Rep. Panetta Announces $405,000 Federal Grant for Sand City and Marina Transit Oriented Development Study

SALINAS, CA – On Wednesday, January 19 Congressman Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced a $405,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to the Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) to fund a transit oriented development study along its Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project between Marina and Sand City. In July of 2021, the Monterey-Salinas Transit board approved the proposed SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project, a bus-only lane next to Highway 1 between Marina and Sand City. The federal grant funding provided for this project study was allocated through the FTA’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning, which helps communities integrate land use and transportation planning, improve economic development and housing access, and foster multi-modal transit access and mixed-use development. “Traffic, congestion, and vehicle emissions have increased substantially along Highway 1 between Marina and Sand City,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta. “Fortunately, the MST Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project will help mitigate those issues with its bus-only lanes. I’m proud to announce that the federal government is playing its part by providing a significant amount of federal funding to ensure the success of local transit projects. This investment will help us reduce our commute and carbon output so that we can improve our environment and our way of life on the Central Coast." “We appreciate Congressman Panetta’s support and are excited to receive this funding as it will allow Monterey-Salinas Transit to undertake a study to identify ways to increase transit-oriented development (TOD) viability and increased mobility connections within the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit project corridor,” said Carl Sedoryk CEO of the Monterey-Salinas Transit District. “The study will identify strategies to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduce vehicle miles travelled (VMT) from development, and lower personal vehicle parking requirements for future developments through the establishment of an enhanced and integrated mobility network of bicycle, transit, and pedestrian facilities.” This grant will support development of MST’s SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit project by studying opportunities to increase transit-oriented development (TOD) viability along the Monterey-to-Salinas Bus Rapid Transit Corridor. The SURF! Project will consist of roughly 6 miles of roadway dedicated to BRT service. The SURF! project will begin at MST’s Marina Transit Exchange in Marina (northern terminus), and end at Contra Costa Street in Sand City (southern terminus). The busway will primarily follow the Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s (TAMC’s) Monterey Branch Line rail corridor, located west of Highway 1.