Program of Projects (POP)
The POP outlines the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula funds for the small Urbanized Areas (UZAs) of Boulder, Longmont, and Louisville-Lafayette-Erie, and shows the projects that local governments apply the funds towards. These FTA formula funds include the FY2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
In accordance with the approved POP, Boulder County will be using the FTA ARPA funds to pay for eligible transit services and program administration expenses from Q1 2024 through Q3 2029 for the county’s Ride Free Lafayette on-demand service as well as the Lyons Flyer fixed route service between Lyons and Boulder. In addition, the FTA ARPA funds will be used to pay for the City of Boulder’s HOP circulator route and the future Gunbarrel shuttle through a subrecipient agreement between Boulder County and the City of Boulder. These county and city transit services and associated program administration expenses are aligned with the FTA ARPA funding eligibility requirements.
The POP complements RTD’s existing and planned transit services as well as the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) FY2022-2025 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which lists how all federal transportation funds are programmed, including RTD’s POP for their share of FTA formula funding. In 2021, Boulder County became the Direct Recipient of FTA ARPA funds.
Boulder County has worked in conjunction with FTA, CDOT, and DRCOG to amend the Transportation Improvement Projects list to incorporate in the Boulder County POP into the regional TIP. The TIP lists the suballocation amounts for the FTA formula funds while the POP goes into detail to include the specific projects that local governments spend these funds on.
In compliance with requirements and guidelines outlined in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular 4702.1B, and the Boulder County Title VI Program, comment is requested on the FTA American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) apportionment for the small Urbanized Areas (UZAs) of Boulder, Longmont, and Louisville-Lafayette-Erie FTA Formula Funds Program of Projects (POP).
The formal public comment period was held on May 25, 2022 and concluded on June 30, 2022.
The 2022 POP was modified to ensure that all projects aligned with the FTA ARPA funding eligibility requirements. FTA awarded the FY2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to Boulder County on May 30, 2023.
