TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: John Ristow
AND CITY COUNCIL Jim Shannon
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: March 8, 2022
Approved Date
3/11/22
SUBJECT: TRANSPORTATION FUND FOR CLEAN AIR GRANT FUNDING AGREEMENT 2021-2022
RECOMMENDATIONS
(a) Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager or designee to negotiate and execute a Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant agreement with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in an amount not to exceed $701,622 for reimbursement of work that occurs on or after July 1, 2021.
(b) Adopt the following 2021-2022 Appropriation Ordinance and Funding Sources Resolution and amendments in the Building and Structure Construction Tax Fund:
(1) Establish the TFCA 2021-2022 San Jose Adaptive Retiming appropriation to the Transportation Department in the amount of $200,000; and (2) Increase the estimate for Revenue from Local Agencies by $200,000.
(c) Adopt the following 2021-2022 Appropriation Ordinance and Funding Sources Resolution amendments in the Construction Excise Tax Fund:
(1) Establish the TFCA 2021-2022 San Jose Bikeway Upgrades appropriation to the Transportation Department in the amount of $75,124; and (2) Increase the estimate for Revenue from Local Agencies by $75,124.
OUTCOME
This grant provides funding to implement adaptive traffic signal control to improve traffic safety and efficiency for travelers along three major corridors and to construct bicycle roadway safety improvements and bicycle parking city-wide.
COUNCIL AGENDA: 3/22/22
FILE: 22-355
ITEM: 2.12
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
BACKGROUND
Adaptive Arterial Management
To ensure traffic signals are operating efficiently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) regularly reviews traffic patterns along major commute corridors and manually updates traffic signal timing plans to address changes in demand or pattern. Signal timing parameters specific to intersection safety, such as pedestrian crossing time and all red vehicle clearance time, are reviewed as part of the retiming process. Signal timing strategies can help advance both mobility and safety goals.
Traffic patterns and demand have changed significantly as many companies have allowed work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, coordinated signal timing patterns utilized to handle high peak volumes along commute corridors were removed due to the lower traffic volumes, inconsistent traffic patterns, and inefficient intersection operations. After observing that traffic has returned to 70% of pre-pandemic volume as many workers have returned to the office in recent months, staff restored all 68 of the major commute corridors to operate with coordinated or progression timing. This manual observation and signal retiming require a significant level of staff resources, as well as subjective engineering judgement.
Adaptive Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) have been adopted as a more efficient and effective way to manage roadways. Through the use of advance traffic sensors and data analytic solutions, ATCS software automatically adjusts signal timing parameters throughout the day to respond to real-time traffic flow conditions and quickly mitigate congestion along the corridor. ATCS is already used at 75 signalized intersections located along eight corridors in San José (Blossom Hill Road, Brokaw Road, King Road, Saratoga Avenue, Stevens Creek Boulevard, Story Road, Tully Road and Winchester Boulevard).
Better Bike Plan 2025
In 2020, the City Council adopted Better Bike Plan 2025, a plan to build out a robust network of bikeways city-wide to promote safety, equity, and mode shift for bicycle users in San José. San Fernando Street, between 11th Street and Cahill Street, is identified as a Class IV separated bikeway in this plan. The current bikeway facilities on this corridor were installed in 2018 using temporary “quick-build” material. San Fernando Street serves as an important bicycle corridor between Diridon Station, Downtown, and San Jose State University.
Better Bike Plan 2025 also identifies bicycle parking as an important part of achieving the City’s bicycle mode share goals. When San José residents access jobs, businesses, transit, and other destinations by bicycle, there is a need for bike racks and bike lockers to secure and protect the bicycles. Bike parking includes short- and long-term bike parking provided by a variety of parking options, including bike racks and bike lockers. To date, the City has installed an expansive bike rack program of more than 3,000 bicycle parking spaces at businesses, parks, libraries, transit, and other locations across the City. Locations are based on community input,
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
staff analysis, proactive planning, and coordination among City departments. Public input and staff analysis show that more bike parking is still needed.
ANALYSIS
DOT actively pursues grant funding opportunities for projects that support the City’s transportation mode shift and/or safety goals. TFCA is a Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) program funded by a surcharge of $4.00 on motor vehicle registration fees collected within its jurisdiction. The surcharge revenues are to be used to implement specified transportation control measures that are included in BAAQMD’s Clean Air Plan which was developed and adopted pursuant to the requirements of the 1988 California Clean Air Act.
TFCA provides grants to local governments for projects that will reduce air pollution. Sixty percent of the annually available funds are administered by BAAQMD and the remaining 40% are returned to Bay Area counties. In Santa Clara County, the 40% of funds are administered by VTA and awarded on a competitive basis. Eligible projects include arterial management and signal timing, smart growth/traffic calming, trip reduction, and bicycle projects. A major factor for project selection is cost effectiveness of emissions reduced.
In March 2021, DOT submitted four applications for funding consideration under the Arterial Management and Trip Reduction categories of the TFCA Program Manager 40% Fund administered by VTA.
On October 21, 2021, the BAAQMD board approved VTA’s recommendation to award a total of $701,622 in TFCA funds to the City. The grant award will provide $348,900 for implementing adaptive traffic signal control, $126,893 for construction of a two-way Class IV bikeway along San Fernando Street, $150,705 funding for the addition of bike parking throughout the city, and $75,124 for construction of bikeway upgrades to the city’s bicycle network. These projects are described below.
Adaptive Arterial Management
This project will deploy ATCS at an additional 39 intersections along Coleman Avenue, Cottle Road, and Senter Road. Coleman Avenue, Cottle Road, and Senter Road account for a combined average daily traffic of 85,000 vehicles. Speed limits range from 35 mph to 40 mph.
The following corridors were selected based on the amount of available grant funds, the extent of existing infrastructure already in place, and a high benefit-to-cost ratio. Unlike traditional retiming methods that need to be updated every three to four years, ATCS will continuously provide optimized travel time along all three of these major corridors for the life of the system.
The 39 traffic signals included in this project are already equipped with video-detection cameras and lane-by-lane/advanced detection that are required to leverage real-time data and dynamically adjust timing patterns. Therefore, no additional equipment or hardware upgrades are necessary for this project, further reducing the total cost to deploy ATCS. Grant monies will be used to
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
purchase new ATCS software licenses for the additional 39 intersections, collect traffic data, and fund staff and consultant work to configure, integrate, and monitor the new adaptive corridors.
The work is anticipated to begin spring 2022 and be completed by June 2023.
• Coleman Avenue serves many destinations for motorists including the San José International Airport, Earthquakes Stadium and Downtown San José. Coleman Avenue also serves as a major thoroughfare to nearby I-880 freeway. Twelve traffic signals between Julian Street and Aviation Avenue will be reprogrammed to operate in real time. • Cottle Road runs through a shopping district providing retail and restaurant venues. In addition to being a major thoroughfare to West Valley Freeway (CA-85), Cottle Road also provides access to the Kaiser Permanente healthcare center and many residential neighborhoods. Nine traffic signals between Endicott Boulevard and Santa Teresa Boulevard will be reprogrammed to operate in real time. • Senter Road is a busy corridor that serves business and commercial districts and cultural centers and provides regional freeway access to jobs and residences. Eighteen traffic signals between Monterey Highway and Keyes Street will be reprogrammed to operate in real time.
The project benefits include:
• Reduction of vehicle travel time by 10% from the current signal operation; • Reduction of NOx emissions by approximately one ton and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) by approximately 178 tons, for the combined corridors, from the current signal operation;
• Optimization of traffic signal timing to improve travel times, reduce congestion, and distribute green time more effectively; and
• Improvement in the level of service of potential future implementation of Transit Signal Priority for public transit vehicles.
San Fernando Street Two-Way Class IV Bikeway
This project will upgrade the “quick-build” bikeway currently on San Fernando Street to a permanent Class IV separated bikeway. As part of this project, a two-way cycle track will be installed along the San Jose State University frontage on the south side of San Fernando Street between 4th Street and 10th Street, allowing for two-way bicycle use on this part of the corridor.
The two-way cycle track is part of the larger Better Bikeway San Fernando Corridor Improvement Project currently under design by the City. This project is primarily funded by the state Active Transportation Program grant program. This larger project extends from Almaden Boulevard to 11th Street and will upgrade the existing “quick build” project along the broader corridor to a permanent bicycle facility as discussed above. This TFCA funding will supplement
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
the primary funding source and allow planned project elements to remain in the project and be constructed, including pedestrian facility improvements that will enhance the safety and walkability of the corridor.
San José Bike Parking
The grant funds will provide for the installation of an additional 415 two-bike racks and three electronic card-key bike locker quad units throughout the city. Each rack has the capacity to park two bicycles and each locker will hold four bicycles, adding an additional 842 bicycle parking spaces to the City’s public bicycle parking program.
DOT has recently installed bike parking at various City community centers and libraries. DOT continues to respond to community requests for additional bike parking and install bike racks where feasible. Additionally, DOT has successfully piloted a program to install publicly available bike racks on private property such as retail centers facing public streets. Locations are selected based on community requests and staff suitability analysis. Staff anticipate that many of the bike racks funded by this grant will be installed on private property for use by the public.
San José Bikeway Upgrades
Better Bike Plan 2025 calls for creating 104 miles of new Class IV protected bikeways. While many of these bikeways will be implemented by leveraging the City’s Pavement Maintenance program, some corridors not included in the paving program can be upgraded using quick-build materials such as plastic bollards.
The grant funds will provide for the upgrade of up to 9.6 miles of existing buffered bike lanes from Class II to Class IV bikeways on the corridors identified below. These corridors were selected based on their prioritization score within Better Bike Plan 2025 and the feasibility of upgrading them with vertical delineators (aka. plastic bollards). Installation of bollards will be completed by DOT Infrastructure Maintenance crews. Implementation is not expected to include impacts to the motor vehicle movement, travel lanes, or parking.
• Oakland Road, Montague Expressway to Gish Road - 2.3 miles • Branham Lane, Snell Avenue to Houndshaven Way - 0.75 miles • River Oaks Parekway, Montague Expressway to N. First Street - 0.6 miles • Sanchez Drive/Cherry Avenue Almaden Expressway to Blossom Hill Road - 0.9 miles • Lundy Avenue, Trade Zone Boulevard to Hostetter Road - 1.2 miles • North First Street, Tasman Drive to East Brokaw Road - 2.9 miles • San Ignacio Avenue, Santa Teresa Boulevard to Bernal Road - 1 mile
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
CONCLUSION
This grant will enable adaptive signal retiming software to be implemented at 39 traffic signals along Coleman Avenue, Cottle Road, and Senter Road. This technology will automatically adjust signal timing throughout the day to respond to real-time traffic flow conditions, provide a more equitable distribution of green time, and reduce congestion without the need for continuous manual update of signal timing.
The grant will also fund implementation of three bike projects to improve bicycling conditions and safety, and encourage more bicycling, which advances goals in the following City plans:
Climate Smart San José, Vision Zero, Envision San José 2040 General Plan, and Better Bike Plan 2025.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
This memorandum will not require further follow-up.
CLIMATE SMART SAN JOSE
The recommendations in this memorandum align with one or more Climate Smart San José energy, water, or mobility goals.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s website for the March 22, 2022 City Council meeting. Public outreach for the bikeways projects was completed in 2019-2020 during the development of the Council-adopted Better Bike Plan 2025. This outreach included coordination with three local non-profit agencies and was conducted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The bikeways projects in this grant will fund improvements based on Better Bike Plan 2025.
Ongoing outreach for these projects will continue on a project-by-project basis.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION/INPUT
This item does not require input from a board or commission.
COST SUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS
The grant award of $701,622 for the four projects included in the TFCA grant agreement are 100% reimbursable. There are no ongoing operations and maintenance costs associated with these projects. Specific budgetary information regarding each project includes:
• Adaptive Arterial Management Retiming project - $200,000 to be programmed in fiscal year 2021-2022 as part of this memorandum with the remaining $148,900 to be programmed for 2022-2023 in the Building and Structure Construction Tax Fund in the Traffic Capital Program as part of the 2022-2023 Proposed Capital Budget. • San Fernando Street – $126,893 will be programmed for 2022-2023 in the Construction Excise Tax Fund in the Traffic Capital Program as part of the 2022-2023 Proposed Capital Budget. This project will also leverage existing ATP grant funds for the broader San Fernando corridor project.
• San Jose Bike Parking - $150,705 will be programmed for 2022-2023 in the Construction Excise Tax Fund in the Traffic Capital Program as part of the 2022-2023 Proposed Capital Budget.
• San Jose Bikeway Upgrades – $75,124 to be programmed in fiscal year 2021-2022 as part of this memorandum. An additional $84,353 from the Transportation Development Act (TDA 3) grant funds for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities project will be leveraged for this project.
BUDGET REFERENCE
The table below identifies the funds and appropriations to support the actions recommended as part of the memorandum.
Fund # Appn # Appn Name Total Appn Rec. Budget
Action
2021-2022
Adopted Capital
Budget Page
Last Budget
Action (Date,
Ord. No.)
429 NEW TFCA 2021-2022 San Jose
Adaptive Retiming $0 $200,000 N/A N/A
429 R090 Revenue from Local
Agencies $9,214,000 $200,000 842 10/19/2021,
80261
465 NEW TFCA 2021-2022 San Jose
Bikeway Upgrades $0 $75,124 N/A N/A
465 R090 Revenue from Local
Agencies $58,845,517 $75,124 838 2/8/2022,
80365
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 8, 2022
Subject: Transportation Fund for Clean Air Grant Funding Agreement 2021-2022
CEQA
Categorically Exempt, File No. PP18-029, CEQA Guideline Section 15301(c) Existing Facilities.
/s/
JOHN RISTOW JIM SHANNON
Director of Transportation Budget Director
I hereby certify that there will be available funding for appropriation in the Building and Structure Construction Tax Fund and Construction Excise Tax Fund in 2021-2022, monies in excess of those heretofore appropriated therefrom, said excess being at least $275,124.
JIM SHANNON
Budget Director
For questions, please contact Lily Lim-Tsao, DOT Deputy Director, at (408) 975-3269.