TO: HONORABLE MAYOR FROM: John Ristow
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: STEVENS CREEK BOULEVARD DATE: May 2, 2022
VISION STUDY
Approved Date
05/05/22
COUNCIL DISTRICTS: 1 & 6
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution:
(a) Approving participation in the Stevens Creek Boulevard Vision Study, at a cost of $238,006, to create a cohesive vision for Stevens Creek Boulevard, including potential transit;
(b) Authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to negotiate and execute funding agreements with the City of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to develop the Vision Study; and (c) Authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to negotiate and execute the first amendment to the Master City of San José Consultant Agreement with Iteris, Inc. to complete the Vision Study, increasing the maximum total compensation by $794,400 from $290,000 to $1,084,400, and extending the agreement term by 18 months from December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2024.
OUTCOME
The proposed actions support the creation of a multi-jurisdictional Vision Study led by the City of San José (City) in partnership with the City of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and VTA. This effort will create a shared vision and implementation plan for multi-modal transportation along Stevens Creek Boulevard.
BACKGROUND
San José’s General Plan includes policies supporting substantial increases in walking, bicycling, and transit use, and envisions San José becoming a walking and bicycling-first city. The General Plan’s Urban Village Strategy promotes active, walkable, bicycle-friendly, transit-oriented, COUNCIL AGENDA: 5/17/2022
FILE: 22-701
ITEM: 2.16
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 2, 2022
Subject: Stevens Creek Blvd Vision Study
mixed-use urban settings for new housing and job growth attractive to a variety of people. The City has developed five Urban Village plans in the West San José area. Community input was critical to developing the recommendations presented in those five adopted Urban Villages:
Stevens Creek Boulevard, Valley Fair/Santana Row, Winchester Boulevard, West San Carlos Street, and South Bascom Avenue.
As a major health, education, technology industry, shopping, and housing spine in West San José and the South Bay, Stevens Creek Boulevard has been identified as a top priority corridor by the General Plan, the Urban Village Plans, and the numerous jurisdictions that share the public right- of-way – in addition to San José, the City of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and VTA.
On August 8, 2017, City Council approved forming a multi-jurisdiction group – the Stevens Creek Steering Committee – comprised of the cities of San José, Cupertino, Santa Clara, and the County of Santa Clara to discuss key regional issues affecting West San José, with a focus on transportation and circulation. Vice Mayor “Chappie” Jones was appointed chair. The first meeting of the Steering Committee occurred on March 25, 2019.
City staff have also been coordinating with staff from the other jurisdictions along Stevens Creek Boulevard. This staff working group has been coordinating transportation planning and project delivery along Stevens Creek Boulevard, including streetscape improvements to improve conditions for people bicycling and walking, as well as riding transit.
As part of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Horizon Initiative, a Bay Area wide contest in search of innovative transportation concepts, San José, Santa Clara, Cupertino, and VTA jointly submitted a proposal for a high-capacity transit line from Diridon Station to Cupertino. The proposal was selected and included in the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Plan Bay Area 2040, with an expected cost of $2.83 billion.
On June 4, 2019, City Council adopted a resolution to support the development of a Complete Streets and Near Term Transit Implementation Plan, now referenced as the Vision Study, for the Stevens Creek Boulevard corridor to be prepared jointly by VTA and the cities of Santa Clara, Cupertino, and San José; and High-Capacity Transit Service along the corridor; and authorize the City Manager to assess resources needed to develop this project and report findings to City Council.
The Mayor’s June Budget Message for FY 2020-2021 included direction for the City Manager to allocate $50,000, and for the City Clerk to allocate $50,000 from Council District 1’s office funds, to contribute towards the City’s share of funding for the Vision Study, contingent on other jurisdictions contributing their share to the study.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 2, 2022
Subject: Stevens Creek Blvd Vision Study
ANALYSIS
The five adopted Urban Villages within West San José include community supported actions and policies to provide active, walkable, bicycle-friendly, transit-oriented, mixed-use urban settings for new housing and job growth. To further advance the transportation vision and goals established by the community in the General Plan and Urban Village Plans, San José is developing the West San José Multimodal Transportation Improvement Plan (WSJ MTIP). This Plan includes a prioritized list of projects and programs, of which the Stevens Creek Boulevard Vision Study is a top priority.
Based on City Council’s support to develop the Vision Study, and in coordination with the City of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and VTA, City staff proposes to amend its Master Consultant Agreement with Iteris, Inc. to include the Vision Study scope of work (Attachment A). The Vision Study scope will include:
• A report summarizing existing conditions
• Public outreach and community feedback
• A vision statement shared by the partner jurisdictions and community for the corridor • Design concepts, including alternative improvement concepts considered and evaluated, and the recommended final vision concept
• Implementation plan and funding strategy
The Vision Study is expected to require an 18-month schedule with two months allocated to Project Initiation, eight months allocated to the development of a shared Vision Statement, and nine months allocated to the Vision Concepts, and implementation and funding strategy. The total cost estimate of the consulting services is $794,400. The largest contributor will be VTA, with the remainder shared by jurisdictions along the corridor in proportion to their share of the right-of-way.
San José staff will continue to lead the WSJ MTIP and Vision Study, and manage the contract with Iteris, Inc.
The consultant team will prepare the draft and final Stevens Creek Boulevard Vision Study summarizing relevant information from previous deliverables. The report will include a high- level non-technical Executive Summary and high-quality visual graphics illustrating the vision concepts for the corridor. The Executive Summary will reflect and relate to community priorities and be developed for an audience comprised of community members and elected officials.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 2, 2022
Subject: Stevens Creek Blvd Vision Study
CONCLUSION
The proposed actions support the work of the Stevens Creek Steering Committee and the City’s role in the Vision Study. The Vision Study will advance complete street improvements and high capacity transit along the Stevens Creek Boulevard corridor, in partnership with the City of Santa Clara, City of Cupertino, County of Santa Clara, and VTA.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The Vision Study will be coordinated with the Stevens Creek Steering Committees. The report will also be presented to the Transportation and Environment Committee for consideration before final Council consideration.
CLIMATE SMART SAN JOSÉ
The recommendation in this memorandum aligns with one or more Climate Smart San José energy, water, or mobility goals.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will also be posted on the City’s website for the City Council May 17, 2022 agenda.
COORDINATION
Preparation of this report was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager’s Budget Office.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION/INPUT
There is no commission recommendation on this action at this time.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
May 2, 2022
Subject: Stevens Creek Blvd Vision Study
FISCAL/POLICY ALIGNMENT
The Vision Study will result in improvements to Stevens Creek Boulevard for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users, leading to reductions in vehicle miles traveled, greenhouse gas emissions, and improved safety for all street users. The effort will also study transit and multimodal mobility, which both have the potential to further San José’s sustainability goals.
COST SUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS
The cost for the Vision Study is $794,400. VTA will contribute $275,000 from 2000 Measure A funds. The remaining $519,400 will be provided by the jurisdictions based on their share of the right-of-way along the corridor. The cost to the City is $238,006. In addition to the $50,000 allocated to the Vision Study in 2021-2022 from the General Fund and $50,000 allocated from the Council District 1 office funds, the 2022-2023 Proposed Capital Budget includes funding of $138,006 in the Building and Structure Construction Tax Fund (Fund 429). The remaining funding to complete this study will be appropriated in 2022-2023 once funding from the other agencies is received.
BUDGET REFERENCE
The table below identifies the fund and appropriation to fund the agreement amendment recommended as part of this memorandum.
Fund
#
Appn
# Appn. Name
Total
Appn
Amt. for
Contract
2022-2026 Adopted
Capital Budget
Page
Last Budget
Action (Date,
Ord. No.)
001 419Y Stevens Creek
Corridor Vision
Study
$50,000
$50,000 883 06/22/2021
Ord. No.
30621
CEQA
Statutorily Exempt, File No. PP17-001, CEQA Guidelines Section 15262, Feasibility and Planning Studies with no commitment to future actions.
/s/
JOHN RISTOW
Director of Transportation
For questions please contact Ramses Madou, Division Manager, Planning, Policy, and Sustainability, [email protected].