Effective management starts with good guidance provided through appropriate planning activities.
Title VI Plan: A new Title VI Plan will be created, adopted locally and approved by the Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) every three years and prior to the Proficiency Review. See Attachment 1101-1 for a template for this plan. IMD is prepared to provide technical assistance with the Plan. All civil rights documents must be current at the time of a grant award.
Multimodal/Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning: IMD administers a planning grant program that encourages municipalities and counties to develop multimodal, bicycle and/or pedestrian plans. The planning process allows communities to evaluate their local needs and develop recommendations for enhancements to their transportation network. Visit
NCDOT CONNECT for more information.
Regional Transit/Multimodal Planning: IMD has worked with local agencies to prepare Community Connectivity Plans (CCP) and the former Community Transportation Service Plans (CTSP) to meet FTA Section 5311 planning requirements. In 2022, NCDOT will initiate a new regional transit/multimodal planning template to assist with preparing regional plans designed to meet federal and local grant requirements, as well as to comprehensively evaluate a region’s transit and multimodal needs and develop recommendations for facility and service enhancements. The completed document will replace the current CCP document.
State Coordination Plan: A state plan for coordinating public and human service transportation statewide and a state‐developed budgeting plan serves as the basis for awarding the 5310 Program funds. NCDOT has chosen to constrain applicant and project eligibility in the state’s plan for budgeting purposes. The state’s coordination plan is FTA compliant and includes stakeholder project ideas that fall within the constraints provided. Visit the
State Plan here.
Safety and Security Plan: A Safety and Security Plan (SSP) will be created, adopted locally and approved by NCDOT every three (3) years and prior to the SSP Review. A Compliance Specialist will provide technical assistance as needed.
IMD and MPO/RPO Coordination: IMD regional planning staff coordinate with local/regional transportation planning staff on planning efforts and varied multimodal projects and initiatives. Regional planning staff also serve as a prime resource for local governments and transit systems for technical assistance and support.
Transit Participation in RPO/MPO Planning: Transit leaders are encouraged to participate in the local/regional metropolitan and/or rural planning processes in their service area. It is important for transit agency staff to communicate with transportation planners, transportation engineers, local community officials and political representatives that have a leading role in setting spending priorities and awarding state funds for expansion projects and purchases.
Complementary Paratransit Plan: Any transit system operating fixed route service must prepare a plan for providing complementary paratransit service. Community transportation systems providing complementary paratransit services must have their plan approved by NCDOT. Approval of the plan means that NCDOT certifies that the plan complies with all ADA civil rights requirements. All civil rights documents must be current at the time of a grant award.
EEO Program: If the grantee requested or received $1 million or more for capital or operating expenses or $250,000 or more for planning in the prior Federal fiscal year, and they have 50 or more transit related employees, they must have an Equal Employment Opportunity Program. FTA Circular 4704.1A provides the guidance needed to prepare this program. All civil rights documents must be current at the time of a grant award.
Drug and Alcohol Plan: A new Drug and Alcohol Plan must be created, locally adopted and NCDOT approved every three years or more often if there are changes to the regulations. Subrecipients must monitor the FTA Safety and Security website for any updates.
FTA Discretionary Grants: FTA releases Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for individual discretionary grant opportunities. These NOFOs highlight required elements and guidance specific to that particular discretionary grant opportunity. The following bulleted listing is meant to serve as a general guide of required items for the grant programs. Each discretionary program typically has additional program specific information that may be required to strengthen the merit of the individual project applications.
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Project Planning: NOFOs often require that applicants demonstrate how the proposed project will be consistent with local and regional long-range planning documents and local government priorities. This can be demonstrated by including the project in a variety of different plans, which could include feasibility studies, asset management plans, fleet conversion plans, local transportation plans, local comprehensive plans and MPO/RPO plans. At a minimum, these plans should highlight the need for the project and any additional details that are available at the time of the plan creation (geographic location of the projection, specific route(s) served (if applicable), quantities (i.e., number of shelters or vehicles) and other relevant project details.
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Local and Regional Prioritization: In addition to consistency with local plans, NOFOs frequently ask for evidence of local or regional prioritization of the proposed project. As such, projects should be reflected in local, regional, and statewide planning and prioritization processes. For details on inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) or Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP/MTIP) and the need to coordinate with agencies' MPO, RPO, and IMD can be found within Section 3000 - Doing Business with NCDOT.
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Environmental Finding: Any project requesting Federal funding requires an environmental finding. Understanding the level of environmental review that will be required, along with potential project impacts and benefits, can help prepare the project to receive funding and to assist in implementation. For the latest environmental legislation, regulation, and guidance from
FTA please visit their web site.
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Financial Commitment: Many discretionary grants require a non-Federal cost share. When possible, agencies should identify the source and amount of this non-Federal cost share and include in local adopted budgets.
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Public Engagement and Community Partnerships: While public engagement may not be required by all discretionary grants, grants often ask about the level of public engagement to date and how that engagement was conducted. If public engagement is a required component during project planning, it is important to summarize that information, particularly in how it relates to the project. Demographic information of who participated in the public outreach can also be helpful information to collect and provide when applying for discretionary grants. Letters of support are also an important part of discretionary grant applications, so maintaining community partnerships and having the ability to ask for letters of support can help on discretionary grant applications.
References
EEO Circular: 4704.1A
ADA Circular: C 4710.1
Title VI Circular: C 4702.1B
5310 Circular: C 9070.1G
Safety and Security Management Circular: C 5800.1
Attachment(s):
