Bay Area planners get assist from new TA Portal

Think of it as a one-stop shop for Bay Area city and county agencies to access resources they need to address housing, environment, land use, resilience and transportation.

The Technical Assistance portal has arrived. It is an easy-to-use resource that includes programs to help meet local and regional goals. It also has a searchable database that can be filtered by topics.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments launched the new Technical Assistance portal (abag.ca.gov/technical-assistance) last September.

“It’s an incredible resource that we are very proud of,” said Jesse Arreguín, ABAG president. “Our goal is to offer assistance as our cities, towns and counties address issues that affect all of the Bay Area. The TA Portal will not only help — we think it’s vital.”

Resources in the portal include calls for projects, case studies, data sets, interactive tools, model ordinances, reports, toolkits, trainings and much more. There are 271 items of technical assistance ready to use in the portal.

“MTC works to move the Bay Area forward,” said Alfredo Pedroza, MTC Chairman. “This tool helps those on the front lines do just that. It’s a great resource that we see growing in popularity.”

The site has already had more than 2,400 page views in the four months since it was launched.

By compiling programs including Pavement Management Technical Assistance Program (P-TAP), StreetSaver®, Housing Technical Assistance and Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) into a single location, staff from Bay Area cities and counties can more quickly and easily access resources they need, as well as learn about other programs that may be useful.

This regional collaboration helps local governments increase their efficiency, maximize savings of time and money, and ultimately, better serves residents and businesses in the Bay Area. The Technical Assistance database will be refreshed as new materials and programs become available.

Organizations that have contributed materials to the Technical Assistance portal include ABAG, MTC, the Bay Area Regional Collaborative (BARC) and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC).