Soft-launch of Revamped Site
01/31/11

I would like to welcome you to the beta version of the new NCTPA website. The site will be in transition until June 30, 2011. The aim is to provide a useful tool to our clients, associates, colleagues, friends and all other interested parties who want to keep up to date with NCTPA.   Please provide us with your feedback and any recommendations to help us improve your navigation through the website.

Executive Directors Report Summer 2010
07/1/10

As we approach the summer season the NCTPA is proud to look back on our accomplishments over the past year. A number of road repaving projects have been undertaken with federal stimulus funds that we worked hard to gain. The Trancas Park and Ride lot is currently under construction and should be done before the end of summer. The Yountville bicycle path is under construction along Highway 29 through the Town of Yountville. We will receive 5 new low emission gas/electric hybrid buses this summer that will take 5 older diesel buses off the road in our community. The new buses also will reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs.

Also, the Jameson Canyon widening and safety project has completed final design and we are currently purchasing the necessary property to build this important project. We expect to be out to bid later this year on Jameson Canyon with actual construction beginning early in 2011. This $140 million project has been a collaborative project between Solano Transportation Authority, Caltrans, and the NCTPA. This project highlights the accomplishments that can be achieved in a very short timeframe when each of these agencies develops a teamwork approach to project development and implementation. We continue to work with other groups, such as the Vine Trail Coalition, to find ways to plan, design, and implement other transportation investments in our region.

The trail to delivery is often very complex for transportation projects. There are over 100 different federal, state, regional, and local funding sources in the Bay Area for transportation. Most often, each of these funding sources limit how, and on what type of transportation, the funding can be used. This creates a very difficult patchwork of funding to achieve success. Add to this complexity is the lack of a local transportation funding source in the Napa region. While 7 of 9 Bay Area Counties have a local transportation funding source, Napa does not. This puts us at a distinct disadvantage in competing for federal and state funds as those federal and state programs reward those counties having a local funding source with more funding for transportation.

However, we are moving forward with alacrity in developing our next set of transportation initiatives. The NCTPA Board commissioned a survey to get your take on the kinds of transportation issues we need to focus on over the next several years. It is clear that our constituents see the continued effort in fixing our locals streets and roads as a primary goal. We will continue to focus on that goal recognizing that today’s gas tax only generates about 38% of the necessary funds to bring our local streets and roads up to a good standard.