Growth & Accessibility Planning Technical Assistance Program
The Growth & Accessibility Planning or GAP Technical Assistance Program serves to support Virginia localities as well as the goals of the Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment.
GAP Program Components
This technical assistance program has four components, each component has differences in the eligible applicants, eligible activities, expected outcomes, and application evaluation criteria. Applicants may only receive one type of award per cycle.
Component
#1
Conduct multimodal planning within existing or planned Urban Development Areas or Growth Areas (per Virginia Code § 15.2-2223.1)
- Eligible Entities:
- Cities
- Counties
- Towns responsible for development and amendments of comprehensive plans per Virginia Code § 15.2-2223 and maintain their own infrastructure and qualify to receive payments pursuant to Virginia Code § 33.2-319.
- Eligible Activities: Support the intent of the Virginia Code § 15.2-2223.1, namely support “traditional neighborhood design” by planning for:
- Pedestrian-friendly road design;
- Connectivity of road and pedestrian networks;
- Preservation of natural areas;
- Mixed-use neighborhoods, including mixed housing types, with affordable housing to meet the projected family income distributions of future residential growth;
- Reduction of front and side yard building setbacks;
- Reduction of subdivision street widths and turning radii at subdivision street intersections; and,
- Planning for food access and addressing food deserts.
- Expected Outcomes
- Designation of growth areas per Virginia Code § 15.2-2223.1 (required if not a UDA);
- Need identification and planning for multi-modal transportation infrastructure;
- Reconfirmation of existing sidewalk and bicycle lanes by direction or a complete inventory of existing sidewalks and bicycle lanes by direction
- A comparative assessment of existing square footage, permissible square footage, and revised permissible square footage
- A set of location-specific multimodal improvements identified based on performance-based planning to potentially inform the execution of the Policy for the Identification and Prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs.
Component
#2
Develop or evaluate strategies to address emerging planning issues
- Eligible Entities:
- Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
- Planning District Commissions (PDCs).
- Transit agencies that receive state operating assistance from the Mass Transit Trust Fund, as established in § 58.1-638(A)(4)(b)(2) of the Code of Virginia.
- Counties
- Cities
- Towns that maintain their own infrastructure and qualify to receive maintenance payments pursuant to Virginia Code § 33.2-319.
- Eligible Activities: These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Land use and transportation impacts of proliferation of shared mobility (per Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Shared Mobility and Enabling Technologies, SAE International Publication J3163, issued September 2019)
- Utilization of newly available public or private datasets to modify existing processes or to develop new processes address one or more well-defined land use or transportation planning needs or challenges
- Utilization of mobile computing, including, but not limited to, cell phone apps or applications to address one or more well-defined land use or transportation planning needs or challenges
- Planning for the projected proliferation of electric vehicles including, but not limited to modifying building codes, on- and off-street parking considerations, etc.
- Expected Outcomes: A product that could be a mobile application, building code, a contract, or a process that is scalable, replicable, and developed using sound data-driven planning to ensure it can be utilized or deployed by other jurisdictions.
Component
#3
Develop an accessibility planning process
- Eligible Entities:
- Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
- Planning District Commissions (PDCs).
- Counties
- Cities
- Towns that maintain their own infrastructure and qualify to receive maintenance payments pursuant to Virginia Code § 33.2-319.
- Eligible Activities: These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Identification, validation, calibration, and selection of performance measures and associated thresholds for a performance-based planning process;
- Development of a detailed performance-based planning process template;
- Identification and assignment of roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in the performance-based planning process; and,
- Development of data structure and document templates for the performance-based planning process.
- Expected Outcomes: A planning process that the recipient of the GAP Technical Assistance Program can utilize for future updates of Long-range Transportation Plans (LRTPs), Comprehensive Plans, Rural Long-Range Transportation Plans, Bicycle-Pedestrian Plans, etc.
Component
#4
Conduct multimodal planning outside urbanized areas
- Eligible Entities:
- Planning District Commissions (PDCs).
- Public transit agencies
- Cities
- Counties
- Towns responsible for development and amendments of comprehensive plans per Virginia Code § 15.2-2223 and maintain their own infrastructure and qualify to receive payments pursuant to Virginia Code § 33.2-319.
- Eligible Activities: Support planning for:
- Pedestrian-friendly road design;
- Connectivity of road and pedestrian networks;
- Preservation of natural areas;
- Mixed-use neighborhoods, including mixed housing types, with affordable housing to meet the projected family income distributions of future residential growth;
- Reduction of front and side yard building setbacks;
- Reduction of subdivision street widths and turning radii at subdivision street intersections; and,
- Planning for food access and addressing food deserts.
- Expected Outcomes
- Need identification and planning for multi-modal transportation infrastructure;
- Reconfirmation of existing sidewalk and bicycle lanes by direction or a complete inventory of existing sidewalks and bicycle lanes by direction
- A set of location-specific multimodal improvements identified based on performance-based planning to potentially inform the execution of the Policy for the Identification and Prioritization of the VTrans Mid-term Needs.
GAP Program Guidance
Explore the GAP Program
The map below displays project areas currently in process. Over time, more information about each project will become available.
- Ongoing GAP Studies and Plans
GAP Program Application
Application intake for the FY22 GAP Technical Assistance Program will occur between September 1st and October 31st, 2021.
Timeline
| Phase | Date |
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For questions and comments, please contact us: