to SACOG staff and we will help find the answer. 

What are the key communities SACOG has identified as disinvested communities? 

SACOG staff identified data-based approaches you can use to describe communities (e.g. income levels 200% below the federal poverty level, top 25% in the statewide CalEnviroScreen, etc.); however, additional communities may be described in your Mode Shift application. The data-based approaches often look at larger areas which can overlook community-level disparities that you may have learned about through your work with residents.  

My project is targeting an area, not a job site—how should I fill out the “VMT reduction” form? 

Project sponsors should fill out the fields that are most relevant to their project—if the project is not focused on creating/supporting mode shift for work trips, leave the fields for “Current percent of residents driving alone to work” and “Current percent of workplace employees driving alone to work” blank. Otherwise, provide your best-informed estimate for the fields that do relate to your project. 

If none of the fields apply to your project, remember that the VMT reduction form is an optional supplement to your written response of how the project would support VMT reduction. 

You can see how your project or program area compares to other parts of the region by viewing the regional VMT information on the SACOG Project Performance Assessment tool webviewer. Open PPA webviewer, the Click on the layers icon (the stack of papers in the top left corner), and turn on the layer for “VMT per capita 2016″. 

Where can I find information about how people currently travel to work? 

The Census website, table B08301 “Means of Transportation to Work” can provide information about the mode used to get to work. Table B08301 may only provide commute mode information for larger areas. 

How should I determine which performance measures to include in the grant application? 

Performance measures should directly relate to the unique characteristics of the project. Project sponsors are encouraged to use SACOG’s guidance and templates to identify performance measures that are applicable to their project and discuss the anticipated outcomes.

• Guide to Identifying Performance Measures
• Example Goals and Performance Measures  

Baseline measures and project performance measures should be scoped into the grant request and do not need to be conducted before the grant application submittal.