DATE:
November 19, 2024
TO:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
FROM:
Mohamed Alaoui, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
40th Street Multimodal Project Staff Update on Traffic Analysis, Grant Efforts, and Project Schedule; And Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A Second Amendment To The Professional Services Contract With Diablo Engineering Group For Additional Services As Described In Exhibit A, And Increase The Total Compensation By $597,517.00 From Unallocated Fund 475, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $3,572,995.84 Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the above entitled resolution.
Background
In March 2020, the Council originally approved the 40th Street Multimodal Project. Since then, the Council has considered and approved in concept certain modifications to the plan. For example, at the July 18, 2023 City Council Meeting, the City Council approved the concept of closing the unsignalized intersections of Hubbard Street and Haven Street on the north side of 40th Street, and the concept of partial southbound closures at the unsignalized intersections of Holden Street and Watts Street on the north side of 40th Street as a part of the 40th Street Multimodal Project. These concepts have been developed into final design plans with traffic and safety analysis to support the proposed closures. While the Council has given conceptual approval to staff to prepare analyses for these modifications to the project, it has not yet given final approval of these modifications. As further explained below, the Council will be asked to consider final approval sometime next Spring.
The Traffic Analysis has been expanded upon for 40th Street Multimodal Project Part I describing the impacts and safety benefits of the full and partial closures included in the project. A Traffic Analysis has also been prepared for 40th Street Multimodal Project Part II, along Shellmound Street, between the IKEA entry and Christie Avenue.
The design for Part I of the project which begins at Adeline Street on 40th Street and extends to the IKEA entrance, and Part II which begins at the IKEA entrance and extends along Shellmound Avenue, to Christie Street are both complete.
Additionally, although $657,000 of funding was allocated by the Council for the design of Part II at the July 18th , 2023 meeting, the construction remains unfunded. Furthermore, due to unprecedented Covid related inflation, Part I needs additional funding to begin construction.
Overall, the combined project costs are estimated at $30,599,000, and with $17,432,000 secured to date there is a $13,167,000 gap to fully fund construction. As a result, staff have been working diligently to cover the funding gap with grant applications.
The staff update includes the following discussion:
Traffic Analysis of Part I with full and partial closures (40th St) Traffic Analysis of Part II with protected bikeway on west side (Shellmound St) Grant efforts to close the funding shortfall
Schedule for the path forward
2nd Amendment Professional Services Contract for Diablo Engineering Group Discussion
1) Traffic Analysis of Part I (40th Street between Adeline Street and the IKEA entrance driveway) with full and partial closures This project will consist of a two-way Class IV bikeway on the north side of 40th Street and bus only lanes on both sides of 40th Street between Adeline Street and the IKEA entrance driveway. The project will enhance safety for all users, especially the most vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. The proposed vehicular closures will maintain access for emergency vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
The 40th Street corridor serves as a critical link between residential areas, commercial centers, and transit hubs, making it essential to provide a facility that caters to a diverse range of users, including commuters, families, shoppers, and recreational cyclists. Over a 5-year period the corridor experienced 12 vehicle-cyclist and vehicle-pedestrian collisions, particularly at intersections, making safety a paramount concern in the decision-making process. The added project features requested by the City Council, and described below, also follow the Safe System Approach which has been adopted by the FHWA, California, and others. This approach expects the road system to be planned, designed, and operated to be forgiving of inevitable human mistakes, so that serious injury outcomes are unlikely to occur.
Watts Street currently allows right turning traffic to and from 40th Street. The Project eliminates right turning traffic from Watts Street to 40th Street while allowing right turning traffic from 40th Street. The crosswalk and the two-way cycle track would be raised to sidewalk level crossing Watts Street to slow right turning traffic. This change follows the Safe System Approach by reducing turning vehicle speeds and removing conflicts and responds to community feedback that drivers turning right from Watts Street that may not look to the left and right for bicycle riders before proceeding onto 40th Street.
Haven Street currently allows right turning traffic to and from 40th Street. The Project proposes a cul-de-sac at Haven Street, eliminating right turning traffic both to and from Haven Street at 40th Street. This change follows the Safe System Approach by removing conflicts, and addresses community feedback that drivers turning right from Haven Street may not look to the left and right for bicycle riders before proceeding onto 40th Street as well as community support for expanded landscape treatments.
Holden Street currently allows right turning traffic to and from 40th Street. The Project proposes eliminating right-turning traffic from Holden Street to 40th Street while allowing right turning traffic from 40th Street. The crosswalk and the two-way cycle track are raised to sidewalk level crossing Holden Street to slow right turning traffic. This change follows the Safe System Approach by reducing turning vehicle speeds and removing conflicts, and it addresses community feedback that drivers turning right from Holden Street may not look to the left and right for bicycle riders before proceeding onto 40th Street.
Hubbard Street currently allows right turning traffic to and from 40th Street. The Project proposes a cul-de-sac at Hubbard Street eliminating right turning traffic both to and from Hubbard Street at 40th Street. This change follows the Safe System Approach by removing conflicts, and addresses the following safety concerns from stakeholders and decision-makers:
Eastbound bicycle riders traveling at high speeds down the Shellmound Bridge (greater than 5% grade) and conflicting with vehicles turning right to and from Hubbard Street.
Trees, poles, and signage constraining sight lines between drivers turning right from Hubbard Street and eastbound bicycle riders (with Project construction).
The bus lane that ends at Hubbard Street, where buses merge into the one shared mixed-flow lane over the bridge, increases rear-end crash potential with right turning traffic onto Hubbard Street.
Multimodal Operations analysis used Vissim software to simulate multimodal traffic operations during the weekday PM peak hour to understand multimodal operations without and with the Project. Findings show overall intersection operations along 40th Street remain at a delay of 55 seconds or better with the Project including the unsignalized side street modifications.
Overall, bus travel times on 40th Street improve with the Project. Although some delays increase at the Transit Hub on San Pablo Avenue due to a proposed signal phase separating a high volume of west-bound right-turning traffic from a high volume of pedestrians and bikes.
Intersection operations along Park Avenue and Hollis Street remain at a delay of 20 seconds or better with the Project indicating that the proposed partial and full closures along 40th Street at unsignalized intersections would not cause traffic congestion on either Park Avenue or Hollis Street.
Further information is available in Attachment B.
2) Traffic Analysis of Part II (Shellmound Street from the IKEA entrance driveway to Christie Avenue) with protected bikeway on the west side This project will convert the rightmost lanes in both directions on Shellmound Street, between the IKEA entrance driveway and Christie Avenue, to bus only lanes and construct a separated two-way cycle track along the west side of Shellmound Street. The project will enhance safety for all users, especially the most vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. The proposed west side location of the bikeway will protect bicyclists from high traffic volume conflicts on the east side of Shellmound Street. The following are some safety highlights associated with the designed alignment:
A direct connection between the Bay Bridge and Christie Avenue bikeways, with limited vehicle conflicts.
Less interaction with intersections and driveways for bicyclists (2 with a west side bikeway alignment as opposed to 9 intersections and driveways with an east side bikeway alignment).
Lower driving speeds with the project’s road diet and better travel time for bikes and buses.
The project was analyzed using the Synchro software for the purpose of evaluating intersection operations. With this project, the five signalized intersections are anticipated to operate at a delay of 35 seconds or better with optimized traffic signal timings during the weekday AM and PM peak hours.
Further information is available in Attachment C.
3) Grants Overview and Efforts to close the funding shortfall The project costs are estimated at $30,599,000 and currently the City is in need of $13,167,000 to close the gap ($8,482,000 for Part I and $4,685,000 for Part II.) The following is a summary of the $17,432,000 in grants and City funds that have been successfully obtained to date:
Alameda CTC Countywide Transportation Plan 2022: $2,000,000 for Design Phase of Part 1 base project Alameda CTC Countywide Transportation Plan 2024: $8,376,000 for Construction Phase of Part I base project Statewide SB1 Active Transportation Program (ATP) Cycle 5: $1,374,000 for Design Phase of Part I base project, approved by California Transportation Commission Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program through the California Department of Housing and Community Development: $3,800,000 for Construction Phase State earmark funding in the 2023 CA State Priority Legislative Budget Projects (PLBP): $375,000 for Construction Phase City funds for the Design of Part II of the project: $657,000 Federal earmark funding in the FY2024 THUD Appropriations Bill: $850,000 for Construction Phase The following is a summary of effort expended on grants to meet the $13.167M shortfall with the current status of each application:
Federal Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) Grant, $40k of consultant effort expended for a $13.167M request.
Not Successful
State ATP, $31k expended for a $13.167M request.
Not Successful
Federal Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP), $31k expended for a $12M maximum request.
Waiting to hear back. Release date unknown.
MTC ATP included with item 2, $31k expended for the full $13.167M request. 2/5/25 Release Date.
5) MTC Safe Routes to transit and Bay trail grant, $31k expended for a $13.167M request. 2/5/25 Release Date.
Alameda CTC 2026 CIP and Three Major Trails $13k expended for $2M Maximum Request.
May 2025 Release Date.
In total, $130,000 in additional consultant fees were expended to apply for the six grants. Each grant has separate specific requirements, typically around 20 to 50 pages of write- up in response to various questions, with an additional 15 to 25 pages of required attachments. 4) Schedule for the path forward
The 40th Street Multimodal Project has lost one full year in the schedule due to the funding shortfall and the subsequent necessary decision to accept federal funding.
Acceptance of federal funding required the project to obtain federal environmental NEPA clearance. Additionally, while the City approved CEQA review for the Project in 2020, Caltrans would not process its own CEQA and NEPA clearance for the project until they received additional paperwork from the congressional office after the grant had already been approved. As a result, there was a 6 month wait.
Thereafter, once the grant was substantiated, the combined project lost an additional 2 months due to staff shortages within the Caltrans cultural review group. The project team was in regular and frequent contact with Caltrans throughout this process.
Moving forward, the current schedule anticipates obtaining environmental approval from Caltrans by April 1, 2025, to begin construction by November 1, 2025. The following is the current projected schedule.
Spring 2025: Environmental Clearance (CEQA/ NEPA); City Council final approval of Project as revised Summer 2025: Design and Right of Way Clearance from Caltrans End of 2025: Begin Construction Phase
End of 2027: End Construction Phase
Summer of 2028: End Closeout Phase
5) Resolution - 2nd Amendment Professional Services Contract for Diablo Engineering Group The approved resolution will approve the Second Amendment to the Professional Services Contract with Diablo Engineering. This includes a total cost request of $597,517.00 as detailed in Exhibit A. Services include the additional work that was necessary as part of the four additional grant applications that have been submitted beyond the two budgeted for in the original project scope, the detailed traffic analysis for both project segments, bid support, and construction support.
Fiscal Impact
$597,517 is available in unallocated fund 475 to cover the necessary support services needed to fund the Second Amendment of Diablo Engineering’s Professional Services Contract, ensuring the project keeps moving forward through bid support and construction phases through 2028.
Staff Communication with the Public
Extensive outreach has occurred regarding the project, and one on one meetings have been conducted with those properties directly affected by the intersection closures. Below is an overall Summary:
Outreach
612 Post Cards and 460 Mailers
15 in-person meetings with 42 stakeholders
4 virtual meetings with 22 stakeholders
2 Bike to Wherever Day stations with project boards and flyer 20 Phone calls and 9 Email inquiries
Feedback
203 Online Survey Responses
Over 30% of respondents who typically commute by car felt improvements would encourage them to bike commute Conclusion
Staff concludes that it is in the public’s interest for City Council to adopt the above entitled resolution.
PREPARED BY: Mohamed Alaoui, Public Works Director
Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Adam Politzer, Interim City Manager
Attachments
Attachment A – Project Overview Map
Attachment B – Traffic Analysis Part I of the Project
Attachment C -- Traffic Analysis Part II of the Project Attachment D – Professional Services Contract
Attachment E – Professional Services Contract First Amendment Draft Resolution
Exhibit A – Professional Services Contract Second Amendment Approve 2nd Amendment for 40th Street Multimodal Project City Council Meeting | November 19, 2024
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM