When it comes to competing for transportation grants, having a strong project is not always enough.Local agencies also need matching funds and, for some of the largest state programs, the resources to prepare complex and competitive applications.

For Sacramento County, Measure A Smart Growth funding has helped fill that gap.

Over two previous Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Community Design funding cycles, approximately $6.9 million in Measure A Smart Growth funds helped Sacramento County agencies secure $44.5 million in state and federal transportation funding. That is approximately $7 in outside funding for every $1 in Measure A Smart Growth funding.

These results did not happen by accident.

Beginning in 2020, the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA) Governing Board approved a strategy to make Smart Growth funds available as the local match for Sacramento County projects competing for SACOG Community Design grants. Rather than creating a separate STA competition, this thoughtful  approach allowed cities, Sacramento County and transit agencies to develop projects that met their local priorities and compete through SACOG's regional funding process.

The first round used $5.5 million in Smart Growth matching funds and resulted in approximately $33.5 million in state and federal awards for projects in Sacramento County.

STA utilized th approach again in the next funding cycle, providing approximately $1.43 million in Measure A matching funds to support seven projects that received another $11 million through SACOG.

The projects reflected priorities from across Sacramento County, including complete streets, safety improvements, multimodal connections and transportation planning in Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Sacramento and unincorporated Sacramento County.

The funding landscape has now changed. SACOG discontinued its former Community Design competitive program, but the need for local funding to compete for state, federal and regional grants has not.

In June 2026, the STA Governing Board approved a new strategy making approximately $4.71 million in Measure A Smart Growth funds available through fiscal year 2029–30. The strategy gives cities, Sacramento County and transit operators defined funding targets that can be used to help eligible locally identified projects pursue competitive grants.

An early example of the new strategy is already underway. STA has partnered with Sacramento Regional Transit on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study, using $200,000 in Measure A Smart Growth funding to support a $500,000 Caltrans planning grant. The resulting $700,000 study will evaluate future transit improvements while demonstrating how relatively modest local funding can help unlock additional outside investment.

STA is also using Smart Growth funding to help prepare major grant applications. This year, STA and its regional partners are developing two applications for California's highly competitive Solutions for Congested Corridors Program: an $86.3 million request for the US 50 Multimodal Corridor Connections Project and a $115.6 million request for the Placer-Sacramento Gateway. Combined, the two efforts are seeking approximately $202 million in state transportation funding.

SACOG is partnering on both applications, with STA coordinating the US 50 effort and working with the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency on the Placer-Sacramento Gateway. Measure A Smart Growth funding will help cover the specialized technical work needed to prepare competitive applications.

The strategy is straightforward: use a limited amount of local funding to help Sacramento County compete for a much larger share of outside transportation dollars.

The benefits of the Smart Growth strategy can also be seen on an agency by agency basis. The table below shows how Measure A Smart Growth funds have supported past grant awards and what funding is available under the current Phase 3 strategy.

The first two funding rounds demonstrate what this approach can accomplish. The current strategy is designed to build on that success, with additional results expected over the next six to nine months as grant awards are announced.