Soledad accepts $310,000 Caltrans grant to develop Climate Action Plan and TDM policy

The Soledad City Council on Aug. 5 voted to accept a $310,000 Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning grant to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) and a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policy aimed at reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse‑gas emissions.

Planner Ariana explained the CAP will identify strategies across transportation, energy and land use and that the TDM policy will provide implementable measures — such as active‑transportation improvements, transit coordination and project‑level mitigation menus — to reduce VMT impacts on future development. "The grant is $310,000," Ariana said. "Out of that, there is a local match requirement of $35,557, which is staff time." She said the remainder (about $274,443) will be available through Caltrans and that no additional general‑fund appropriation is requested at this time.

Council asked about eligible projects and timelines; staff noted the grant is a planning grant requiring consultant procurement through an RFP and ongoing community engagement, and that the grant period runs through 2029 with quarterly reimbursement reporting to Caltrans. Councilmembers discussed possible measures that might be included in the CAP/TDM menus (safe routes to school, circulator transit coordination with MST, roundabouts or other design changes that reduce idling) and emphasized the need to consider regional plans and rural community constraints when crafting policy. The council approved Resolution No. 6402 by voice vote; staff will return with final documents for council consideration and potential adoption once public planning is complete.