6333
Potrero Avenue, Suite 100, El Cerrito CA 94530
Phone: 510.210.5930 ~ www.wcctac.org
E
l Cerrito
Hercules
Pinole
Richmond
San Pablo
Contra Costa
County
AC Transit
BART
WestCAT
J
une 2, 2022
Ci
ty of Richmond Mayor and Councilmembers
440 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA 94804
RE
: Background Information on Upcoming Presentation on San Pablo Avenue Multimodal Corridor Study, Phase 2
D
ear City of Richmond Mayor and Councilmembers:
T
hank you for allowing WCCTAC the opportunity to present to you a summary of the key results of its technical analysis conducted as part of the on-going San Pablo Avenue Multimodal Corridor Study (the Study), Phase 2. This memo serves to provide background information about the Study and includes as attachments the presentation slides and maps.
W
hat is WCCTAC?
WCCTAC is one of four Regional Transportation Planning Committees (RTPCs) in Contra Costa County and represents the West Contra Costa sub- area. The Committees were created in 1988 to guide transportation projects and programs included in the Measure C, ½ cent, transportation sales tax approved by Contr a Costa voters and succeeded by Measure J in 2004. WCCTAC is a public agency, governed by a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement between the following member agencies: the cities of El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo; Contra Costa County; and the transit operators, AC Transit, BART, and WestCAT. WCCTAC aims to improve the transportation system in West Contra Costa through the development and coordination of transportation plans, projects, programs, and policies for the West Contra Costa area.
W
hat is this Study all about?
Over the next 15 -20 years, growing congestion will impact the multiple cities along San Pablo Avenue, but each does not function in isolation . To better coordinate transportation, several jurisdictions agreed to participate in a corridor study.
In 2017, the Alameda County Transportation
Commission (ACTC), the Contra Costa
Transportation Authority (CCTA), and WCCTAC
began the San Pablo Avenue Multimodal
Corridor Study. The purpose of the Study is to
improve multimodal mobility, efficiency, and
safety to sustainably meet current and future
transportation needs and help support strong
growth along the corridor while still
maintaining local contexts . A key objective of
the first phase of the Study was to identify
potential improvements to make San Pablo
Avenue function better and be safer for
people who walk, bike, drive and take the bus.
San Pablo Ave carries the highest bus ridership
in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, but
buses are often slow and unreliable due to
traffic congestion.
What are the transit options under consideration?
The study’s analysis looks at several options for improving transit speed and reliability in the San Pablo Avenue corridor. These include: 1) maintaining today’s existing conditions; 2) a shared bus and general-purpose travel lane with location specific improvements, such as queue jumps and bus bulbs; and 3) a dedicated transit-only lane. The latter is known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
The transit-only lane could operate either in the center of the roadway (center -running BRT) or along the outer edge of the street (side-running BRT); each with trade-offs. Construction of BRT includes a variety of additional improvements that help to increase bus travel speeds. These can include traffic signal priority for buses, consolidated bus stops, and level bus boarding to reduce the time a bus is stopped at each station. Local examples of BRT in clude AC Transit’s Tempo on International Boulevard and MUNI’s Van Ness Avenue BRT.
What happened in Phase 1 of the Study?
In 2017, the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC), the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), and WCCTAC began Phase 1 of this Study. It consisted of a multi- jurisdictional, multi- county analysis of the corridor from downtown Oakland to Hilltop Mall in Richmond. ACTC managed the day-to-day consultant work and oversaw analysis and community engagement.
The Study broadly reviewed potential improvements to make San Pablo Ave nue function better
and more safely for people who walk, bike, drive , and take the bus . Phase 1 evaluated a wide variety of possible configurations for San Pablo Avenue, exploring what transportation modes could be ac commodated within the limited right- of-way and identified trade-offs between different concepts. An Executive Summary and Technical Memos for Phase 1 are posted on the ACTC website (San Pablo Avenue Corridor Project - Alameda CTC).
How was feedback gathered from the public during Phase 1? There were two rounds of public outreach in Phase 1.
• Round 1 (Fall 2017-Summer 2018) consisted of a map-based survey conducted in three languages and several focus groups for bus-riders, bicyclist, and seniors & people with disabilities. A map-based survey was conducted and 236 comments out of 515 total comments were related to West County (118 comments in El Cerrito; 112 comments in Richmond; six comments in San Pablo ). From this survey four “hot spots” ( areas where five or more comments were placed in the same area of the map-based survey) were noted in West County: Central Avenue, Hill Street, Cutting Boulevard, and Barrett Avenue.
Other feedback a bout San Pablo Avenue included support for c rossing improvements , safer turning situations , and improved bike connections . From the online and intercept surveys most respondents recognized the importance of San Pablo Avenue as a transit corridor. Dedicated bike lanes or parallel bike routes are strongly desired along the entire corridor while bicyclists noted that biking adjacent to on-street parking was challenging.
Additionally, drivers appreciated that San Pablo Avenue is currently, a comparatively easy street to drive and park along . Most merchants indicated they conduct loading and unloading activity on San Pablo Avenue either curbside in parking (not designated, loading) spaces while some use a travel lane or bike lanes for this activity.
• Round 2 outreach began in Spring 2019 . An online and intercept survey collected input from 603 people in West County. Additionally, there were three pop-up events in West County, a community workshop in El Cerrito and more focus group sessions for bus-riders, bicyclists, and seniors & people with disabilities . The table that follows summarizes community input for Round 2.
In total, the public engagement process from Phase 1 of the Study revealed that participants placed the highest priorities on making walking sa fer and the bus more reliable. There was also widespread support for safer bike facilities on parallel routes. While residents were less likely to mention concerns about parking, m erchants insisted it was important. Generally, merchants were concerned with parking and access, but some indicated that their customers were changing and were more reliant on walking and biking.
Specifically, from Phase 1 of the Study, we heard:
• Safety improvements are needed now; concerns over delaying them • Pedestrian conditions are poor, especially crossing San Pablo Avenue • All use rs and focus groups (except merchants, but including cyclists) felt that transit needed to be the most prioritized mode
• Concerns about business access (loss of parking/loading, additional congestion) • Reduction in number of lanes would reduce speeding and calm traffic • Mix of support and concern about parallel bicycle facilities (safer than San Pablo Avenue in terms of comfort . Concerns included adequacy of lighting/eyes on the street on parallel routes and the indirect routing
• Merchants raised concerns about c onstruction disrupts community and impacts businesses
• Concerns around drivers diverting onto nearby streets • Initial concerns regarding emergency access but explained emergency vehicles can use bus lane
SUMMARY OF COMMUNITY INPUT FROM ROUND 2 OF THE SAN PABLO AVENUE MULTIMODAL CORRIDOR STUDY, PHASE 1
What is Phase 2 of the Study in Contra Costa County about? While WCCTAC and the
CCTA continue to
coordinate with ACTC, the
nature of the work is
different for Phase 2 . At
the conclusion of Phase 1,
the WCCTAC Board
reviewed the analysis and
the public feedback. They
recognized that , although
there are similarities with
the Alameda County
portion of the corridor,
there are unique
conditions in Contra Costa
County that warranted
further analysis . These
included different and
variable right-of-way
widths, higher traffic
volumes, different street
patterns, the variety of
existing on-street and off-
street bicycle and parking facilities, and differing potential for traffic diversion off San Pablo Avenue.
For Phase 2 in Contra Costa County, the Study worked with the following constraints and assumptions:
• No taking of right-of-way
• Existing driveways should be maintained.
• Safety is a priority
• Existing bicycle facilities should be retained or enhanced. • Improvements should be able to be implemented using reasonable funding sources, within what jurisdictions would reasonably be expected to allow , and consistent with adopted design guidelines
Phase 2 - Agency Partners and Study
What does Phase 2 involve in Alameda County?
In Alameda County for Phase 2, ACTC is working to advance three concurrent project efforts:
1. Safety Enhancements throughout Corridor
• Pedestrian safety and accessibility; bicycle crossings • Bus bulbs to provide additional space at bus stops and to allow in-lane stopping for transit
2. Bus and Bike Lanes Demonstration Project in Oakland, Emeryville, and South Berkeley • Convert auto lane to bus lane
• Convert parking lane to protected bike lane
o Parking and loading moved to side streets in most locations • Protected intersections and other bicycle treatments
• Evaluation phase after implementation
3. Bike improvements on parallel network in Berkeley and Albany • Continuing long-term planning efforts in those cities ACTC is working on the design, funding and authorizations needed to advance these project elements recognizing that they could take several years to implement.
How is this study paid for?
Phase 1 and 2 of the Study’s work in Contra Costa County were funded by the CCTA and WCCTAC using Measure J transportation sales tax dollars. Funding for potential future phases has not been secured, whether that work involves additional studies, more outreach, refined demonstration projects, refined designs for improvements, or construction. The Study’s analysis suggests that potential projects could be competitive for federal, state, and regional funding.
Who is working on the Study?
For Phase 1 , ACTC staff led the effort along with a team of consultants headed by Kimley -Horn Associates. For Phase 2, Adam Dankberg from Kimley -Horn Associates , continues to lead the consultant team. The Alameda County portion of the Study is managed by ACTC staff while the Contra Costa County portion is managed day-to-day by WCCTAC staff in coordination with CCTA.
Staff representatives from WCCTAC’s member agencies have been involved in both phases of the study. For Phase 2, local, technical input has come via the WCCTAC-TAC and small group meetings with jurisdictional/agency staff. Throughout both phases, the WCCTAC Board has provided input and guidance.
What is planned for the meeting presentation?
At the upcoming meeting, WCCTAC’s consultant from Kimley -Horn will present a series of slides (Attachment A) that explain in more detail what was studied and the results of the analysis. This will include the bicycle and parking facility analysis for center-running and side-running BRT. For reference, maps of this analysis are included as Attachment B. Following the presentation, there
will be time for questions and to provide feedback. Due to time constraints, this will be a summary-level presentation of the technical an alysis; howev er, both WCCTAC and consultant staff will be available to answer more detailed questions.
What does WCCTAC want from us?
Now that the additional technical analysis for Contra Costa County is complete , WCCTAC is seeking input from the city councils of El Cerrito, Richmond, and San Pablo as well as the AC Transit Board of Directo rs. Specifically, following the presentation, we would like your jurisdiction’s feedback on the following questions:
1) Is there support for the pedestrian safety improvements? a) If so, should we focus right now on pedestrian safety improvements only? 2) Should we continue to consider a corridor-wide bus lane solution? 3) If a bus lane is desired, is there a preference for side-running or center-running? 4) What is the priority between a parking lane and a bike lane ? Does the priority vary geographically?
Thank you again for the opportunity to present this Study to you at your upcoming meeting. If you have questions after the presentation, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
or 510.210.5935.
Sincerely,
Leah Greenblat
Transportation Planning Manager, WCCTAC
Attachments:
A. June 28, 2022, Presentation to the Richmond City Council B. Schematic maps showing Richmond segments of center-running and side-running BRT with different options, prioritizing transit alongside with either parking or bicycle facilities.
w:\new file org\studies, projects, programs & plans \multi-modal\actc san pablo ave multi-modal corridor project\next steps-phase 2\meetings\council-board presentations\2022-05-26 memo to councils.docx