advertisement

---

On Thursday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority announced plans to fund local planning studies for the areas around high-speed rail (HSR) stations.

The authority has invited the following California cities, all of which are near the initial high-speed rail construction segment, to apply for an initial round of funding: Merced, Fresno, Tulare/Kings, Bakersfield, San Jose, Gilroy and Palmdale.

The funds, which will be available for cities’ 2011-2012 fiscal year, will come from the $616 million in federal HSR grants that the authority landed after funds were rejected by Wisconsin and Ohio. The authority plans to make $4.5 million available for local station-area planning, authority officials said in a prepared statement.

Federal funds available to each city may range from $400,000 to $700,000, and state funding could go up to $200,000, they said. The amount will be based on the cost of each city’s planning effort and available matching funds, which can come from local, private or in-kind sources.

"To realize the full environmental, economic and health benefits of high-speed rail, it is vital that local and regional land use patterns encourage transit connectivity and improve sustainable transportation choices," said Dan Leavitt, the authority''s executive deputy director.

The authority approved a policy earlier this year to guide funding agreements for local studies and planning for the half-mile area around stations. Local governments will take the lead in planning the areas, while the authority will assist in an advisory capacity, authority officials said.

Also on Thursday, the authority released its "Urban Design Guidelines," a planning guide to the funding applications. The report provides domestic and international examples of station-area design, urban design and transit-oriented development.

The guide was designed to assist local communities throughout the state’s 800-mile HSR system to work with residents and community stakeholders to create a vision for their HSR station areas, authority officials said.