Title
Provide input on Active Transportation Plan Draft Vision and Goals,
and Receive Project Update (Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator)
Body
Transportation Commission
January 22, 2020
Item # 5C
(ACTION)
Provide input on Active Transportation Plan Draft Vision and Goals,
and Receive Project Update
Background
Last year the City embarked on updating its decade-old Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans as one combined Active Transportation Plan (ATP). In July 2019, the City awarded a contract to Toole Design to complete the ATP as well as a Vision Zero Action Plan. The City and Toole launched the project in August 2019 and since then have been busy with project start-up activities, public engagement, compiling and analyzing existing conditions, and developing the Plan Vision and Goals. Staff and the consultant last provided an update to the Transportation Commission in September 2019, where the Public Engagement Plan and Equity Framework were presented and input was received. Overall, the ATP project continues to be on track to present a draft Plan to the Transportation Commission in October 2020 and to the City Council in November 2020.
Discussion
Since August 2019, the project has been in the “Project Discovery” phase of work, which focuses on setting the foundation for the planning work, informing the community about the Plan and soliciting input, and understanding the existing conditions. The staff and consultant team have also drafted the Plan Vision and Goals, and begun developing key policies and standards that can immediately be applied to near-term projects.
Public Engagement
A large part of this initial Project Discovery phase is reaching out to and hearing from the community. To that end, many efforts were undertaken in the first months of the project, as follows:
• Website: A project website (www.ActiveAlameda.org <http://www.ActiveAlameda.org>) and logo were developed to inform the public about the project, let people know how to participate and increase the visibility of the project.
• Open House: The first Open House, held in November 2019, was very successful with over 150 adults and children in attendance. All materials from the first Open House are posted on the project web page. A summary of the Open House event and input received is included as Exhibit 1.
• Events: To date, City staff have attended 10 events and meetings to solicit input on walking and biking in Alameda, with more scheduled. In addition to general audiences, staff are targeting under-represented and disadvantaged communities, such as children, seniors, people of color and the homeless. A list of the completed events and meetings attended is on the project web page.
• Community Advisory Group: City staff invited a group of 11 individuals representing the wide diversity of the City to be part of a Community Advisory Group for the ATP. The Group includes two high school students, a senior, two representatives of the business community, a representative of Bike Walk Alameda, two parents involved in improving safe access to schools, a member of Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) who is also a transit rider, a person with a disability and a renter. As a whole, the Group includes people of a variety of races and ethnicities. The Group’s first meeting was held in November, where it provided input on the Equity Framework and what it is like to walk and bicycle today in Alameda.
• Web-based maps: As a way to gather even more input on how the community feels about the built environment for walking and biking, interactive web-based maps of the existing conditions for walking and bicycling were developed and posted online in mid-December 2019. To date, over 1300 public comments have been added to the maps on locations and routes where people either like or dislike walking or riding, feel unsafe walking or riding, or have been almost hit by a vehicle while walking or riding. The City has widely promoted these maps and recruited partner groups and agencies to also publicize them. These maps can be found at the following link: <https://tooledesign.github.io/F0061-Alameda-City-ATP/>
Input will be collected on these maps through January 26th, after which the comments will be analyzed and used as one of several tools to develop the network recommendations. At any time, the public can email suggestions, ideas or questions for the ATP to staff at ActiveAlameda@AlamedaCA.gov <mailto:ActiveAlameda@AlamedaCA.gov>.
• Informational Postcard: An overview postcard with high-level project information, plus the project email address and website was created in three languages (English, Chinese, and Spanish) and distributed widely. Postcards are available to Transportation Commissioners and the community, should they want to help get out the word about the project.
Community Survey
The project team developed and conducted a statistically-significant community survey in November and December 2019 of 500 community members who are over 16 years old on their walking and biking attitudes. The results of this survey, which will help inform and guide the recommendations for the ATP, are being analyzed in depth and an extensive report with cross-tabulations is being developed and will be shared with the Transportation Commission
Policies and Standards Development
At the same time that the ATP is being developed, the consultant and staff team are working on developing high priority policies and standards to bring to the Transportation Commission and City Council for adoption, with the goal of accelerating the implementation of walking and bicycling improvements. As called for in the adopted Vision Zero Policy, staff are working on five policy areas: motor vehicle travel lane widths; street widths for fire access; bike lane and buffer design; crosswalk placement and design; and rapid installation bulb-outs. Staff plan to bring these updated policies and standards to the Transportation Commission in February and then to the City Council.
Vision and Goals
A key guiding component of any planning document is the vision and goals. Given the many new plans that were adopted after the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans were adopted (in 2009 and 2010 respectively), staff saw an opportunity to update and also refresh the existing visions and goals in the existing plans. The vision statements in the existing 2009 and 2010 Plans are:
Pedestrian Plan: Plan, construct and adequately maintain a functional, accessible and convenient pedestrian network throughout the City of Alameda that addresses pedestrians’ mobility needs in a manner that enhances community identity and livability.
Bicycle Master Plan: The City of Alameda will implement policies, projects and programs to facilitate bicycling for riders of all abilities, for all types of trips, throughout the City and to neighboring jurisdictions.
The attached memo (Exhibit 2) provides a brief background on the documents reviewed in the development of the new Vision and Goals, along with the draft Vision and Goals. While these will not be finalized until the adoption of the Plan, staff are requesting input from the Transportation Commission at this time, since the goals will be used in developing and prioritizing Plan recommendations. In particular, staff request feedback on the overall tone of the Vision and Goals, whether anything significant is missing and if any major modifications should be made.
Next Steps
In March 2020, staff will present the key findings from the existing conditions report and the needs analysis to the Transportation Commission. Through the fall, staff and the consultant will develop the bicycle and pedestrian networks; develop program and policy recommendations; prioritize recommendations; and draft the Plan. Throughout the process, staff will continue to solicit public input at key phases. The draft Plan will be brought to the Transportation Commission in October and to City Council in November for adoption.
Financial Impact
The City’s approved FY 2019-2021 Transportation Planning Division Budget includes $330,000 to be used towards the consultant contract for the development of the Active Transportation Plan and the Vision Zero Action Plan. These funds come from a mix of Measures B/BB Bicycle and Pedestrian funds, Local Streets and Roads funds and TDA Article 3 local discretionary grant funds.
Municipal Code/Policy Document Cross Reference
The Transportation Choices Plan (2018) includes two high priority projects that directly call for updating the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans: Project 2: “Bicycle Master Plan and Design Guidelines Update and Vision Zero Safety Policy/Plan” and Project 9: “Pedestrian Master Plan and Design Guidelines Update and Vision Zero Safety Policy/Plan.”
Having Pedestrian and Bicycle Plans is called for in the Transportation Element of the City's General Plan, as referenced in the following policies:
4.3.2.d Develop and implement a Pedestrian Master Plan with regard to physical system improvements, as well as programs and policies relating to encouragement, education and enforcement.
4.3.3.a Maintain and implement the Bicycle Master Plan with regard to physical system improvements (especially the identified priority projects), as well as programs and policies relating to encouragement, education and enforcement.
Environmental Review
Approval to develop planning documents is statutorily exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Any future physical changes to the environment or roadway network that requires discretionary action by the City Council or Transportation Commission will be subject to future environmental review.
Recommendation
Provide input on Active Transportation Plan Draft Vision and Goals and receive an update on the project.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Director, Planning, Building, and Transportation Department
By,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Active Transportation Plan (ATP) November 2019 Open House Summary
2. ATP Draft Vision and Goals