Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants

The California Department of Transportation, through its Division of Transportation Planning, administers the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants program to support transportation planning that advances the Caltrans mission of improving lives and communities through transportation. This application cycle covers the Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical grants and the Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Partnerships - Transit grants. Sustainable Communities funding uses State Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account and State Highway Account resources, while Strategic Partnerships uses Federal Highway Administration State Planning and Research Part I funds and Strategic Partnerships - Transit uses Federal Transit Administration Section 5304 funds. The competitive portions covered by the October 9, 2026 application deadline provide approximately $22.4 million in combined funding. The separate $12.5 million Sustainable Communities Formula allocation is administered through the MPO Overall Work Program process rather than the same competitive Smartsheet application process. Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical grants fund local and regional multimodal transportation and land use planning projects that further Regional Transportation Plan Sustainable Communities Strategies or Alternative Planning Strategies where applicable, contribute to California greenhouse gas reduction targets, address under-resourced community needs, and advance Caltrans program objectives. Approximately $17.9 million is available competitively, including a $3 million technical-project set-aside and up to $2 million for Native American Tribal Governments. Strategic Partnerships provides $1.5 million for transportation planning studies conducted in partnership with Caltrans that address regional, interregional, or statewide needs of the State Highway System. Strategic Partnerships - Transit provides $3 million for multimodal planning studies with a transit focus. Eligible work can include data gathering and analysis, planning consultant procurement, public outreach, planning studies, conceptual drawings or design up to 30 percent, community surveys and meetings, bilingual services, stakeholder advisory groups, and project administration of up to 5 percent of the grant. Construction, capital projects, project implementation, engineering plans and specifications, environmental documents normally required under NEPA or CEQA, and other activities identified as ineligible in the guide cannot be funded. Competitive grant requests may not exceed $700,000. Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical grants have a $50,000 minimum for under-resourced communities, including Native American Tribal Governments and rural communities, and a $100,000 minimum for other applicants. Strategic Partnerships has a $100,000 minimum. Strategic Partnerships - Transit has a $75,000 minimum for RTPAs and transit agencies and a $100,000 minimum for MPOs. Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical and Strategic Partnerships - Transit generally require a minimum local match of 11.47 percent of total project cost, while Strategic Partnerships requires 20 percent. Native American Tribal Governments are not required to provide a local match for Sustainable Communities grants. Match may consist of eligible cash and third-party in-kind contributions, subject to the program's funding-source rules. Eligible primary applicants vary by category. Sustainable Communities Competitive and Technical permits MPOs with sub-applicants, RTPAs, transit agencies, cities and counties meeting applicable housing element and Annual Progress Report requirements, Native American Tribal Governments, and other public transportation planning entities. MPOs must have a sub-applicant for this category. Strategic Partnerships permits MPOs and RTPAs as primary applicants, while Strategic Partnerships - Transit also permits transit agencies. Eligible sub-applicants include MPOs and RTPAs, transit agencies, universities and community colleges, Native American Tribal Governments, cities and counties, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other public entities. Primary applicants must have statutory authority to conduct transportation or transit planning. For Sustainable Communities, city and county primary or sub-applicants must have a housing element found substantially compliant by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and must have submitted Annual Progress Reports for 2024 and 2025. Applications must be submitted through Smartsheet by Friday, October 9, 2026 at 5 p.m. The guide does not state a separate mandatory letter of intent, concept paper, or other pre-application gating deadline. Applicants are instructed to complete the Application Cover Sheet, transfer the required information into Smartsheet, and upload the required application materials as one PDF document not exceeding 25 MB. The required application package includes the Application Cover Sheet, Signature Page, Application Narrative, Scope of Work, Cost and Schedule, and Map of Project Area, with the Third-Party In-Kind Valuation Plan applicable upon award when in-kind match is used. Supplemental items such as graphics, letters of support, safety data, travel mode data, and other supporting data may strengthen an application. Hard-copy and late applications will not be reviewed. Applications undergo a two-tier review consisting first of Caltrans District review and then, as applicable, review by Caltrans Headquarters interagency committees. Reviewers consider project description and justification, how well the proposal addresses the applicable grant-specific objectives, the Scope of Work, the Cost and Schedule, consistency with Caltrans objectives and planning considerations, and previous Caltrans grant performance. Competitive Sustainable Communities applicants are expected to address greenhouse gas reduction, multimodal planning, under-resourced community needs and engagement, housing and land use coordination where applicable, and other program objectives. Strategic Partnerships proposals should demonstrate a meaningful Caltrans partnership, address statewide, interregional, regional, or transit-system needs as appropriate, strengthen government-to-government relationships, and support eventual programmed system improvements. Caltrans anticipates announcing awards in Spring 2027. Awarded projects are expected to begin after contract execution and issuance of a Notice to Proceed. MPOs and RTPAs using a Master Fund Transfer Agreement may anticipate beginning in July 2027, while other grantees using a Restricted Grant Agreement may begin later after execution, potentially as early as September 2027. Reimbursable work must be completed by June 30, 2030, and final reimbursement requests are due by August 29, 2030. Grant payments are reimbursement-based, quarterly progress reporting is required after the Notice to Proceed, and final products must comply with program requirements. For application-guide questions, the identified technical assistance contact is Kevin Mariant, Grant Management Branch Chief, at Kevin.Mariant@dot.ca.gov. The program provides funding annually, supporting treatment of the opportunity as recurring for internal tracking purposes.

Coordinate early with the Caltrans district; use the application, Scope of Work, and Cost & Schedule samples and checklists; clearly define the transportation problem and support need with verifiable data; address every applicable grant-specific objective; include Caltrans as an active partner; describe meaningful public and under-resourced community engagement where applicable; coordinate housing, land use, and transportation planning; provide tailored letters of support or a supporter petition; ensure all application documents use the applicant's legal name and submit one complete PDF through Smartsheet before the deadline.