Public Works Department
DATE: June 4, 2024
TO: Council Transportation Committee
FROM: Hoa Nguyen, Associate Civil Engineer
Robert Gonzales, Principal Civil Engineer
Quynh Byrer, Acting Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer
VIA: Edward Arango, Acting Public Works Director
SUBJECT: California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements, Pilot, Project 21 -40— Performance Metrics
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on the project and provide feedback on the performance metrics for evaluating the pilot phase of California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements, Project 21-40, between Showers Drive and Shoreline Boulevard.
BACKGROUND
The 2015 California/Escuela/Shoreline Complete Street Feasibility Study (Study) recommended a three-phased approach for implementing complete streets along California Street between Showers Drive and Bryant Street. The recommended first phase was a pilot project from Showers Drive to Ortega Avenue that included a lane reduction (four lanes to three lanes, including a two- way left -turn center lane) through pavement markings, temporary bulb -outs and protected intersections through pavement markings and rubber curbs, and a high-visibility midblock crossing with enhanced lighting. The lane reduction provides right-of-way for parking-protected bike lanes with painted buffers and shorter intersection crossing distances for pedestrians. The second and third phases included converting the temporary improvements to permanent improvements, adding green-street landscaping features at intersections and midblock crossing locations, and continuing the lane reductions (four lanes to two lanes) further along California Street with limited areas for left-turn access and landscaped median islands.
On December 7, 2021, Council authorized a professional services agreement with BKF Engineers (BKF) for project design of the Phase 1 pilot from Showers Drive to Ortega Avenue.
At the April 12, 2022 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Study Session, Council directed staff to expand the scope and limits of the pilot project to include the segment between Ortega Avenue California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements,
Pilot, Project 21-40—Performance Metrics
June 4, 2024
and Shoreline Boulevard (see Figure 1). On June 28, 2022, through the Fiscal Year 2022 -23 CIP adoption, Council approved an a dditional $1 million in project funding for the expanded scope, and on September 27, 2022 , Council authorized an amendment to the BKF agreement to add $180,000 for a not-to-exceed amount of $360,000 for the expanded scope.
Figure 1: Project Location Map
On March 29, 2023 , staff provided a project update to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). The BPAC expressed support for the project and provided feedback for staff to further develop the project design to include a midblock crossing between Ortega Avenue and Rengstorff Avenue, planters or green street elements, and other vertical delineator options. The BPAC also recommended developing project performance criteria to determine the success of the pilot project.
Staff further developed the concept layout inc orporating BPAC’s comments and provided the updated design to the Council Transportation Committee (CTC) on October 2, 2023 . The CTC unanimously supported the concept layout and BPAC’s recommendation for staff to develop project performance criteria.
California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements,
Pilot, Project 21-40—Performance Metrics
June 4, 2024
On May 28, 2024, Council took several actions on the project, one of which included approving the project plans and specifications and authorizing staff to bid the project for construction .
Construction is expected to begin this summer.
ANALYSIS
Project Update
The project design is complete and includes the following elements:
• Four-lane-to-three-lane road diet with two -way center left -turn lane (Showers Drive to Mariposa Avenue);
• Four-lane-to-two-lane road diet (Mariposa Avenue to Shoreline Boulevard);
• Parking-protected bike lanes;
• Green bike lane striping at conflicts points, such as driveways and bus stops;
• High-visibility crosswalks through the corridor;
• Protected intersection improvements, where feasible;
• Three h igh-visibility midblock crossings with bulb -outs, refuge island, and enhanced lighting;
• Five different types of vertical elements, including K -71 channelizers, floppy posts, rubber curbs, armadillos, and planter boxes (see Figure 2 and Attachment 2 ). These will be installed in test segments along the 1.2-mile-long corridor with the same elements grouped together. These vertical elements will provide both green street elements and physical barriers between the parking and bicycle lanes, preventing delivery vehicles from blocking the bike lane; and
• Removal of approximately 63 of the 275 on -street parking spaces to provide sight line clearance at driveways and intersections with the implementation of the parking-protected bike lanes and protected intersections.
California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements,
Pilot, Project 21-40—Performance Metrics
June 4, 2024
Figure 2: Vertical Treatments
Attachment 1 shows the layout of the corridor improvements. Attachment 2 outlines in table format the vertical treatments to be applied to each corridor segment.
Performance Metrics
Staff reviewed various performance metrics to evaluate the success of the project that focused on improving accessibility, providing a lower-stress experience, and reducing vehicle speeds and jaywalking along the corridor. Staff has identified the following six metrics to evaluate the project’s success:
• Bicycle counts;
• Pedestrian counts;
• Jaywalking counts;
• Vehicle counts;
• Vehicle speed; and
• Collision reports.
These criteria allow staff to be efficient at collecting the data without substantial effort while still collecting sufficient data necessary to identify corridor performance. Data collection will be performed both pre- and postconstruction by both staff and consultants. In addition to utilizing available data collected in previous years, such as bicycle counts in 2023, preconstruction data collection will be done quarterly th is calendar year, or until construction begins. After construction is completed, data collection will be performed quarterly for one year.
California Street (West) Complete Street Improvements,
Pilot, Project 21-40—Performance Metrics
June 4, 2024
Data collection devices will be installed at various key locations along the corridor, such as at signalized intersections and proposed midblock crossing locations.
On April 24, 2024 , staff provided the BPAC with an update on the project and the above performance criteria and collection schedule. The BPAC supported the project moving forward and the staff-recommended metrics and schedule.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will collect the data as o utlined above. The data results comparing the pre - and postconstruction performance will be shared with BPAC and CTC at a future meeting.
PUBLIC NOTICING—Agenda posting.
HN-RG-QB/LL/6/PWK
979-06-04-24M
Attachments: 1. California Street Complete Street—Corridor Layout (Pilot)
2. Vertical Elements Table