Fremont City Council Meeting: 05/06/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Public Works
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Presentations
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5432) DOC ID: 5432
Updated: 5/1/2025 5:15 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN - Receive Presentation and Adopt a Resolution Adopting the Fremont Active Transportation Plan Highlighting Priority Projects and Programs for the Next Five Years to Support Walking and Bicycling in Fremont. Find the Action is Exempt from CEQA.
Contact Persons:
Name: Noe Veloso Hans Larsen
Title: Assistant City Engineer Public Works Director
Div/Dept: Public Works Public Works
Phone: 510-494-4774 510-494-4722
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The purpose of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) is to provide an overarching framework and guidance for the implementation of projects and programs that support and encourage walking and biking in Fremont. On April 16, 2025, the Mobility Commission unanimously recommended approval of the ATP by the City Council.
BACKGROUND: General Plan Mobility Element Policy 3-2.5 directs the City to regularly maintain and implement a master plan addressing pedestrians and bicycling. In addition, the City is required to update its Pedestrian Master Plan, Bicycle Master Plan, or a combined Active Transportation Plan, every five years, based on an agreement with the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC), in order to receive Measure BB and Vehicle Registration Fee (VRF) Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Funds.
The Master Plans also position the City to pursue additional county, regional, state, and federal competitive grants. The Fremont Pedestrian Master Plan was last approved by City Council on December 13, 2016, and the Bicycle Master Plan on July 10, 2018. As the policies, programs, and projects identified by these plans are largely interdependent and complementary, staff is seeking to consolidate the plans under an Active Transportation Plan.
The ATP builds on a foundation of over a decade of land use and transportation planning efforts that are outlined in the General Plan. Together, the Land Use and Mobility Elements of the General Plan are key to Fremont’s urban transformation in focused locations. The Land Use Element has greatly influenced the nature of the transportation network by identifying the areas planned for infill development and redevelopment, particularly in areas with a major regional transit station. Intensifying development within Priority Development Areas (PDAs) and near Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) — or the placement of higher density uses around transit facilities — is recognized as the key strategy for accommodating Fremont’s growth over the next 20 to 25 years.
The Mobility Element of the General Plan supports the future growth of Fremont by expanding transportation choices, reducing dependence on single-passenger automobiles, and making it easier to walk, bike, and use public transportation in the city. This Element is based on the premise that major streets should become great public spaces that define the identity of the city and transforming Fremont’s arterial corridors into “complete streets” that are designed for multiple modes of travel. The transformation of Fremont’s roadways will Council Staff Report (ID # 5432) Meeting of May 6, 2025 Updated: 5/1/2025 5:15 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
balance the need for convenience and speed with the need to create safe, pedestrian - friendly streets.
The ATP also aligns and supports other city and regional planning efforts in the areas of transportation and sustainability. The Mobility Action Plan (2019) established a bold goal to reduce the amount of driving in Fremont by making other travel options more attractive and safe to use. The ATP also incorporates and is consistent with the Trails Strategy Plan (2021), which aims to more than double the trail network over 30 years, and the updated Climate Action Plan, which sets an ambitious carbon neutrality goal and emission reduction targets. The ATP aligns with regional efforts to plan for the next five years of active transportation investment in Fremont and more broadly in the southern Alameda County region. The Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) adopted a 400-mile Countywide Bikeways Network in 2022, a vision for a cohesive network of high-quality, all ages and abilities bicycle facilities. In addition, the ATP supports the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Bay Area-wide Regional Active Transportation Network and published five-year implementation plan.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Community Engagement
The ATP development process started with an extensive eighteen-month community outreach and engagement effort in summer 2023. The goal of the outreach process was to meet with residents in their neighborhoods where they walk and bike; identify the destinations in their neighborhood they would most likely walk and bike to; and identify the challenges and barriers they experience in walking and biking in the community. Staff held a series of city-led community walks and bike rides in each Council District and provided information booths at various special events throughout the city, such as farmers markets and Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll. Staff also made a concerted effort to outreach to members of the community that may rely on active transportation alternatives and transit as their primary means of reaching the family and social service programs they need.
Finally, multiple surveys were developed to solicit feedback and an interactive map allowed residents to identify specific locations where challenges and barriers exist. Online communications and input were managed through an ATP webpage on the MyFremont website. Staff used the City’s newsletters, social media, and an email list of interested community members to inform the community about ATP participation opportunities.
In total, the ATP community outreach and engagement process included the following:
• 15 community walks and bike rides (one in each Council District) • 13 special events with ATP information booths (e.g. Niles and Irvington Farmers Markets, Earth Day Fair, Festival of Arts)
• 2 focus group meetings with disadvantaged communities • 12 meetings with the Mobility Commission, Planning Commission, Environmental Sustainability Commission, and Senior Citizens Commission • 329 unique web map comments
• 975 completed surveys
• 2,600 website visitors
Council Staff Report (ID # 5432) Meeting of May 6, 2025 Updated: 5/1/2025 5:15 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 3
The feedback received through the community outreach and engagement process informs and guides the development of the ATP. In the first among a series of ATP surveys, 514 respondents provided the following information:
• 60% walk or bike often as a form of transportation
• 79% want to prioritize highest safety need locations
• 70% would feel safer with separated and continuous pedestrian and bicycle facilities • 44% would feel safer with improved street crossings and intersections • 63% (15/24) of respondents receiving social services walk or bike as a primary mode of transportation
Priority Projects and Programs
The ATP has identified seven priority project corridors where significant project development is underway. These priority project corridors are located in areas that support the city’s planned land use intensification within Priority Development Areas and Transit Oriented Districts; would provide active transportation access to designated disadvantaged communities or equity priority communities; and align with the MTC and ACTC regional trail and bikeway networks. Given the size, complexity, and high cost for the major corridor projects, it is expected that these projects will be implemented through multiple smaller projects or phases. The priority project corridors are the following and are shown on the attached map (Exhibit A):
• Fremont Boulevard Multimodal Corridor
• Former State Route 84 Corridor (Thornton Avenue, Fremont Boulevard, Peralta Boulevard, and Mowry Avenue)
• Mission Boulevard (State Route 238) Complete Streets Corridor • East Bay Greenway: Downtown Fremont to Warm Springs/Bay Trail • Sabercat Trail Corridor
• Dumbarton/Decoto Multimodal Corridor
• Niles Canyon Trail
In addition to the priority project corridors, the community expressed a desire for complementary programs that support active transportation through education, outreach, ongoing maintenance, and other infrastructure improvements. These programs were viewed by residents as critical to remove barriers in the active transportation network and to promote and encourage walking and biking in the community.
• Expanded tree planting to provide a tree canopy and shade that makes walking and biking more comfortable.
• Proper sidewalk maintenance to improve the pedestrian experience, particularly for seniors and those using wheelchairs or strollers.
• Expand the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Program to increase the number of students walking and biking to school daily.
• Regular sidewalk and bikeway landscape maintenance so that they clear of debris and safe to use.
• Expanded traffic calming program to implement various vehicle speed management strategies.
• Provide or require appropriate bike parking amenities at destinations citywide.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5432) Meeting of May 6, 2025 Updated: 5/1/2025 5:15 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 4
• Increased bikeway maintenance will ensure ongoing accessibility and safety for bicyclists while maintaining the overall aesthetics along the corridor.
Community Response to the Draft Active Transportation Plan
The release of the Draft ATP to the public did elicit strong responses from the community.
Staff received another 250 comments that were submitted to the MyFremont ATP website.
Of those that submitted comments, 57% expressed support for the City’s overall Active Transportation Program and recently implemented pedestrian and bikeway improvements, while another 38% expressed concern regarding the decrease in vehicle mobility and increased traffic delay. Other comments expressing concern with the ATP were submitted through the City’s various social media platforms.
Staff acknowledges the concerns raised by the community regarding the removal of right turn slip lanes with certain intersection improvement projects. As staff continues towards a goal of a balanced transportation system that balances the need for convenience and speed with the need to create safe, pedestrian-friendly streets, there is a commitment to improving the driving experience of motorists. Future active transportation projects will retain dedicated right turn lanes for high-volume right turn movements. There is also a future project to provide a dedicated right turn lane for southbound Fremont Boulevard at Mowry Avenue, where the removal of a right turn lane has created significant delay that will be addressed by the future project. Additionally, staff is committed to expanding the Signal Coordination Program citywide along all major arterial roadways. The signal coordination effort has yielded significant vehicle travel time benefits as tests conducted by staff have shown a reduction in travel time along certain corridors of up to 60%. A balanced transportation system can provide both safe and comfortable active transportation improvements and efficient driving experience with minimal delay.
FISCAL IMPACT: The City Council approval of the Active Transportation Plan has no direct fiscal impact. Funding for future active transportation, multimodal complete street projects will be identified and approved by the City Council as part of each project’s implementation process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The proposed action to adopt the Fremont Active Transportation Plan is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, without limitation, each on a separate and independent basis, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), Review for Exemption, and Section 15004, Time of Preparation. The proposed action does not authorize potential uses as “projects” as defined under CEQA. Given the range of potential varying uses over the life of the plan, the proposed action to adopt the ATP will not result in a reasonably foreseeable significant impact on the environment. If a specific action under the ATP would result in a reasonably foreseeable physical change to the environment, environmental review under CEQA in accordance with applicable law would be conducted at that time. Any future actions under the ATP would be subject to environmental review when the plans are available, therefore the project is exempt from CEQA per CEQA Guidelines Section 15004, Time of Preparation.
In addition, per CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b), the ATP is not a “project” as defined by CEQA but involves the creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to any specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. Additionally, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, Council Staff Report (ID # 5432) Meeting of May 6, 2025 Updated: 5/1/2025 5:15 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 5
or Zoning, the adoption of the ATP is in accordance with the Fremont General Plan Mobility Element.
LINKS:
Fremont Active Transportation Plan, May 2025
https://www.fremont.gov/home/showdocument?id=17953
Final Draft ATP – Appendices
https://www.fremont.gov/home/showdocument?id=17955
ATTACHMENTS:
• Exhibit A - Priority Project Corridors
• 2025.05.06 - Draft Resolution Active Transportation Plan (Final)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Adopt a resolution adopting the Fremont Active Transportation Plan.
2. Find that approval of the Fremont Active Transportation Plan is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA guidelines pertaining to: Section 15061(b)(3), Review for Exemption; Section 15004, Time of Preparation; Section 15378(b), Not a Project; and Section 15183, Projects Consistent with a General Plan.