EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 6, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Melvin E. Gaines, City Manager
BY: Batool Zaro, Associate Engineer
Humza Javed, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: 2023 Southeast San Mateo Community-Based Transportation Plan Recommendation
Adopt a resolution supporting the 2023 Southeast San Mateo Community-Based Transportation Plan, subject to any potential changes.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
• Promote Health and Public Safety
• Implement the Comprehensive Transportation and Mobility Plan Background
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) initiated the Community-Based Transportation Planning (CBTP) program in 2002. Funded by MTC and managed by Congestion Management Agencies such as the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), the goal of CBTPs is to bring residents, local jurisdictions and transit agencies together to improve mobility in disadvantaged Equity Priority Communities (EPC). EPCs are census tracts that exceed low-income and minority household thresholds, or that exhibit a combination of disadvantaged indicators such as elderly, disabled, and rentburdened households.
The East Palo Alto City Council approved the original East Palo Alto CBTP on October 4, 2005. For that plan, the study area was limited to a single census tract within the city boundary. The study area for the 2023 Southeast San Mateo (SESM) CBTP was expanded significantly due the identification of EPCs in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, Menlo Park and unincorporated San Mateo County.
Per MTC guidelines, the 2023 SESM CBTP is being presented to the City Councils of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City, as well as the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, for resolutions of local support.
The purpose of this staff report is to introduce and adopt a resolution of local support for the 2023 SESM CBTP, prior to adoption of the 2023 SESM CBTP by MTC.
Analysis
The Southeast San Mateo (SESM) Community-Based Transportation Planning Program The 2023 SESM CBTP was initiated in 2019, following selection of lead consultant PlaceWorks by C/CAG. A 23-person Advisory Body composed of local jurisdiction staff, active transportation advocacy groups, CBOs and transit agency staff was convened and met four times throughout the CBTP process. Per MTC guidelines, an Outreach Strategy composed of multiple outreach techniques was approved. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place mandates, the outreach process was delayed and the outreach strategy revised multiple times.
The draft SESM CBTP recommendations and rankings were reviewed by staff of all four jurisdictions in June 2022. The Administrative Draft SESM CBTP was also reviewed by jurisdiction staff in November 2022, prior to release of the Public Review Draft SESM CBTP.
On March 15th, 2023, the C/CAG team presented the Public Review Draft to local leadership groups, including the East Palo Public Works and Transportation Commission, for final review.
The East Palo Alto Public Works and Transportation Commission requested a series of revisions to the Public Draft SESM CBTP. The East Palo Alto Public Works and Transportation Commission requests the three (3) additions (in underline), shown in Table 1, to be incorporated into the 2023 Southeast San Mateo County CBTP prior to adoption.
Table 1: Public Works and Transportation Commission CBTP Revisions No. Revision
1 Chapter 2:
2.3.1.3 SHUTTLE
The Stanford University Marguerite Shuttle is an additional transit resource for residents of East Palo Alto and the larger CBTP study area. Although privately operated and routed outside the CBTP study area, shuttle service is free and open to riders without Stanford University identification. The Marguerite Shuttle provides connections to Palo Alto Transit Center and Fremont BART Station and thus is commonly used by EPC residents for access to regional transit. 2 Chapter 3:
3.1.4 EAST PALO ALTO GENERAL PLAN
The Transportation Element of the 2015 East Palo Alto General Plan discusses transportation network gaps and improvements throughout the city. The element proposes the Dumbarton Rail project, which would run through the northern edge of the East Palo Alto EPCs. As stated by members of the East Palo Alto Public Works and Transportation Commission during the Commission’s review of this CBTP and highlighted in multiple reports and plans, there is ongoing local and regional support for the planned Dumbarton Rail Corridor project. The additional multimodal option between San Mateo County and the East Bay would have equity-based, economic and environmental benefits for the CBTP Study Area and entire region.
3 Chapter 4:
4.2 OUTREACH PROCESS
NOVEMBER 9, 2021: EAST PALO ALTO COMMUNITY FARMER’S MARKET Some community members do not feel comfortable accessing the Charter school at Runnymede Street —there is no way to access this school by walking or biking. This concern was reiterated by members of the East Palo Alto Public Works and Transportation Commission during its review of this CBTP.
Commissioners stressed the need for improved multimodal access to East Palo Alto Charter School, including the need to coordinate with MTC, the Bay Trail Project and other partners to unlock the gate to the Bay Trail at the end of Tulane Avenue/Rutgers Street. This would provide direct access to a bikefriendly portion of the Bay Trail, allowing students who live north of the school to access Runnymede Street without riding on University Avenue.
The 2023 SESM CBTP is based on principles of community-based planning established by MTC. Recommendations in the CBTP are the result of direct outreach to residents of disadvantaged communities, with the support and guidance of local staff, transit agencies, CBOs and elected leadership.
The planning process began with the creation of a detailed Community Needs Assessment and roundtable-style discussion with the CBTP Advisory Body, to evaluate mobility challenges in the study area and potential avenues of outreach.
The 2023 SESM CBTP contains the following sections in addition to an Executive Summary and Introduction. The content and structure are consistent with MTC’s guidelines for community planning:
1. Study Area Profile
2. Previous Studies and Mobility Gaps
3. Outreach and Engagement
4. Methodology and Recommendations
Public Input
As noted, the CBTP public input process adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic multiple times. A bilingual digital outreach and digital/traditional survey campaign was held from March to November 2020. Faced with pandemic-related outreach barriers, beginning in February 2021, the C/CAG team coordinated with local leadership such as the East Palo Alto City Council, North Fair Oaks Community Council, Redwood City Transportation Advisory Committee and Menlo Parks Complete Streets Commission to solicit ideas for additional outreach and partnerships. Following the relaxation of shelter-in-place mandates, a series of interactive, inperson “pop-up” mapping and survey sessions was held at farmer’s market and other community events in East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks and Redwood City in late 2021.
Key Findings
The 2023 SESM CBTP includes a series of ranked recommendations for improving mobility in all four jurisdictions that comprise the study area. Recommendations are organized by:
1. Pedestrian Projects and Plans
2. Bicycle and Micromobility Projects and Plans
3. Transit and Paratransit Projects and Plans
4. Safety Projects and Plans
Per MTC guidelines, each recommendation is rooted in community feedback, is consistent with adopted plans and policies, and was developed to be implementable. The 2023 SESM CBTP indicates that, consistent with feedback in past planning efforts, EPC residents continue to desire bicycle and pedestrian improvements on primary rights-of-way such as El Camino Real, Middlefield Road, University Avenue, East Bayshore Road Willow Road, Marsh Road, Woodland Avenue and others. Community feedback also indicates the need for improved transit and paratransit access to social service facilities and transit hubs as well as physical improvement to strategically-selected bus stops, all in conformance with SamTrans’ recent operational overhaul known as Reimagine SamTrans.
Key Recommendations
The 2023 SESM CBTP contains two classifications of recommendations specific to East Palo Alto: Those located in the city and under the jurisdictional authority of the city, and those located in the city but under the authority of an outside agency, such as SamTrans or MTC. In total, The CBTP contains 13 recommendations to improve mobility in the East Palo Alto EPC, including:
• Four pedestrian projects and plans;
• Two bicycle and micromobility projects and plans;
• Four transit and paratransit projects (as well as three additional programmatic transit recommendations that would benefit all study area riders); • Three school-related safety projects.
Next Steps
Resolutions of support for the 2023 SESM CBTP have been approved by the city councils of Redwood City and Menlo Park. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisor will decide on the 2023 SESM CBTP on June 13, 2023. The Public Draft 2023 SESM CBTP will then be revised in response to comments from each jurisdiction into a Final Draft 2023 SESM CBTP. It will then be brought to MTC for adoption in July 2023.
The plan can be found on the City website here:
https://www.cityofepa.org/publicworks/page/san-mateo-county-community-basedtransportation-plan Fiscal Impact
There are no fiscal impacts associated with the City Council approving the Master Plan.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The proposed action, adoption of a resolution of support, does not constitute a “project” with the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15378(b)(4) and (5) in that it is a governmental fiscal, organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Furthermore, the underlying project, approval of a regional transportation plan, must comply with CEQA. The current proposed action is not designed to approve the underlying project.
Attachments
1. CBTP - Resolution -