News

Seven innovative projects across the six-county region will be honored by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) at the 2023 Sustainability Awards ceremonies at SCAG’s Regional Conference and General Assembly May 4 in Palm Desert. The awards recognize excellence and innovation in planning, land use and transportation to improve mobility, livability, prosperity and sustainability.   

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its quarterly discussion on the current state of the regional economy. The discussion focused on the potential impacts of the Silicon Bank failure on the SCAG region, the logistics sector, water resources, and the regional employment outlook.

Several overarching themes emerged from the conversation:

The folllowing is a brief round up of activity from the April 6 SCAG Regional Council meeting.

Digital Action Plan

The Regional Council approved the Digital Action Plan, which outlines SCAG’s actions to provide digital accessibility and foster an equitable, prosperous and resilient region for all residents.  

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Southern California Association of Governments, pursuant to the authority vested in it by Section 87306 of the Government Code, proposes amendment to its Conflict of Interest Code. A comment period has been established commencing on April 4, 2023 and closing on May 19, 2023. All inquiries should be directed to the contact listed below.

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SCAG Kicks Off Public Outreach Initiatives for Connect SoCal 2024  

Every four years, SCAG updates its visionary plan for the future of the region,

Public Review and Comment Period

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On March 2, 2023, SCAG released its Fiscal Year 2023-24 Draft Overall Work Program.

On Friday, March 10 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced $66 million in outreach grants to fund projects to expand participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).  SCAG will be awarded $500,000 of the ACP Outreach Grant Program funds to utilize in helping bridge the digital divide through implementing innovative strategies to reach historically underserved and unserved communities across jurisdictions. This grant is aligned with SCAG’s resolution to assist in helping close the gap in digital equity.  

Despite showing economic resilience, Southern California is likely to follow the nation into a recession and faces several challenges ahead, including potential new supply chain constraints, labor and equitable growth, according to the latest quarterly update from SCAG’s Economic Roundtable. 

The Roundtable, a consortium of regional economic experts that met in January to update the region’s economic outlook and discuss challenges and opportunities facing the six counties that comprise SCAG. The consensus was that the region and nation continue to face significant economic uncertainty during what has been an uneven post-pandemic recovery. 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on Thursday urged significant investment in infrastructure, technology and systems to support the region’s role as a global supply chain hub and an economic engine that directly or indirectly accounts for more than one-third of all jobs in the six counties.

A resolution adopted by SCAG’s Regional Council called on local, state and federal partners to continue investing in a “safe, secure, clean and efficient multi-modal transportation system, including both highways and rail, to support the movement of goods across the region.”

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-05 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on March 1, 2023 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on March 10, 2023.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2023-proposed-amendments.

Please note that some of the changes or project additions may be for projects funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 funds. This public involvement opportunity is provided to meet the public involvement requirements for the program of projects.

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-14 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on August 2, 2023 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on August 11, 2023.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2023-proposed-amendments.

Please note that some of the changes or project additions may be for projects funded with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 funds. This public involvement opportunity is provided to meet the public involvement requirements for the program of projects.

Curious how communities can temporarily redesign streets and advocate for safety improvements? Go Human’s Activations Playbook simplifies this process in 5 steps, using materials from the Go Human Kit of Parts Lending Library.

SCAG’s Economic Roundtable met for its quarterly discussion on the current state of the regional economy last week. Labor market conditions were a major focus of the conversation and several overarching themes emerged: 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on Thursday released its draft Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, outlining direction for the region to meet federal transportation air quality standards and state greenhouse gas emission targets through $750 billion in transportation investments and a regional development pattern. Notable in this plan update are new strategies for addressing the housing crisis and homelessness, adapting to climate change and investing in underserved communities. 

SCAG is now accepting applications for the 2024 SCAG Sustainability Awards, SCAG’s annual recognition of plans and development projects that best exemplify the core principles of sustainability. These plans and projects are integral to accomplishing the goals of the , and they promote a cleaner, healthier and happier Southern California.  

With a rise in vehicle ownership, rideshare companies, deliveries and more, over-congested curb space is becoming more common across the Southern California region. In response, SCAG launched the Curb Space Management Study in June 2022.  

The study takes a comprehensive and multimodal approach to reviewing some of the most overburdened curb space locations within the SCAG region and serves as a blueprint for local jurisdictions to transform the curb space in their cities to reduce vehicle miles traveled and promote a balanced transportation system to improve overall quality of life. 

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Lead Agency, has released a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (Draft PEIR) (State Clearinghouse No.: 2022100337) for the proposed 2024-2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), also referred to as “Connect SoCal 2024”, “2024 RTP/SCS”, “Plan”, or “Project.” The Draft PEIR serves as a programmatic document that presents a region‐wide assessment of the potential environmental effects of Connect SoCal 2024. 

A copy of the Notice of Availability (NOA) and Connect SoCal 2024 Draft PEIR is available by visiting scag.ca.gov/peir. 

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY & PUBLIC HEARINGS

The Draft Amendment 3 to the Connect SoCal 2020 (2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy “2020 RTP/SCS” or “Connect SoCal 2020”) and the Draft 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Consistency Amendment #23-03 including the associated transportation conformity analysis are available for public review and comment. Information on how to provide public comment is contained in this notice.

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CONNECT SOCAL 2024 SUBCOMMITTEES 

In September 2022, SCAG launched three subcommittees to look at emerging issues for the Connect SoCal 2024 plan.