8 Jurisdictions Across Southern California Awarded Share of $2.5 Million in Funding to Address Mobility, Air Quality Challenges
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) on Thursday (July 1) approved the awarding of $2.5 million, in total, through its Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) and Smart Cities & Mobility Innovations initiative. A major element of the Smart Cities initiative is to support innovative solutions to the mobility and air quality challenges associated with parking, freight and last-mile deliveries, and commerce at the curb.
“Innovative efforts such as [these] will go a long way toward improving quality of life in communities across Southern California while also recognizing the growing importance of goods movement and e-commerce on our regional economy,” said Clint Lorimore, President of SCAG and an Eastvale City Councilmember. “We’re proud to support the groundbreaking work that’s occurring at the local level, and look forward to the positive, lasting impact these projects will have.”
The Smart Cities concept uses information and communications technology to manage assets, resources and services efficiently, while addressing challenges and improving the quality of living within a community. To qualify for SCP Smart Cities & Mobility Innovations funding, individual projects needed to address specific program goals, such as creating dynamic, connected, built environments that support multimodal mobility and reduce reliance on single-occupant vehicles; reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality by reducing driving alone, idling or searching for parking; and allocating curb space and other public resources more equitably.
Over the next several months, SCAG staff will work with each of the jurisdictions to help develop plans, scopes of work, timelines and budgets.
“The world is changing at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago. For cities and our region, the challenge is not only to keep up with this extraordinary rate of change, but to make sure we’re evolving the right way and building a better world in the process,” Ajise said.
Winning projects across the region:
In the Inland Empire: The City of Rialto, for its Smart Cities plan for warehousing and logistics.
In the Coachella Valley: The City of Desert Hot Springs, for its downtown and light industrial parking plan.
In Los Angeles County: The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, for the use of data and technology to inventory and manage curb space; the City of Long Beach, for its curb space management study; and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments for its GoSGV e-bikesharing program.
In Orange County: The City of Stanton, for its citywide curb management plan; the City of Laguna Woods, for its mobility technology plan; and the City of Garden Grove, for its curb data study.
Three other jurisdictions were identified as potential awardees, should additional funds become available: the City of Culver City, for its Fox Hills Area parking management plan; the City of San Clemente, for its parking management plan; and the City of Torrance, for its parklet program.
For more details, please see the attached press releases for each part of the region.
SCAG Sustainable Communities Program awards funding to Rialto Project
SCAG Sustainable Communities Program awards funding to Desert Hot Springs Project
SCAG Sustainable Communities Program awards funding to 3 Orange County cities
SCAG Sustainable Communities Program awards funding to 3 LA County agencies