January 21, 2025
Public Works
DATE: January 21, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Daniel Chavarria, PE, Public Works Director
Robert Armijo, PE, Deputy Public Works Director/ City
Engineer
Janney Lockman, Associate Transportation Planner
Subject:
Resolution to request the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission to allocate Transportation Development Act
Article 3 Pedestrian/Bicycle Project funding for the
Downtown Point Richmond Bicycle Connectivity Project.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: If grant funds are awarded, the City will receive up to $213,100 from the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission. There is no direct fiscal impact related to the adoption of the Resolution.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
Not applicable
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Staff is seeking City Council authorization to submit a grant application to the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) for the Transportation Development
Act (TDA) Article 3 Pedestrian and Bicycle funding for
Fiscal Year 2025-2026. Application for these funds
requires an authorizing resolution from the applicant’s governing board.
AGENDA
REPORT
January 21, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution authorizing the City Manager or their designee to submit a grant application to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the allocation of Fiscal
Year 2025-2026 Transportation Development Act
Funding Article 3 Pedestrian/Bicycle Project Funding and if awarded, ACCEPT and APPROPRIATE the funds to
implement the Downtown Point Richmond Bicycle
Connectivity Project. – Public Works Department (Janney Lockman 510-307-8097 / Robert Armijo 510- 620-5477 /
Daniel Chavarria 510-620-5478).
DISCUSSION:
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 provides funding annually for bicycle and pedestrian projects. A total of $1,200,000 in TDA funds has been allocated to Contra Costa County for fiscal year 2025-2026 for bicycle and pedestrian projects. This funding is administered by Contra Costa County Public Works, which will make recommendations to MTC for Contra Costa County projects to receive a portion of the funding.
To submit a funding request, City staff needs to submit its project to Contra Costa County Public Works by January 30, 2025, with a resolution from Richmond City Council.
In line with the above, Public Works staff is requesting that the City Council adopt a resolution that will authorize staff to apply for grant funding from the MTC - TDA Article 3 to help complete the design of the Downtown Point Richmond Bicycle Connectivity Project. The Downtown Point Richmond Bicycle Connectivity Project is a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project that will improve bicycle and pedestrian access and safety through Downtown Point Richmond, completing the bicycle network connection from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the Richmond Ferry Terminal. This project will implement recommendations from the 2021 Richmond Ferry to Bridge to Greenway Complete Streets Plan.
In 2021, the City Council adopted the Richmond Ferry to Bridge to Greenway Complete Streets Plan (F2B2G Plan). The purpose of this plan was to develop connections for walking and bicycling to and between the Richmond Ferry, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Trail, and the Richmond Greenway, supporting the completion of the Bay Trail system. This plan also sought to advance the City’s vision for a network of walkable neighborhoods and a safe, sustainable, and well-maintained transportation system. The F2B2G Plan identified Key Corridors with connectivity gaps between the Ferry, Bridge,
January 21, 2025
and Greenway, then developed recommendations for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements to close these gaps. Development of the F2B2G Plan was funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant; however, the grant did not include funding for plan implementation.
The Downtown Point Richmond Bicycle Connectivity Project implements one of the F2B2G Key Corridor Recommendations. This project will construct bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Tewksbury Ave., Railroad Ave., West Richmond Ave., and S. Garrad Blvd., closing a gap in bicycle connectivity. See Attachment 2, Project Area Map, for the project location and existing and planned Bay Trail sections.
Bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements that will be implemented by this project include:
Protected two-way cycle tracks
High visibility crosswalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps Sidewalk extensions to reduce street crossing distances AC Transit bus stop relocation and improvements to accommodate the cycle track.
Wayfinding signs and pavement markings.
This project will implement recommendations from other City Council-approved transportation plans, described in the Synergistic Policies section, in addition to those from the Richmond Ferry to Bridge to Greenway Plan.
This project was previously awarded $178,400 in TDA funding and was also awarded $241,000 from the Western Contra Costa County Transportation Commission’s Subregional Transportation Mitigation Program (STMP). However, since this funding was awarded, costs have increased. Further, F2B2G concept plans and cost estimates did not account for the complexity of crossing the BSNF rail line at W Richmond Ave.
Additional funding will be needed to complete the design and construction of this project.
While other bicycle and pedestrian funding sources exist that may be appropriate for this project, the MTC TDA grant is less competitive than federal or state funding sources, as the City of Richmond is only competing against other eligible jurisdictions in Contra Costa County for this funding.
Staff will begin the consultant selection process in early 2025 and anticipate bringing an item to the City Council to hire the consultant shortly after. After a consultant has been hired, community and stakeholder outreach will begin to get additional community input
January 21, 2025
on project design. As project design progresses, City staff will seek additional funding.
Throughout this process, City staff will continue to communicate with City Council members about project progress and future funding needs.
SYNERGISTIC POLICIES:
In addition to implementing a key recommendation from the 2021 Richmond Ferry to Bridge to Greenway Complete Streets Plan, the bicycle improvements completed by this project were identified as a high-priority bicycle project in the 2023 Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan. The project design will incorporate safety countermeasures and best practices for bicycle and pedestrian safety recommended by the 2022 Local Roadway Safety Plan.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution with Attached Grant Application Attachment 2 – Project Area Map
Attachment 3 – Ferry to Bridge to Greenway Plan Excerpts Attachment 4 – Ferry to Bridge to Greenway 30% Plans