The California Transportation Co-op Committee (TCC) is a partnership committee with members representing cities, counties, RTPA/MPOs, state (Caltrans), and federal (FHWA) agencies. Its purpose is to address transportation funding, procedural, and legislative issues related to project delivery from a local perspective. Through partnership, TCC aims to improve efficiency and enhance the ability to meet all stakeholder needs.

At the 2013 Joint CEAC/Public Works Officers Spring Conference, TCC hosted group discussion asking for input on how to improve the administration of Federal-aid projects. More than 100 ideas were proposed during the discussion. Ideas generated from that discussion were categorized into five areas:

• Funding
• Design
• Environmental
• Right of Way
• Construction

After the conference, five teams composed of city, county, regional agency, and Caltrans staff worked to further clarify the concept and develop solutions. Items under each category were further divided into three groups, “Requiring Federal Laws," “Requiring State Laws,” and “Requiring Caltrans Policy Changes.”  Working with TCC, Caltrans Local Assistance has taken steps to implement the ideas from the 2013 Spring Conference. For your reference, a copy of the 2013 action plan is available on the Caltrans Local Assistance Website under Announcements or can be downloaded here.

To help assess the effectiveness of of its efforts since the 2013 Spring Conference and to generate additional ideas on improving the federal-aid process for discussion at the upcoming 2016 Spring Conference, TCC is conducting this pre-conference survey. To keep the survey short and effective, we are seeking feedback only on some of the Action Ideas under "Caltrans Policy Change" group that we believe address most common issues. 

Thank you for your participation. 

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1. What type of agency do you represent?

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2. Please state the name of the agency you represent.

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3. What is your position level? Please choose from dropdown menu.

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4. Were you aware of the 2013 Spring Conference TCC session and action ideas?

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5. How aware were you of the resolutions Caltrans presented?

Section 1 - How Well Did The 2013 CEAC/Conference Identified Action Ideas Get Implemented
FUNDING

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6. These actions taken by Caltrans Local Assistance helped improve my experience with the federal-aid process.

  Strongly Agree Agree Unaware Disagree Strongly Disagree
Fillable PDF Forms for LAPM Forms available on Caltrans website make it easier to complete forms. 
Caltrans Local Assistance Blog (LAB) and Caltrans Oversight Information Notices (COIN) make it easier to keep up with policy and procedure changes.
E-76 review and approval status online on the Local Assistance website makes it easier to track requests submitted to Caltrans. 
DESIGN

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7. These actions taken by Caltrans Local Assistance helped improve my experience with the federal-aid process.

  Strongly Agree Agree Unaware Disagree Strongly Disagree 
Removal of PE/CE funding cap from Caltrans Local Assistance policies makes it easier to justify higher initial project PE/CE costs. 
Improved Guidance on DBE/Goal-setting Methodology & Good Faith Effort make it easier to comply with DBE requirements.
ENVIRONMENTAL

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8. These actions taken by Caltrans Local Assistance helped improve my experience with the federal-aid process.

  Strongly Agree Agree Unaware Disagree Strongly Disagree
Caltrans staff is available to provide general guidance and assistance on NEPA prior to FTIP programming.
Training improved, resulting in less iterations of Preliminary Environmental Study (PES) reviews.
Revised Visual Impact Assessment (VIA) Checklist minimizes Visual Impact Assessment (VIA) for small and simple projects, such as safety projects.
RIGHT OF WAY

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9. These actions taken by Caltrans Local Assistance helped improve my experience with the federal-aid process.

  Strongly Agree Agree Unaware Disagree Strongly Disagree
Caltrans new policy on Utility Manhole Cover Adjustments makes it easier to receive federal reimbursement.
Improved training and guidance makes it easier to understand what work can be performed pre-NEPA approval.
Statewide master franchise utility agreements make utility work easier.
CONSTRUCTION

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10. These Action Ideas were completed and meet my expectations.

  Strongly Agree Agree Unaware Disagree Strongly Disagree
Caltrans new policy on Pro-rata/Lump-sum method for establishing federal share makes easier to change reimbursement ratio at project completion.
DBE standard specs are now available.
Section 2 - Feedback on the 5 Categories

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11. What has consistently been a problem you experience in the following categories?

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12. What has consistently gone well in your experience with the following categories?

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13. What unique situation has happened in the following categories that has negatively impacted your ability to deliver the project?

Thank you for taking our survey!  We appreciate your feedback.

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