TO: TRANSPORTATION AND FROM: John Ristow
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: MAJOR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION DATE: May 18, 2022
PLANNING REPORT
Approved Date
5/23/22
RECOMMENDATION
Accept a report on major local transportation planning efforts being implemented in San José, including an update on the West San José Multi-modal Transportation Improvement Plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2022 marks a big year for transportation planning in San José. Many efforts that have been underway for the last few years are either being implemented or are coming to City Council for consideration. The Better Bike Plan 2025 (October 2020), En Movimiento (February 2021), the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Complete Street Studies, and Emerging Mobility Action Plan (April 2022) are guiding the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) work. This year, we will bring for City Council’s consideration the Move San José, Downtown Transportation Plan, West San José Multimodal Transportation Improvement Plan (MTIP), Transit First Policy, updates to City Council Policy 5-1 (Transportation Analysis Policy), and updates to the Parking and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Ordinance.
This year we are also embarking on new efforts, including the North San José MTIP, MultiJurisdictional Stevens Creek Vision Study, King Road Complete Street Study, Santa Clara Street Transit and Streetscape Enhancement Study, and Monterey Road Transit Priority Study.
Together, the adopted, ongoing, and new efforts will help the City move towards a safer, more equitable, and more environmentally sustainable transportation system.
BACKGROUND
San José has adopted ambitious transportation goals and policies in the Envision San José 2040 General Plan (General Plan) and Climate Smart San José (Climate Smart). These plans envision a sustainable and human-centered transportation system supporting a more equitable, environmentally sustainable, economically dynamic, dense, and transit-oriented city.
T&E AGENDA: 06-06-2021
ITEM: (d) 2
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
The transportation goals and policies of the General Plan aim to increase bicycle, pedestrian, and transit travel while reducing motor vehicle trips, thereby increasing the City’s share of travel by biking, walking, and taking transit. The General Plan promotes San José as a “walking-and bicycling-first City” and calls for designing streets for people, not just cars, to support a diverse range of urban activities and functions.
Climate Smart builds on the General Plan’s vision. It assessed the climate implications of building out the General Plan and found that the General Plan alone is not enough to meet the City’s carbon reduction commitments, let alone align with the decarbonization rates required to be carbon neutral by 2030. . With 51% of San José’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation, according to the 2019 greenhouse gas inventory assessment1, Climate Smart doubles down on the importance of a robust multi-modal transportation network to set the City on a path to meeting the Paris Agreement’s emissions reduction goals.
In November 2021, given the latest climate science from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)2
and going beyond Climate Smart goals, the City Council adopted a resolution setting an aspirational goal for San José to be carbon neutral by 2030, a commitment to reduce our community’s net GHG emissions (from our transport, buildings, grid-supplied energy, industry, and treatment of waste) down to zero by 2030.
The General Plan and Climate Smart call for change to the transportation system on a significant scale. The City is rising to the challenge of these ambitious goals through Citywide strategic plans such as the Move San José Plan (formerly called Access & Mobility Plan), communitybased plans such as the En Movimiento Plan, and modal plans such as the Better Bike Plan 2025.
These plans clarify what must be done to reach the City’s goals, meet community needs, and focus transportation project implementation efforts once they are adopted.
This report gives a semi-annual update to the Transportation and Environment Committee (T&E) on the broad transportation planning program underway to implement the City’s vision.
ANALYSIS
This section offers status updates on ongoing transportation planning efforts. This memorandum covers the range of current transportation planning efforts, organized as:
A. Move San José
B. Emerging Mobility
C. Multi-modal Transportation Improvement Plans (MTIPs) D. Complete Streets Plans
E. Transportation Planning Policies
1 City of San José. (2022). Pathway to Carbon Neutrality by 2030. 2 IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S.
Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press.
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
During the committee meeting, staff will present the West San José MTIP.
A. Move San José
Move San José is a strategic, data- and equity-driven citywide transportation plan that focuses the City’s transportation resources on the projects, programs, and policies that will most effectively meet the Climate Smart and General Plan transportation goals. Move San José used an equity-centered outreach campaign to clearly articulate the City’s transportation goals and develop data-driven strategies to address them. The data-driven strategies are informed by a Decision Support System that uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify needs around the city and will continue to monitor progress over time toward achieving the City’s transportation goals.
The Plan’s strategies are organized into three categories: Streets, Transit, and Policies and Program. The Plan also used the Decision Support System analysis and public input to craft strategies at citywide and Council District levels that move the needle on these goals. Move San José also conducted a department organizational review, leading to improvements in processes, culture, and decision-making tools.
Move San José is expected to go for Council consideration in August 2022. Link to the plan:
https://gis.sanjoseca.gov/maps/movesj
B. Emerging Mobility
DOT formed an Emerging Mobility team to tackle the quickly changing transportation market, with a focus on the four elements of change in transportation: shared use business models, electrification, automation, and connected vehicles. The team is working on the following projects.
1. Emerging Mobility Action Plan
The City Council unanimously approved the City’s Emerging Mobility Action Plan on April 5, 2022. This project sought to create a racial equity-focused action plan to guide emerging mobility in San José. Emerging mobility includes a wide variety of transportation services and technologies, such as electric, shared cars, bikes, e-Scooters, on-demand shuttles, ground-based automated versions of many of these services, and driverless aerial vehicles.
Without intervention, these typically privately-owned and -operated services could be priced and located so they exclude many potential users, such as unbanked or underbanked populations; limited English speakers; Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities, and other historically underserved populations. In partnership with the City’s Equity Task Force and community members, the plan identified a list of strategies the City should pursue to foster the positive, and reduce the potential negative, impacts of these services. The plan also includes specific recommendations for new services the City should pursue in partnership with its equity priority communities that incorporate these recommendations.
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
With this plan now adopted, the Emerging Mobility team is pursuing community partners to expand the electric vehicle charging network into underserved areas, investigating a community EV car share system, as well as a community shuttle program, and implementing changes to the micro-mobility permitting rules in the city to ensure greater equity in service.
The plan and appendices can be found on the City’s EMAP webpage.
2. Autonomous Vehicle Community Engagement
San José was one of four US cities selected to participate in the Knight Foundation’s fiveyear, $5 million autonomous vehicles (AV) initiative, which seeks to “bring residents to the center” of the discussion around this new technology. The second year of this effort has been focused on piloting semi-autonomous delivery robots. Through a partnership with the robot delivery company Kiwibot, the City is examining how these devices function on our sidewalks and how community members and local businesses feel about their utility and presence. The pilot includes various use cases, including restaurant delivery, pick-up and delivery for a food pantry, and demonstrations and delivery from an urban farm. Using observations, surveys, in-person interviews, and data collected by restaurants and the robots themselves, this work will allow us to develop regulations for delivery robot technology that best meet the needs of businesses and residents of San José.
3. Electric Mobility Roadmap & Accelerating Electric Vehicle (EV) Adoption In January 2020, the City Council accepted San José’s Electric Mobility Roadmap, a strategy to inform acceleration to electric mobility. To implement the roadmap, staff is undertaking efforts aimed at consumers, dealerships, charging infrastructure, and freight. o Drive Electric: In 2020, the City piloted a program with San José auto dealers where the dealers offered limited-time discounts on EVs. Unfortunately, the program launched just as COVID-19 shut down the Country. DOT had planned to offer the program again this winter, but a global shortage of microchips and hence new cars necessitated suspending the program.
o Dealership Electric Vehicle Training: This program educates sales staff about EVs, including the many state and federal grant and incentive programs available to help people purchase EVs. This year the program expanded to include used auto dealers, including informing dealers about the benefits of adding EVs to their sales floor. o Drive Forward Financial Empowerment: With support from the America Climate Communities Collaborative, last year, the City collaborated with Peninsula Family Service to offer financial empowerment workshops for low-to-moderate-income households interested in learning more about electric vehicles, available financing options, credit-building resources, and EV grants and incentives. With no funding to continue the program itself, DOT found another route. GRID Alternatives, a non-profit clean energy organization, agreed to fund and operate the program in 2022 with a grant it had secured from PG&E. At the City’s request, GRID Alternatives is working with Peninsula Family Service and two community-based organizations (ICAN and META Co-op) to develop and deliver a culturally relevant EV education program to local
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
communities. GRID Alternatives, the City, and the program partners will evaluate the program when it concludes and determine next steps.
o Policy for Permitting Privately-Owned and Operated EV Chargers on City Property:
DOT is developing a proposal for streamlining the process and establishing guidelines for companies interested in installing, owning, and operating their EV chargers on City property or rights-of-way. DOT is collaborating with several other departments on the development of this policy.
o Urban Freight Delivering Zero Emissions Communities (DZEC): San José was one of three US cities selected by the American Cities Climate Challenge to participate in a oneyear accelerator program focused on electrifying freight to reduce freight emissions in the City. The grant supports the Carbon Neutral San José by 2030 resolution adopted by City Council on November 8, 2021. Since September 2021, the City has worked on the following elements: an equity task force to work directly with the community around the issue of freight emissions, an urban freight working group comprised of private freight companies, data analysis, and plans for incorporating freight into a zero-emissions neighborhood pilot. The one-year accelerator program is expected to complete by August 2022.
C. Multi-modal Transportation Improvement Plans (MTIPs) The City creates MTIPs following or in parallel to Urban Village plans when they are called for to develop proposed transportation improvements addressing community needs and accommodating
growth. The plans
identify and
prioritize
transportation
network designs,
projects, and
programs that
improve safety,
equity, access, and
the environment in
consultation with the
community. MTIPs
design corridors and
intersections to make
walking, biking, and
transit desirable.
Figure 1 - San José MTIPs
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
1. En Movimiento: A Transportation Plan for East San José En Movimiento is a
community-based MTIP
that builds from and
advances past planning
efforts to identify and
prioritize transportation
projects in East San José
that align with City and
community vision, values,
and goals. Approved by
City Council in February
2021, the plan includes
nine community
transportation goals, a
prioritized list of 29
improvement projects
with conceptual designs,
financing, and
implementation strategies,
and the establishment of a Community Advisory Group.
The City has delivered five of the 29 improvement projects with quick-build materials while continuing to pursue funding opportunities for permanent improvements. In 2022 Q1 and Q2, the City has been working on the following planned projects:
o Seven Bike Boulevards: Since September 2021, the City has conducted a communitybased design process for seven bike boulevards, including seven public meetings to review three design iterations with two remaining iterations. The design process will conclude in June 2022. Construction will begin in Spring 2023. These bike boulevards are funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Safe & Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Program.
o McLaughlin Avenue: Since February 2021, the City has conducted a community-based design process for McLaughlin Ave quick-build improvements between Williams St and Story Rd. The design process concluded in April 2022. Construction will begin in summer 2022 as part of the scheduled pavement maintenance for the corridor. o Coyote Creek bridge: The City is expected to release a Request for Proposal in Fall 2022 for studying the feasibility of a new bike/pedestrian bridge across Coyote Creek between St. John St and Roosevelt Park. The VTA 2016 Measure B program funds the study. o King Road Complete Street: See Section D.6 below.
o Santa Clara Street Transit and Streetscape Enhancement: See Section D.7 below.
Figure 2 - En Movimiento study area and planned projects
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
Beginning in July 2022, the Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement will lead a multi-year planning process to update the City’s Five Wounds Urban Village Plan for four urban villages in East San José. The updated plan will build upon En Movimiento and identify additional transportation improvements, parking and transportation management solutions, and conceptual designs to support connections between the urban villages and the future 28th Street/Little Portugal BART Station.
Information on En Movimiento is available at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/yourgovernment/departments-offices/transportation/planning-policies/east-san-jos-mtip
2. West San José MTIP
The West San José MTIP (WSJ MTIP) is a companion transportation plan to five Urban Village Plans in West San José. It advances the goals and objectives of the General Plan and the Urban Village Plans within its boundary by establishing a prioritized list of transportation projects and programs. The WSJ MTIP brings together existing transportation planning and programming efforts
and identifies toppriority transportation
projects and programs.
Like other MTIPs, it
establishes evaluative
criteria and a
prioritization method to
evaluate and rank
projects and programs.
The plan details
proposed projects,
including cost estimates
for the highest priority
projects and
implementation
strategies.
In March 2022, the City hosted an open public workshop. The WSJ MTIP will align with the forthcoming Stevens Creek Corridor Vision Study, a multi-jurisdictional, joint-planning effort to create a shared vision and conceptual plan for the corridor between Diridon Station and De Anza College in Cupertino. The draft plan will be ready for public comments in Summer 2022, and the final WSJ MTIP is expected to go to City Council for consideration in Fall 2022.
Information on the WSJ MTIP is available at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/yourgovernment/departments-offices/transportation/projects-planning/west-san-jos-mtip Figure 3 - WSJ MTIP study area and Transit Priority Network
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
3. Downtown Transportation Plan
The Downtown Transportation Plan (DTP) is a community-based, long-range plan for transportation in Downtown San José. The DTP aims to improve getting around by foot, bike, scooter, transit, and car; improve transportation equity and access to places for everyone; improve the comfort and attractiveness of streets, public plazas, paseos, and parks; and support and complement the identity of Downtown.
Figure 4: Downtown Transportation Plan Study Area
Since February 2020, The City has partnered with Fehr & Peers and Winters Consulting to identify:
(1) City and community vision, values, and goals;
(2) a preferred transportation system that includes transformational projects (or “big moves”), street improvement projects, programmatic measures, and policies to meet existing and future demand of all travel modes;
(3) investment priorities and tradeoffs;
(4) conceptual designs for the top-priority projects; and (5) financing and implementation strategies.
In January 2022, an online open house was launched to collect community input on the proposed big moves and street networks and co-create shared understandings of options and their tradeoffs with the community. The DTP is expected to go to Council for final consideration in Fall 2022.
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
More information on the DTP is available at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/yourgovernment/departments-offices/transportation/planning-policies/downtown-transportationplan.
4. Berryessa MTIP
The Berryessa MTIP is a companion transportation plan to the Berryessa BART Urban Village Plan. This plan will identify and prioritize transportation projects that align with community and city goals and include conceptual designs and implementation strategies for the highest priority projects.
The Berryessa MTIP uses advanced modeling techniques to inform a preferred transportation network. It establishes evaluative criteria and a prioritization method for projects, programmatic measures, and policies in the Study Area. The plan identifies more than 20 transportation improvement projects to support the existing demand and future growth in and near the Berryessa BART Urban Village, including the US-101/Mabury Rd-Berryessa RdOakland Rd corridor improvement project. Transportation Demand Management programs such as free transit passes, parking pricing, and a transportation management association are also part of the plan.
The Berryessa MTIP will identify additional projects and programs to support the broader study area. These will be grouped into the following categories: transit priority, bicycle priority; pedestrian priority;
traffic calming and safety;
trail connections; street
extensions, curbside
management; mobility hubs;
and TDM programs. The plan
will rank these projects and
programs and develop
conceptual designs and
implementation strategies.
Public input will be collected
in 2022 via an online survey,
community meetings, and
focused outreach to
community organizations.
Due to resource constraints,
the Berryessa MTIP is on
hold until after WSJ MTIP
and DTP completion.
5. North San José MTIP
Figure 5 - Berryessa MTIP Area and draft network plan
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
The North San José MTIP (NSJ MTIP) will be a community-based plan for quick-build, near and long-term transportation improvements in north San José. This plan will identify a prioritized list of transportation programs and policies incentivizing sustainable travel for people who live, work, and enjoy north San José. The NSJ MTIP will capitalize on the recent amendment of the North San José Area Development Policy. North San José is expected to see the most significant housing growth in the City, with 97,000 new jobs and 32,000 new housing units. The plan will positively impact mode shift and reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.
The NSJ MTIP will be funded by the Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant for FY 2022-23. A Request for Proposal will be released in Fall 2022.
D. Complete Streets Plans
The City creates complete street plans for projects identified in the MTIPs and other programs such as the Better Bike Plan 2025 and Vision Zero program. VTA also initiated some complete street plans. Through community-based planning processes, complete street plans identify design features that prioritize bicycle, pedestrian, and transit travel while still serving motorists and develop conceptual design and subsequent detailed design plans.
1. Story-Keyes Complete Street
The City has secured Active Transportation Program grant funding of $12.9 million to design and construct the western portion of the study corridor (west of Third St) in accordance with the VTA’s Story-Keyes Complete Street Study. Furthermore, we are developing a grant proposal for Story-Keyes from Third St over the US-101 overcrossing for submittal in June to the current round of the Active Transportation Program fund.
2. Bascom Ave Complete Street
In May 2021, the City and VTA began the environmental and design work of the northern portion of the study corridor (between I-880 and Hamilton Ave) in accordance with the VTA’s Bascom Corridor Complete Street Study. VTA and the City are developing a grant proposal to construct this northern portion.
3. Tasman Ave Complete Street
The Tasman Corridor Complete Streets Study, a joint project with VTA and the cities of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San José, and Milpitas, was adopted in September 2021 by the VTA Board.
4. Monterey Road Transit-Priority Study
Since March 2022, the City has been working in cooperation with VTA to develop design plans for short-term, quick-build transit priority improvements on Monterey Rd. The design plans will explore opportunities to improve safe bike and pedestrian access to bus stops and
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
enhance transit facilities, including dedicated bus lanes with protected bike lanes on Monterey Rd from Alma St to Ford Dr.
5. Stevens Creek Boulevard Vision Study
The Stevens Creek Boulevard transit priority improvement project is identified in the WSJ MTIP (see Section C.2 above). Due to the shared jurisdictional borders in the corridor, implementing this project requires a coordinated and cooperative approach. This will ensure the plan serves all stakeholders, including residents, businesses, and visitors, with safe, convenient, and practical multimodal mobility. This study aims to develop conceptual design plans for the corridor.
In May 2022, the City Council directed staff to finalize multiple funding agreements with the County of Santa Clara, VTA, City of Santa Clara, and City of Cupertino to support the total study cost of $794,400. Upon completion of the funding agreements in Summer 2022, the City will kick off this study in collaboration with the four agencies in Fall 2022.
6. King Road Complete Streets Study
The King Road transit-priority
improvement project (between I-280
and Mabury Rd) is identified in En
Movimiento (See Section C.1 above).
The City has secured Caltrans’
Sustainable Transportation Planning
Grant funding of $451,000 to conduct
a complete street study for the
southern section of King Rd between
Capitol Expwy and I-280. The study
aims to develop conceptual design
plans for the southern section of King
Rd, complementing the northern
section (En Movimiento) to make
King Rd, one of San José’s highest
bus ridership corridors, a safer and
more inviting place to walk, bike and
take transit, for historically underresourced East San José communities. A Request for Proposal
was released in April 2022. The
study is expected to begin in Fall
2022.
7. Santa Clara Street Transit and
Streetscape Enhancement Study Figure 6 - King Road Complete Streets Plan Project Area B MTIP A d d f k l
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
Santa Clara Street Transit and Streetscape Enhancement is one of the "big moves" recommended in the Downtown Transportation Plan (see Section C.3 above). To implement this big move, the City will conduct a comprehensive complete street study to develop a preferred design alternative and roadmap for transforming the ‘main street’ of the city between White St and US-101. The study will leverage significant land use and transit investments along the street (e.g., BART, Diridon Integrated Station, LRT, frequent bus service, Downtown West development), address community needs, and build community capacity. The study is expected to begin in Fall 2022.
E. Transportation Planning Policies
The City creates transportation planning policies to shape decision-making around the allocation of transportation resources, including the management and regulation of land use and transportation activities. These policies aim to align with statewide and regional policies, advance citywide transportation goals, and establish appropriate regulatory frameworks for managing transportation resources in the city.
1. Update to City Council Policy 5-1 (Transportation Analysis Policy) The City’s Transportation Analysis Policy, adopted by Council in 2018, shifted from level of service to vehicle miles traveled for evaluating transportation impacts of development and transportation projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Since January 2021, staff has been evaluating how effective the policy has been in advancing the City’s land use and transportation goals during the last three years of implementation.
Proposed amendments include expanding the screening criteria for market-rate and affordable housing projects, allowing significant and unavoidable impacts to be overridden for eligible housing projects, and updating the CEQA thresholds and transportation analysis requirements.
The proposed policy update is expected to go to Council for consideration in Fall 2022, in coordination with updates to the City’s Parking and Transportation Demand Management ordinance.
2. Update to Citywide Parking and Transportation Demand Management Ordinance The City is reevaluating its parking and TDM policies for new developments to advance City’s land use and transportation goals. Current parking and TDM standards do not support community goals such as providing more affordable housing and transportation, improving transportation options, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting more walkable neighborhoods. Through the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ ACCC, the City partnered with Urban Land Institute to comprehensively evaluate and recommend updates to the parking and TDM requirements for new developments.
City staff has carried out extensive community engagement for this effort, starting with an Urban Land Use Institute Technical Assistance Panel presentation to the Planning Commission study session in January 2020. Since then, the City has partnered with SPUR,
TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
May 18, 2022
Subject: Major Local Transportation Planning Report
Greenbelt Alliance, and Veggielution to conduct over 30 events engaging over 1,300 attendees. These events included webinars, focused outreach sessions, in-person events, developers’ roundtables, and a City Council study session. In December 2021, the City partnered with Latinos United for a New America (LUNA) to engage with under-resourced communities. Staff recommendations on the policy framework will go to City Council for consideration on June 21, 2022.
3. Transit-First Policy
City Staff has developed a Transit-First Policy per 2020 Council Policy Priority #14:
Citywide Transit First Policy Framework. This work seeks to align the City’s transportation goals by supporting a transit system that is equitable, reliable, and competitive. The proposed policy includes two components: (1) a policy to prioritize transit vehicle operation and riders’ access to transit stops in the design of Grand Boulevards (i.e. the city’s transit priority corridors) and streets serving frequent transit routes; and (2) a toolkit describing the costs and benefits of implementing transit-supportive improvements as well as where and when to implement these improvements.
The Transit First Policy is expected to go for Council consideration in August 2022. /s/
JOHN RISTOW
Director of Transportation
For questions, contact Ramses Madou, Division Manager of Planning, Policy, and Sustainability Department of Transportation, [email protected], 408-975-3283.