DATE: January 17, 2023
TO: Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
FROM: Charles S. Bryant, Community Development Director SUBJECT: Study Session - Review Of Public Review Draft Of The Active Transportation Plan (ATP)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council review and provide comments on the City of Emeryville’s Public Review Draft of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP).
BACKGROUND
On November 17, 2020 the City Council approved a contract with Alta Planning + Design for the preparation of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP), to replace the current Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, which was adopted on May 15, 2012. The ATP continues the work of the current Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, and is a blueprint for improving active transportation infrastructure and programs over the next 10 years.
DISCUSSION
Outreach and Public Input
In order to inform the ATP, development of the Public Review Draft Plan has included extensive outreach and public participation. Over 1,300 people have participated in the development of the ATP in various ways, including in-person tours, pedestrian and bicycle tours, on-line surveys, focus groups, and website comments. Appendix B of the Public Review Draft ATP contains details on all outreach and public participation opportunities. Highlights of this process include:
Ten Bicycle / Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meetings.
Three Transportation Committee meetings.
Three listening sessions: small focus groups focusing on the needs and experiences of hotel and retail workers, community members with disabilities, and families with children.
One interactive youth outreach event focusing on the needs and experiences of school age children.
One walking tour and one bicycling tour.
Three online community meetings.
One online survey and two online interactive map activities to gather comments and experiences on existing and proposed infrastructure improvements.
Promotion of public participation opportunities was done through:
Targeted social media ads in English and Spanish placed on Facebook, Instagram, and Google.
Use of the City of Emeryville social media accounts and websites.
Use of City email lists.
The placement of 20 bilingual (English and Spanish) sidewalk decals around the city in key locations (including the Greenway, transit stops, and parks).
Mailing of 19,000 bilingual (English and Spanish) postcards to every residential and business address in the city.
Hand delivering bilingual (English and Spanish) flyers and holding impromptu conversations at retail businesses, hotels, and restaurants.
The Public Review Draft of the ATP (referred to as “the Draft Plan” in the rest of this staff report) has been posted on the ATP website (emeryvillemoves.org) for comment since October 31, 2022. The public review period will conclude in January 2023.
Plan Organization
The Draft Plan is organized into five chapters and two Appendices:
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Chapter 2: Plan Vision and Goals
Chapter 3: Biking, Walking, and Rolling in Emeryville Today Chapter 4: Projects, Programs, and Policies
Chapter 5: Implementation and Funding
Appendix A: Complete Streets Policy
Appendix B: Public Engagement Documentation
Plan Highlights
Chapter 2 introduces the visions and goals of the ATP. The ATP vision statement is:
“The City of Emeryville is a community where active, sustainable transportation is the easy choice: it is safe, comfortable, equitable, and accessible to all. The continuous, connected network of world-class facilities eliminates the necessity of driving a car and makes active transportation accessible to people of all identities (race, ethnicity, age, gender, socio-economic status, ability, or orientation). The City promotes active travel through infrastructure, education and encouragement programs. The City inspires other communities with its visionary and forward thinking commitment to active transportation.” The six goals of the ATP are described under the headings Comfortable, Connected, Joyful, Equitable, Sustainable, and Implementable. These goals provide purpose and guide the rest of the document.
Chapter 3 describes the current state of active transportation in Emeryville. This includes demographics (pages 23 – 24), transportation and land use patterns (pages 25 – 28), and equity with a focus on low-income workers and households (pages 29 – 31). Commute mode shares are assessed (pages 32 – 34) and an overview of current infrastructure is provided (pages 34 – 43). Current connectivity, safety and collision data is provided (pages 44 – 51). Four key takeaways informing the rest of the plan are:
Arterial roadway crossings are stressful (particularly 40th Street, Powell Street, and San Pablo Avenue).
San Pablo Avenue and Adeline Street are focus areas as this is where the residents with the lowest incomes live, and this area also has the highest population density.
Walking routes can be improved by removing barriers identified in the plan.
The existing bikeway network is not comfortable for all ages and abilities; upgrading existing bikeways to lower stress facilities and improving arterial crossings will make the rolling network more accessible.
Chapter 4 contains the Draft Plan’s projects, programs, and policies. Projects are broken down into multimodal focus areas (active and proposed projects) and multimodal study areas. These are:
Multimodal Focus Areas:
The Emeryville Loop (pages 64-72)
40th Street Multimodal Project (pages 73-75)
San Pablo Avenue Corridor Project (pages 76-78)
Multimodal Studies (see Table 6 on pages 81 and 82 of the Draft Plan):
1. Christie Avenue (north of Powell Street)
2. Hollis Street (north of 40th Street)
3. Powell Street (broken into four segments: west of Frontage Road, Frontage Road to Christie Avenue, Christie Avenue to Hollis Street, and east of Hollis Street)
4. Stanford Avenue (including Beaudry Street and Doyle Street between Powell Street and Stanford Avenue)
5. Bay Trail
6. Park Avenue (Hollis Street to San Pablo Avenue)
Network improvements are demonstrated in maps and tables in Chapter 4:
Proposed Bikeway Improvements are detailed in Map 20 and Table 8 on pages 90 – 96.
Proposed Pedestrian Network Improvements are detailed in Map 21 and Table 10 on pages 111 – 113.
Spot Improvements (including crossing, intersection, signal, undercrossing, and signage) are detailed in Map 22 and Table 11 on pages 114 – 116.
Wayfinding is also discussed on pages 79 and 119-120. Wayfinding was added to the scope of the ATP contract, and will begin as a separate process in January 2023. The scope includes developing signage and identifying sign locations and will conclude in June 2023. The installation of signs to implement the developed wayfinding program will be included as an item in the new Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2023-2024 through 2027-2028.
Chapter 4 concludes by making programmatic recommendations on pages 121 – 130 with a focus on equity, encouragement, education, and evaluation; and by making five policy recommendations on page 131 (commitment to high quality bikeways, maintenance, safe routes to schools, evaluation, and enforcement).
Chapter 5 outlines a strategy for the implementation of the proposed infrastructure projects as well as the recommended best practices for biking, walking, and rolling programs and policies. This includes cost estimates, funding sources, and State programs in which the City may participate.
Appendix A contains the City’s Complete Streets Policy, while Appendix B provides details about the ATP outreach and public participation process.
Feedback on the Public Review Draft
Since its publication in October, the Public Review Draft of the ATP has been reviewed by the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Planning Commission, and the Transportation Committee. Input received at those meetings is summarized below.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee
The BPAC reviewed the Draft Plan at their November 7, 2022 meeting. The Committee clarified plan and project details, how the plan fits into the General Plan and other City plans, and how plans are coordinated between neighboring jurisdictions.
Public comment was received on the proposed conversion from the existing approach of focusing on bike boulevards, to a new approach of focusing on protected bikeways in the Draft Plan; it was suggested that bicycle boulevards with traffic calming measures are better for group rides than protected bicycle facilities, which are designed to protect cyclist on higher speed streets. It was also suggested that a distinction needs to be made between two-way cycle tracks and one-way cycle tracks in the plan, and that city-wide design treatments be included in the policy section (such as the elimination of double right turn lanes).
Feedback from committee members included that leading pedestrian intervals (which gives pedestrians the opportunity to enter a crosswalk 3-7 seconds before vehicles are given a green light) should be a city-wide policy; that two-way cycle tracks can pose problems at intersections (the existing cycle track at Christie Avenue by Trader Joe’s was cited as an example); that protected facilities need to be balanced with bicycle boulevards/village greens, which are suitable for families and riders of all ages; and that the City should support lowering speed limits.
Overall, the Committee was supportive of the Draft Plan and found it to be well-organized and easy to follow.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission reviewed the Draft Plan at their December 8, 2022 meeting. Commissioners asked for clarification of plan and project details, and discussed the data presented in the plan. There was one public comment which stated that the Draft Plan seems to under-invest in pedestrians and over-invest in bicycles.
Commissioner suggestions included adding data on traffic citations and enforcement (such as where, when, and if enforcement has changed over time); assessing if no right turn on red should be a city-wide approach or be addressed location by location; and that there needs to be a greater emphasis on pedestrian improvements.
The following specific locations were discussed by the Commission:
Different approaches to the Powell-Christie intersection were discussed, which reflected the urgency of addressing this location. (This came up during the survey and mapping outreach portions of plan development, as well as in BPAC comments.) Safety of the Powell Street corridor: concern was expressed about the freeway underpass, particularly since Caltrans installed fences narrowing the area people can walk or bike.
The southern portion of Emeryville contains most of the new low-income units and also many of the safety hot-spots, yet there is no equivalent to the greenway in this area. Children need a space to practice bicycling, but there aren’t any locations in this area. As part of the equity considerations in the plan, this area should be prioritized.
Concern was raised about widening existing pedestrian paths for multi-use at the Marina. It was noted that the increased speed of bicycles changes the nature of a place, and that bicycles have access to the Marina but don’t need to use all of the same facilities, which can be reserved for slower users including seniors and toddlers.
The Commissioners emphasized the need to seek opportunities for quick implementation and to identify projects that are “low hanging fruit”. The Commission expressed overall support for the plan, appreciated the emphasis on equity, and called it “ambitious,” “wholistic,” and a “great vision.” Transportation Committee
The Transportation Committee reviewed the Draft Plan at a special meeting on December 15, 2022. The Committee asked clarifying questions and provided the following comments:
Retitle the map named “Where Low Income Workers Live” to “Home Locations of Low-Income Workers.” Provide a definition of “Major Intersection Upgrade”.
The street narrowing/closures along the north side of 40th Street between Adeline and Hubbard Streets that are proposed as part of complete streets projects need to be included. Confirm with Public Works that all such projects are captured in the Draft Plan.
The Project Delivery Process shown on page 134 needs to clarify that the ATP document is just the beginning of the process.
The Committee was generally supportive of the plan. There were no public comments.
Fiscal Impact
The total cost to implement the recommendations in the Draft Plan is $23,948,400 in 2022 dollars, including $14,733,600 for the recommended bike network, $1,251,700 for the recommended pedestrian network, $6,998,100 for the recommended spot improvements, and $965,000 for the recommended multimodal studies. Recognizing that public resources are limited and the City needs a strategy for assembling funding from internal and external sources, the Draft Plan includes a chapter on Implementation and Funding, which outlines a strategy for the implementation of the proposed infrastructure projects as well as the recommended best practices for biking, walking, and rolling programs and policies. An important implementation strategy is to include many of the recommended projects in the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which will be developed during the winter and spring of 2023.
Staff Communication with the Public
As noted above, development of the Draft Plan has included extensive outreach and public participation. Over 1,300 people have participated in the development of the ATP in various ways, including in-person tours, pedestrian and bicycle tours, on-line surveys, focus groups, and website comments. In addition, the Draft Plan has been reviewed by the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee on November 7, 2022, by the Planning Commission on December 8, 2022, and by the Transportation Committee on December 15, 2022. Comments from those meetings are summarized above.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council review, and provide comments on, the Public Review Draft of the Active Transportation Plan and the Appendices to the Plan.
PREPARED BY: Navarre Oaks, Associate Planner
APPROVED AND FORWARDED TO THE
EMERYVILLE CITY COUNCIL BY:
________________________
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
Attachments:
Public Review Draft of the Active Transportation Plan
Public Review Draft of the Appendices to the Active Transportation Plan Study Session - Public Review Draft of the Active Transportation Plan City Council Meeting | January 17, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM