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Home My WebLink AboutIR 10691 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERSNo. 21-10691 October 12, 2021 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 1of 3 SUBJECT: TEXRAIL NEAR SOUTHSIDE COMMUTER RAIL EXTENSION PROJECT, FUNDING COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES OnJuly 12, 2021, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) submitted a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant application to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) seeking $25 million for Trinity Metro’s TEXRail Extension project. This projectwill extend the existing commuter rail service 2.1 miles from Fort Worth Texas & Pacific (T&P) Station in downtown Fort Worth south to a new station located at Mistletoe Boulevard, behind Baylor Scott & White (BSW) All Saints Medical Center.The project is a necessary step to eventually extend the route to Chisolm Trail Parkwayat Summer Creek as identified in the adopted Mobility 2045 Long-Range Plan. City staff recommends that Council provides$2.5 million in local match for the RAISE grant. The proposed funding profile for this project with the RAISE Grant is shown in the table below: Local Source TotalFederal Local Needed to Share Share Baylor Local Federal Source Trinity Fort Complete(%)(%) Scott &Match MetroWorth White TBDTBDTBD FTA (rollover)$38.9M-$38.9MTBDTBD NCTCOG Regional $20.0M---$20.0M100%- (CMAQ)TDCs* RAISE Grant$25.0M$2.5M$2.5M$1.56M$6.56M$31.56M79.2%20.8% Unidentified $37.04M TBDTBDTBD-TBDTBDTBD Funds Totals$83.9M$2.5M$2.5M$1.56MTBD$127.5MTBDTBD *TDCs -Transportation Development Credits Trinity Metro has estimated the costs for the TEXRail Extension project to be $127.5million. The project is an eligible activity under the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) funding programs and has been approved to use leftover funding from the construction of the first phase to DFWAirport whichwas completed under- budget. The exact localmatch requirementamountfor the FTA rollover fundsis still being determined. The other federal dollars listed (including the RAISE Grant) require an 80/20 match. Local fundsof $5 million - $2.5 million each from the City and Trinity Metro, will be used for the RAISE Grant local cash match requirement. Baylor Scott & White (BSW) is providing a land donation for the Mistletoe Station valuedat $1.56 million as an in-kind contribution toward thelocal match requirements for the RAISE Grant. A land donation agreement has not been yet been executed between Trinity Metro and BSW, but is expected soon. Anypotentialfuture City cost-share amount, ifneeded, will be determined and brought to Councilat a later date. As part of the grant application, the project has been estimated to provide over$95.8 million in environmental, quality of life, and safety benefitsover an initial20-year period. A benefit cost analysis (developed by NCTCOG) of 0.90 was calculated, which signifies a near-even return on investment. Therefore,staff recommends that the City move forward as a funding partnerdue to the catalyticnature of the projectand leveraging opportunities for the City of Fort Worth. This project serves a major employment ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERSNo. 21-10691 October 12, 2021 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2of 3 SUBJECT: TEXRAIL NEAR SOUTHSIDE COMMUTER RAIL EXTENSION PROJECT, FUNDING COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES center andis already garnering private sector investment via an ongoing Transit Oriented Development planning process at the Mistletoe Station. The project hasbeen leveraged to replacea 100 year old railroad bridge servingfreight railroad tracks. In addition, dedicatedtracks will be installed to separate the commuter rail service from freight service so not to negatively impact the movement of goods through the corridor Although, lower than originally expected,partly due to the COVID-19,Trinity Metro projectsannual ridership along the corridor pandemic,based on the most up to date information,toincrease from305,000 in 2021to 781,800 in 2045with this project. OriginalAnnualRidership Current Annual Ridership Year Projections*Projections** 2021894,500305,000 20451,650,200781,800 Source: NCTCOG* Source: Trinity Metro** A resolution supporting the RAISE Grant application and committing to participating in the amount of $2.5 million is expected to be presented for adoption on October 19, 2021. Accountability Measures: An Inter-local Agreement (ILA) between the City of Fort Worth and Trinity Metro will be prepared for Council authorization in order to transfer the City’s matching funds for the project. The City will move forward with the ILA after the project receives environmental clearance (expected in December) from USDOT and concurrence from Fort Worth Western Railroad (Union Pacific has already executed an agreement). The terms of the ILA will include: 1.Trinity Metro to partner with the City and other stakeholders to develop a “First/Last-Mile Plan” from the Mistletoe(planned) and T&P (existing) stations to major employers in the area. This will include recommendations for pedestrian connectivity, safety, and comfort to the key destinations in the area, as well as strategies for transit or shuttles to provide a seamless connection for TEXRail users to their final destinations. 2.Partnerships with major employers to incentivize and encourage employees to ride the train (e.g. free or discounted transit passes, reduced parking requirements, etc.) 3.Partner with the City to develop transit oriented development regulating plans for stations along the future southern extension to Chisolm Trail Parkway to ensure city policies are in place for supportive development in station areas. These studies will determine potential taxable revenue to the City and ridership increases by creating a new market of users living and working in these station areas. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERSNo. 21-10691 October 12, 2021 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 3of 3 SUBJECT: TEXRAIL NEAR SOUTHSIDE COMMUTER RAIL EXTENSION PROJECT, FUNDING COMMITMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES 4.Build, operate, and maintain the TEX Rail system with minimaldependenceon the City for financial support for costs of operating, maintaining, or future capital repairs, additions, or replacements of the system or its components. 5.Provide monthly reports outlining progress on key performance measures including pre-construction development and related activities, construction progress, initial passenger operations, fare operations, on-time performance(Trinity Metro’s goal is 97%), budgeted/actual revenues and expenses, customer comments, ridership and related data, and other relevant information as requested or required. Please contact Kelly Porter, Assistant Director, Regional Transportation and Innovation Division at kelly.porter@fortworthtexas.govor (817) 392-7259for additional information. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS