News

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday afternoon awards of more than $1.3 billion in state funding to transit and rail capital projects in Southern California, providing a major boost to regional efforts to significantly improve transportation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, congestion and vehicle miles traveled. 

CalSTA’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) is awarding approximately $2.5 billion to 16 existing projects throughout the state, including $1.3 billion for seven projects in the six-county SCAG region.  

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10 SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING SUPPORTIVE GRANT APPLICATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

In addition to Permanent Local Housing Allocation application assistance, SCAG is offering technical assistance for jurisdictions an

SCAG is excited to announce a major opportunity for college and university students in the region. The 2022 Student Showcase is a storymapping competition that challenges students to think innovatively and compete for cash prizes in two award categories: Best in Show and Audience Awards.

Student participants are invited to conceptualize, create and submit planning-related ArcGIS StoryMaps using SCAG’s open data. This is a meaningful way to tell a story or provide insight, showcase plans and projects, engage supporters and stakeholders, illustrate the possibilities of data, and highlight the usefulness of open data at the regional level.

With 2022 coming to an end, we extend a sincere thank you on behalf of everyone at SCAG. As we continue to work together to achieve our unified goals, the region is looking toward a brighter future because of our collaboration.

In response the COVID-19 public health crisis, SCAG offices have been closed to the public since March 2020 and Regional Council and Policy Committee meetings have been held in a hybrid format.  

While Regional Council and Policy Committee meetings will continue to be held in a hybrid format for the near future, in January 2023, SCAG offices will reopen to the public to permit participation in SCAG’s legislative body meetings in person. 

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SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise joined Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and local, state and federal representatives on Tuesday, Jan. 11, for a tour of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

On Dec. 8, the Census Bureau released the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data (2017-2021). The 5-year ACS represents data collected over a period which includes time on either side of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This offers a unique advantage to study estimates for smaller geographic areas (e.g., cities, counties, and neighborhoods) and population subgroups (e.g., workers). Drawing on the current ACS data and comparing it to data from the previous five-year ACS, SCAG staff have computed several key variables for the local jurisdictions in the SCAG region.

On Dec. 7, the California Transportation Commission adopted the Statewide Component of the Active Transportation Program, which will bring nearly $345 million in much-needed funds for 22 projects across the SCAG region. Next year SCAG will work with the commission to program an additional $343 million for the region in the MPO Component of this program.

SCAG-region projects included in the funding approval:

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State Agency Meetings 

On Nov.

At the 13^th Annual Southern California Economic Summit, hosted Thursday by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), economists reporting on each of the six SCAG region counties indicated Southern California’s current economic strengths as:

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has been awarded a $1.18 million grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to fund continued work on its regional traffic safety and community engagement program, Go Human.

On Nov. 3, 2022, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) released its 2022 Racial Equity Baseline Conditions Report, which is available as a tool to further understand where the six-county region stands regarding advancing justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the region. 

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REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PROGRAM (REAP) 2.0 PROGRAM UPDATE

Continuing development of the REAP 2.0 program, staff have been conducting outreach to identify priorities for transformative planning and implementation.

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2021 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #21-31 for Orange County. The Public Review period starts on October 28, 2022 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on November 7, 2022.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2021-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.

To recognize California Pedestrian Safety Month (September), National  Pedestrian Safety Month (October) and Walktober (October), SCAG celebrates Go Human’s local traffic safety efforts through its 2022 Go Human Mini-Grants Program.

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), as the CEQA Lead Agency, has released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for Connect SoCal 2024 (2024-2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy). Release of the NOP initiates a 30-day public review and comment period from October 17, 2022 and ends November 16, 2022 at 5:00 PM (PST) to seek input from interested parties on the scope and content of the Connect SoCal 2024 Draft PEIR. The NOP of the Draft PEIR for Connect SoCal 2024 is posted at /peir.

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2021 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #21-31 for Imperial, Orange, and Riverside Counties. The Public Review period starts on October 14, 2022 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on October 24, 2022.

A copy of the Project Listing is located on the SCAG FTIP website Proposed Amendment link at /2021-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.

On Oct. 6, 2022 the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) formally affirmed the drought and water shortage emergency in Southern California and called on local and regional partners to join together to adopt an “all of the above” approach to addressing the region’s water challenges and catalyzing opportunities across a six-county region that’s home to more than 19 million people. 

The Southern California Association of Governments is in receipt of the 2023 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) Amendment #23-01 for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Various, and Ventura Counties. The Public Review period starts on October 6, 2022 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 2022.

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.

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REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PROGRAM (REAP) 2.0 PROGRAM UPDATE

Since the approval of the REAP 2.0 Program Framework by the Regional Council (RC) in July, staff has continued outreach efforts to develop specific programs using