DATE:
October 22, 2024
CATEGORY:
Consent
DEPT.:
Public Works
TITLE: Active Transportation Plan,
Project 21-36—Various Actions
RECOMMENDATION
1. As recommended by the Council Transportation Committee, approve the vision statement and revised approach to the Active Transportation Plan.
2. Transfer and appropriate $106,000 from the Transportation Reserve Fund to Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36. (Five votes required)
3. Authorize the City Manager or designee to amend the professional services agreement with NN Engineering, Inc., a California corporation (Entity No. 4253715), to add $112,300 for additional professional services for a total not-to-exceed amount of $596,300.
BACKGROUND
On May 24, 2022
, the City Council authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with NN Engineering, Inc. (NN Engineering), for development of the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) in an amount not to exceed $484,000. The contract was executed , and project kickoff occurred in fall 2022. Figure 1 illustrates the key steps in sequence planned for the project along with the status of these steps.
Figure 1: Current ATP Approach/Sequence
1 Existing
Conditions
Complete
2 Vision
Statement
Draft
3 Guiding
Principles &
Scoring
Criteria
Presented
to Council
4 Policy
Development
Underway
5 Holistic
Network &
Prioritized
Project List
Not Started
6 Draft and
Final Plan
Not Started
Community and Committee Engagement
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
Community and Committee Engagement
The project approach includes an extensive internal and external stakeholder process to help develop and provide feedback to the ATP. Two advisory committees have been assembled to review and provide recommendations to draft elements of the ATP:
• An interdepartmental Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) comprised of 13 staff members from the Public Works, Community Services, Fire, and Community Development Departments and City Manager’s Office. The TAC meets at each stage of the project to review draft deliverables and ensure the ATP is consistent with other ongoing initiatives, such as the Biodiversity Strategy.
• An Active Transportation Plan Advisory Committee (ATPAC) to review draft deliverables and to provide a perspective from key stakeholders. The ATPAC is comprised of representatives from the following 12 member organizations or bodies:
— Mountain View Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC); — Mountain View Youth Advisory Committee (YAC);
— Santa Clara County Public Health Department;
— Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA);
— The Day Worker Center of Mountain View;
— Green Streets for Sustainable Communities;
— Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition;
— Mountain View Streets for All;
— Mountain View Mobile Home Alliance;
— Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills; — Mountain View Chamber of Commerce; and
— Canopy.
In addition to these two committees, staff also presented to, and received input from, the BPAC on the ATP elements to date.
During spring and summer 2023, a Citywide community survey was released to obtain input from the community about the strengths and weaknesses of the City’s active transportation network.
Outreach about the survey was conducted via email blasts, social media posts, lawn signs, posters in Laundromats, and in -person outreach at community events for underrepresented communities as well as two bike tours and three walking tours. After an initial period of community engagement, staff conducted further outreach to ensure robust input from communities that were initially underrepresented in feedback on the project. The City received 655 public responses with feedback that generally promoted active transportation and included Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
comments about challenging locations and opportunities for improvement in relation to walking and biking.
Existing Conditions Analysis
The first step in the ATP process was to do a background review and develop an existing conditions report. The analysis addressed active transportation conditions related to demographics, mode share, network connectivity, collisions, access, equity, biodiversity , and user perceptions. In October 2023, the TAC, ATPAC, and BPAC received a draft existing conditions analysis, including feedback from the Citywide community survey. Based on their review, the ATPAC provided the following feedback for development of the ATP:
• Provide more emphasis on schools;
• Improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists within mobile home parks and condominium complexes;
• Review City policies and standards from the perspective of creating a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly City and more tree plantings; and
• Consider the increasing issue of delivery drivers parking in bike lanes.
The BPAC recommended reviewing practices in other cities where walking and biking are part of the culture. Additionally, the BPAC emphasized the importance of:
• Ongoing bicycle and pedestrian count data collection;
• Improving conditions for those navigating the City with a wheelchair, including neighborhoods with narrow sidewalks and sidewalks with poles and obstructions;
• S ignal operation al effects on people walking, specifically including no -right-turn-on-red provisions, pedestrian-recall phasing, and signal phasing at freeway on-/off-ramps; and
• Issues associated with new technologies, such as personal delivery devices, or emerging trends, such as the blocking of bike lanes by delivery drivers.
Current Status
On May 28, 2024
, Council received an update on the ATP, including the work done with the advisory committees and community, background review, existing conditions, vision and goal setting, and scoring criteria. The update included a summary of Council actions taken since 2014 to prioritize active transportation planning efforts. At this meeting, Council indicated support for Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
the proposed guiding principles for the ATP with a referral to the Council Transportation Committee (CTC) to discuss a holistic understanding of the network, specific criteria, a revised staff recommendation of weights and scoring metrics, and a cost-benefit analysis or exploration of criteria around project feasibility.
ANALYSIS
On September 3, 2024
, the CTC reviewed the vision statement and a revised approach to the remaining steps of the ATP. The vision statement, revised approach, and CTC’s recommendations are presented below.
Vision Statement
The second step in the ATP process was to engage the ATPAC and BPAC in developing a vision statement, which forms the foundation of the plan. In February 2023, the ATPAC and BPAC were presented with the following draft vision statement for input:
“The City of Mountain View will lead regionally by creating an active transportation system that strengthens the community’s access to housing, employment, schools, and other destinations.
The Active Transportation Plan will enable the City to intentionally plan with policies that support walkable and bikeable places; programs that create a culture of walking and biking; and projects that produce a connected, low- stress, and inviting active transportation network that doubles as corridors of shade, habitat, and/or public open space. This network of streets and trails will encourage biking and walking, enhance biodiversity, and reduce climate-change impacts.”
The ATPAC and BPAC generally supported the concepts in the vision statement. ATPAC emphasized the importance of prioritizing schools, safety, regional connectivity, accessibility, and community engagement. The BPAC additionally emphasized a focus on mode shift and accessibility, supported by data and metrics.
The CTC reviewed the draft vision statement and recommended Council approve a more concise vision statement as follows:
“Mountain View leads the region with an Active Transportation Plan that defines a series of connected, low -stress, and green corridors that invite active transportation.
The corridors include shade, wildlife habitat, and public open spaces. The plan enables the City to intentionally support a culture of walking and biking, enhance biodiversity, and reduce climate change impacts.”
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
Revised ATP Approach
As noted above, Council referred the ATP to the CTC to consider a different approach that would allow for a holistic understanding of the network modal priorities in advance of efforts to finalize scoring criteria and develop a prioritized project list. Councilmembers commented that they would be in a better position to provide comments and approve scoring criteria for setting project priorities after the holistic network is developed.
Based on this feedback, at the CTC meeting on September 3, 2024 , staff recommended revising the ATP task sequence shown in Figure 1 to develop a holistic network vision with modal priorities before finalizing the scoring criteria. This revised approach is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Revised ATP Approach/Sequence
The holistic network would balance all modes of transportation within the City transportation system and available right -of-way. To contain costs and provide reasonable planning -level analysis, staff recommended using a preliminary street typology approach for this analysis.
Street typologies aid in classifying the roadway by defining the active transportation elements that might be possible given the right- of-way available. This approach uses the classification of bicycle and pedestrian networks in order to guide facility choices and understand what is possible in a holistic network that balances all modes.
Another step in the network generation process is utilizing previous plans, existing conditions, and public input to guide modal network priorities. To do this, existing plans such as the 2014 Pedestrian Master Plan, 2015 Bicycle Transportation Plan, and Vision Zero Action Plan/Local Road Safety Plan (VZAP/LRSP) will be considered as inputs to the network along with projects that have been completed, are in progress, are no longer necessary, or should be added to the network to ensure a robust and well-connected network for all travel modes.
The CTC reviewed staff’s recommended phasing approach for the project and approved recommending to Council the revised phasing approach.
1 Existing
Conditions
2 Vision
Statement
3 Policy
Dev.
4 Holistic
Network
with
Modal
Priorities
5 Guiding
Principles
& Scoring
Criteria
6 Prioritized
Project
List
7 Draft
and Final
Plan
Community and Committee Engagement
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
Expanded Project Scope
Additional Community and Committee Engagement
Under the original ATP approach and sequence of work as shown in Figure 1, the scope of work included a combined round of community and committee engagement for the holistic network and prioritized project list to be included in the draft plan. However, with the modified approach to develop the holistic network before completing the scoring criteria and prioritizing the projects, staff recommended to the CTC an additional round of inclusive community and committee engagement be added to the scope and timeline. One round will be for the holistic network vision and the other for the prioritized list for the draft plan.
Additional Feasibility Analysis
At the May 28, 2024 Council meeting, Council directed staff to incorporate a cost-benefit analysis or exploration of criterion around project feasibility into the network analysis. For example, Council discussed a desire to better understand the possible costs and benefits of projects as part of the prioritization process.
Project feasibility for a planning -level study like the ATP typically consists of a high -level, qualitative evaluation of key factors. A detailed, quantitative cost -benefit analysis of potential projects is not feasible at this stage of project planning. It would require developing project - specific details in a conceptual engineering phase for more than a hundred potential projects at considerable expense and time. Likewise, quantification of specific benefits would also require substantial effort to determine how to quantify the mode share, public health, air quality, economic impacts, and safety benefits of individual active transportation improvements.
Consistent with the typical approach for evaluating feasibility in planning -level studies, staff recommended to the CTC a two-step qualitative approach as described below:
1. Network-Level Feasibility: As part of the holistic network vision step, the project team will evaluate whether there is sufficient space to support each corridor’s proposed network facilities (such as wide sidewalks, Class IV protected bikeway, and so on). This analysis will be undertaken using a street typology approach for different modal priorities to establish the right -of-way needed which can be compared to the right -of-way generally available along the corridor’s street segments.
2. Project-Level Feasibility: Once the overall network is defined, project feasibility will be based on constructability using clearly defined, high- level qualitative metrics (high, medium, low). Possible items to be considered include the rough order -of-magnitude project costs bas ed on recent construction cost experience for similar projects, potential Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
environmental issues, need for interagency coordination and approvals (e.g., involving Caltrans right-of-way), and need for right-of-way acquisition.
The CTC reviewed staff’s recommended expanded project scope and approved recommending to Council the additional community and committee engagement and feasibility analysis elements.
ATP Schedule
Staff and the consultants began the technical work to develop a proposed holistic network immediately after the May 2024 Council meeting in order to minimize project schedule impacts.
However, the holistic network analysis, additional round of community engagement, revisiting of scoring criteria, and more extensive feasibility analysis as part of the project prioritization process is expected to add several months to the project schedule. Figure 3 shows the revised schedule and milestones for completing the ATP.
Figure 3: ATP Schedule
Agreement Amendment
Based on the direction of CTC, staff has revised the approach to the ATP. To accomplish these changes, including a more expansive holistic network analysis, additional feasibility analysis, and the needed community and committee engagement to support these changes , additional funding is requested.
The fee for these additional design services is $112,300. This fee is consistent with such services, and staff considers the fee to be fair and reasonable for the scope of work required. Staff recommends adding $112,300 in additional services to the NN Engineering professional services agreement for a total not-to-exceed amount of $596,300.
Holistic
Network
•Q3/Q4 2024 -
Development
•Q1/Q2 2025 -
Community,
CTC, Council
Scoring Criteria
•Q1/Q2 2025 -
Community,
CTC, Council
Prioritized
Project List &
Policies
•Q3 2025 -
Analysis
•Q3/Q4 2025 -
Community,
CTC, Council
Draft and Final
Plan
•Q1/Q2 2026 -
CTC, Council
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
FISCAL IMPACT
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36, was originally funded with $530,000 from the Capital Improvement Program Reserve. An increase in appropriations of $106,000 is requested to fund the expanded ATP scope. Staff recommends Council appropriate $106,000 from Transportation Reserve Fund to Active Transportation Plan, Project 21 -36, to fully fund the project. There is sufficient funding in the Transportation Reserve Fund for the recommended action.
If the recommended actions are approved, the project will be funded in a total amount of $636,000. The professional services agreement fee, with the inclusion of recommended amendment of $112,300, is $ 546,910 for basic services and reimbursable expenses, and a contingency of $49,390 for additional services, for a total not-to-exceed amount of $596,300.
LEVINE ACT
California Government Code Section 84308 (also known as the Levine Act) prohibits city officials from participating in any proceeding involving a “license, permit, or other entitlement for use” if the official has received a campaign contribution exceeding $250 from a party, participant, or agent of a party or participant in the proceeding within the last 12 months. A city official is similarly prohibited from accepting, soliciting, or directing a campaign contribution exceeding $250 from a party, particip ant, or agent of a party or participant to any proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use for 12 months after a final decision is rendered in said proceeding.
Please refer to the “X” in the checklist below for information about whether the recommended action for this agenda item is subject to or exempt from the Levine Act.
SUBJECT TO THE LEVINE ACT
___ Land development entitlements
___ Other permit, license, or entitlement for use
_x_ Contract or franchise
EXEMPT FROM THE LEVINE ACT
_ _ Competitively bid contract
___ Labor or personal employment contract
___ General policy and legislative actions
For more information about the Levine Act, please see the Fair Political Practices Commission website: www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/pay-to-play-limits-and-prohibitions.html .
Active Transportation Plan, Project 21-36—Various Actions October 22, 2024
CONCLUSION
Council has identified Strategic Priorities for F iscal Years 2023-25 that include developing an Active Transportation Plan, updating the existing Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Transportation Plan, and incorporating green streets and biodiversity elements. Council received an update in May 2024 of the ATP and referred staff to the CTC to review a holistic understanding of the network and additional feasibility analysis. The CTC recommended a vision statement and supported staff’s revised approach to the ATP that includes a holistic network analysis, additional public engagement, and a feasibility review process. To support these changes , additional funding is requested.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Do not approve the vision statement and revised approach to the ATP and direct staff to modify the vision statement and/or approach.
2. Do not authorize the appropriation of $106,000 from the Transportation Reserve Fund and direct staff to use another funding source.
3. Do not authorize the amendment to the professional services agreement with NN Engineering and direct staff to negotiate a different amendment amount.
4. Provide other direction.
PUBLIC NOTICING
In addition to the standard agenda posting, staff sent notices to the project’s subscribers list available at mountainviewatp.com
.
Prepared by:
Brandon Whyte
Transportation Planner
Ria Hutabarat Lo
Transportation Manager
Approved by:
Edward Arango
Acting Public Works Director
Audrey Seymour Ramberg
Assistant City Manager
BW-RHL/LL/6/CAM/959-10-22-24CR
204406
cc: PWD(A), TM, TP—Whyte, SMA—Goedicke, PA—Li, SMA—Doan, File (21-36)