Title
Status Report on Transportation
and
Recommendations for Commercial Streets and Slow Streets Programs
(Action)
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly and dramatically changed both the transportation and economic environment in Alameda, which are closely inter-woven. In response, since April 2020, City staff has implemented many new transportation efforts, or re-tooled existing efforts, to ensure that residents, businesses and visitors can safely live, work, shop and dine in Alameda. On May 19th, the Council endorsed the implementation of the Commercial Streets program and the residential Slow Streets programs, and provided general guidance on continuing these programs in the short-term. Both programs have been substantially implemented, including the restriping of segments of Park and Webster Streets in early July and August, respectively; issuing 12 parklet permits as of September 9 and an encroachment permit to partially close Alameda Avenue; and designating 4.5 miles of roadway as Slow Streets. Staff continue to work to implement and expand the programs in response changing County Health Orders, requests from the business community and community input. Both programs are largely supported by the resident and business communities, and seen as successes.
Staff recommend taking actions described in this report to continue, enhance and expand the programs in ways that are safe; to allocate funding to support the continued success of the programs, including permit fee waivers; and to authorize the submittal of a small grant to further establish these programs. Staff recommend against temporary street closures, such as Park Street, at this time for health safety and other reasons, but this can be re-considered at a future date.
On September 1st, Council unanimously supported the extension of the Commercial Streets program beyond the initial end date of November 3, 2020 through October 31, 2021 in response to the continuing pandemic. Council has previously endorsed continuing the Slow Streets program while the physical distancing requirements are in place, and since these are expected to last at least through late 2021, staff intend to continue the program through October 31, 2021, as well. Staff will conduct in-depth evaluations of the programs by July 2021, and bring recommendations to the Council on whether or not, and how, to continue the programs past October 31, 2021.
The Status Report on Transportation (September 2020), Exhibit 1, provides a snap shot of work in progress or completed on the 2018 Transportation Choices Plan. It highlights the progress made on transportation projects and programs since the last report, in May 2020. Since then, City staff have continued to focus on safety and traffic calming, and have prioritized the new commercial and slow streets program in response to COVID-19. Transit and paratransit service reductions and modifications are explained, as is a status of the funding projections expected for transportation.
BACKGROUND
To support its business community and the health and safety Alameda residents, employees and visitors during this global pandemic, staff developed the Commercial Streets program, and launched it in May 2020. The objectives are to:
• Support business needs for additional space to meet temporary changes in operations to address public safety and COVID-19, as articulated in County Health Orders.
• Create more space for people to safely walk along the commercial corridors while physically distancing as more stores and businesses open.
• Create more space for customers to safely stand in lines to shop at businesses while also allowing enough space for people to walk along the corridor.
• Create more space for well-separated (6 feet or more) dining and shopping.
• Create more space for convenient customer pick-up of products and to-go meals from outside the building.
On April 29th the City launched the Slow Streets Alameda program in response to the COVID-19 emergency to provide more space for residents to walk, run, bike, scooter and roll, while meeting the current physical distancing requirements of at least six feet. To date, 4.5 miles of streets have been temporarily re-configured with temporary barriers and signs to discourage through traffic, while still allowing emergency vehicles and those needing to access a destination on the street, like residents and delivery drivers.
Updates on all that has been accomplished for both programs since April 2020 is included in the Status Report on Transportation, September 2020 (Exhibit 1), along with updates on all other transportation projects and programs, since the last update was provided in May.
DISCUSSION
Commercial Streets Program
From the community responses so far and the close work with the business community, the program appears to generally be working well:
• The business districts appreciate the roadway re-striping along Park and Webster Streets, and parklet spaces are being utilitzed more and more to support commerce.
• The demand for parklets is increasing, as businesses see the possibilities, and additional resources become available; and the community is utilizing these new outdoor spaces to shop and dine.
• No new traffic safety issues have arisen on the re-striped streets.
• The new 15-minute curbside parking is working as intended, with good turnover of parking.
• There are no major traffic back-ups along Park and Webster Streets, where the lane reductions were installed.
There are some areas that still need improvement:
• Signage and bollards often migrate, disappear or are vandalized; and the A-frame barriers have a construction-zone look. There’s a need to make the signage and barriers more permanent, and more aesthetically pleasing.
• There are some businesses not meeting the City’s parklet and sidewalk usage conditions and the County Health orders. Enforcement is needed to keep the community safe and maintain comfortable and accessible conditions for people walking. This issue was addressed by the City Council at its September 1 meeting, where Code Enforcement staffing was allocated for this type of enforcement. Staff are developing educational materials in multiple languages which will be handed out before enforcement actions are taken.
• Bus transit travel times along Park Street have initially slowed by about ten percent, compared to before COVID-19. Staff are working on traffic signal modifications that will hopefully decrease this slow down. Staff have not received reports from AC Transit yet on any impacts to Webster Street.
• Additional bicycle parking is needed, to encourage people to bike, rather than drive, to the shopping districts. Racks have been purchased and they will be installed this Fall.
• The Downtown Alameda Business Association (DABA) has requested that the Park Street restriping be extended south from Encinal Street to San Jose so that additional businesses can participate in the parklet program. Staff intend to implement this restriping, at an anticipated cost of $25-30,000.
To date, this new program has cost over $180,000 for staff time, consultant and contractor support, and materials, as shown below.
|
Costs for Commercial Streets Program (May- September 2020) |
|
|
Street Striping Design (consultant) |
$26,000 |
|
Park & Webster Streets Striping |
$112,000 |
|
Sturdy (water-filled) Barriers |
$25,000 |
|
Bicycle Racks (not yet installed) |
$4,000 |
|
Signage for curbside parking |
$1,400 |
|
Staffing: Public Works |
$13,000 |
|
Staffing: Planning, Transportation Planning, Economic Development, Risk Management, Fire, Police |
Not estimated (substantial) |
|
Total |
$181,400++ |
Additionally, at its September 1st meeting, the Council approved a referral to allocate $250,000 for a grant program for parklets and street closures to DABA and West Alameda Business Association (WABA), and to allocate $50,000 to purchase water-filled barriers to better separate and protect parklets from vehicular traffic. These are federal “CARES” funds that must be expended by mid-November, and are reimbursable from the federal government. At the same meeting, the Council also directed staff to allocate up to two full time equivalent Code Enforcement staff to enforce the Commercial Streets program, along with public parks.
Initially, before the long duration of physical distancing requirements and the County Health Orders were known, an end date of November 3, 2020, was used for the Commercial Streets program as a date when the days would become shorter and the parklets might no longer be needed. Given the continuing pandemic situation and Council’s action at its September 1st meeting, the program will be extended through October 31, 2021, with the option to end earlier, should physical distancing no longer be needed. By July 2021, staff will conduct an in-depth evaluations of the program and bring recommendations to the Council on whether or not, and how, to continue the programs past this date
Residential Slow Streets Program
The City, with Council support at its May 19th meeting, expanded the original two Slow Streets to the four it has today:
• Pacific Ave (Ninth to Oak Sts)
• Versailles Ave (Fernside Blvd to Otis Dr)
• Santa Clara Ave (Pacific Ave to Sixth St)
• San Jose Ave (Morton to Oak Sts) plus Morton (San Jose to San Antonio Aves)
The City is collecting input via a community survey on the program web page, and has used this input to shape the program. As of early September, almost 1000 people have responded to the survey. The vast majority of the responses were received early in the program implementation, before the second and third phases of the Slow Streets program were completed, and so the overall survey responses may not reflect current opinions of the program, which has now been in place for almost five months. The survey highlights are:
• 73% support the program, 19% don’t support, and 6% somewhat support it or have no opinion.
• 16% of all respondents live on a Slow Street.
• 72% would like to see the program continue, while 21% would not, and 7% did not respond to this question.
• Since program inception, the top problematic issue observed has been “Missing road closures barriers/signage,” which was cited twice as often as the other top issues of Speeding cars, Drivers disobeying road closure, Driver confusion, and People not wearing masks. However, of the 115 responses received since the most recent, third phase of the program was implemented, the “Missing road closures barriers/signage” issue has decreased, while Speeding cars and Driver confusion have increased, with these three issues all cited equally.
From the community survey responses and early evaluation of the program, the program appears to be utilized and successful:
• Traffic counts along the Slow Streets show that bicycling and walking has increased significantly, while auto traffic volumes have decreased by more than half. (Traffic speeds were not measured before the program was implement and have not been measured post-implementation.)
• There have been no significant safety issues, nor an increase in collisions (although there are reports of near-misses).
• Any traffic diversion impacts appear to be minimal.
• Many community members have requested that their street, or more streets around the city, be made into Slow Streets, showing the popularity of streets that are calmer, with less traffic.
There are some areas that could use improvement:
• Requests continue to be made for more barricades and signage, and slowing or stopping cars at busier intersections to make their crossing easier.
• The network of Slow Streets is not connected, and there are no Slow Streets on Bay Farm Island.
• The City is running out of barricades to use for future expansion.
• The barricades and cones often migrate, though local volunteers help to keep them in place.
All of the current Slow Streets are streets that were recommended to be bicycle boulevards in the draft recommendations for the Active Transportation Plan (ATP). Staff are still analyzing the input gathered on these recommendations in July and August of this year, however the bicycle boulevard concept seems to be supported by the community, along with the desire for additional traffic calming treatments throughout the city. Given this, staff see an opportunity to further enhance the Slow Streets, so that they are less temporary for the coming year.
At its May 19th meeting, Council approved the staff recommendation to continue the Slow Streets program for the duration of the Shelter-in-Place Order, with its physical distancing requirements. Given that these requirements are likely to continue into late 2021, staff plans to continue the Slow Streets program until October 31, 2021, similar to the Commercial Streets program, as long as the program continues to be successful and safe. Staff will modify and expand the program, using existing resources plus any grant funds, to meet the perceived community desire for an expanded and connected Slow Streets network. Streets being considered for expansion include:
• 8th and 9th Streets between Jean Sweeney Open Space Park and San Antonio Ave
• Haight or Taylor between 6th and 9th Streets
• San Antonio (Ninth to Morton Sts)
• San Jose (Oak St to Fernside Blvd)
• One or more Bay Farm Island streets, possibly Fontana, Catalina Ave, Holly, Fir, Melrose.
Also like the Commercial Streets program, by July 2021, staff will conduct an in-depth evaluation of the program and bring recommendations to the Council on whether or not, and how, to continue the programs past this date.
The Slow Streets program costs to date, from May through early September 2020, are minimal in terms direct costs ($1200 for flyers, posters and yard signs). The primary costs have been in staff time, particularly for Transportation Planning and Public Works staff, which have not been tracked.
Staff Recommendations for both Programs:
• Waive permit fees for issued and future encroachment permits for parklets, sidewalk commercial usage, semi-permanent street closures (like Alameda Avenue) and the business improvement areas for outdoor commercial usage, through October 31, 2021. Because each permit fee would typically be $1,230, this is estimated to be approximately $62,000 in total waived fees, under the assumption that a total of 50 permits will be issued through the end of the program (15 permits have been issued to date).
• Delay short term, temporary, “special event” street closures along Park Street or other side streets. Staff does not recommend scheduling any temporary closures of Park Street or side streets at this time, for the following reasons:
o COVID-19 Safety: A special event closure of Park Street once a month or once every two weeks would encourage Alameda residents to gather on Park Street on those “special event” days. Staff is actively working to discourage large groups of people gathering at single locations in Alameda. Staff recommends delaying any decisions to temporarily close a street, until such time that the City is comfortable encouraging residents to congregate in a single area to avoid the risks of spreading COVID in our community. Currently, County Health Orders prohibit Outdoor Events, and a temporary (versus permanent) street closure could be interpreted to be a type of outdoor event, although this is not clear.
o Traffic Safety: Diverting the 10,000 plus vehicles a day that currently use Park Street to smaller parallel streets that don’t have the traffic control infrastructure of Park Street could increase the risk of collisions, particularly bicycle and pedestrian collisions, on these side streets. Historically, the City has approved special events of this kind three or four times a year. To increase the occurrences to 12 to 24 times a year raises the question: do the benefits to the community outweigh the potential safety impacts to the community? At this time, staff does not find the benefits would outweigh the potential impacts.
o Bus Transit Impacts: AC Transit, which is already struggling with reduced ridership and is serving essential workers and lower-income communities, is very concerned about the bus delays from re-routing of their buses. Rerouting buses on a monthly or semi-regular basis would also have cost impacts for AC Transit.
o Cost: DABA has expressed that they would hope that the City could waive payment of any Special Event permit costs that would usually be required of the applicant. Intermittent closures of a street would cost approximately $10,000 in permit fees for the first closure, to design the traffic detour plan, and $5,000 per closure after that. For one year, if the closures were weekly, that would be an approximate total cost to the City of $265,000. Alternatively, the City Council could allocate this amount of funding to direct business grants, or other programs to directly support businesses. (Note that WABA is not currently pursuing any temporary street closures for Webster Street or side streets.)
• Authorize the City’s application for a grant from the Alameda CTC COVID-19 Rapid Response Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program. This non-competitive grant is for quick-build transportation improvement projects that support improved bicycle and pedestrian accessibility to local businesses. The maximum grant award is $75,000, and there is a required 100% match, for a total potential program cost of $150,000. Staff recommend applying for the maximum grant amount to enhance and expand both the Commercial and Slow Streets program by: installing more substantial and, as appropriate, semi-permanent infrastructure that is less likely to be stolen or damaged, and will last for at least another year; to repair, maintain and replace signs and barricades; to expand the Slow Streets program to more streets by purchasing additional barricades and signs; to make striping adjustments to Park and Webster Streets, as needed; and other similar efforts.
Staff Seek Guidance for Programs on:
• Using permanent or semi-permanent paint to decorate Commercial Streets that are temporarily closed to traffic, such as Alameda Ave, upon request from a business district. Once installed, any permanent paint will not be easy or inexpensive to remove. At the same time, these streets could be closed for up to a year, and decorative paint could help to promote physical distance, and create a sense of place. DABA has requested to paint the closed section of Alameda Ave. If the City were to allow this, it would need to be prepared to pay, before the street is re-opened to traffic, for the paint to be blacked-out or ground down.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Staff recommends that the $62,000 in waived permit fees and the $75,000 in matching funds for the Alameda CTC grant be funded by the COVID-19 and Measures B/BB bicycle/pedestrian funds (Project No. 4226287).
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Actions to preserve the health and safety of Alameda residents and business customers and actions to support the health and economic survival of the Alameda business community are consistent with General Plan Land Use, Transportation, and Safety Element goals and priorities. The Council’s adopted Street Design Resolution (#15648) states that “when designing, redesigning or resurfacing streets consistent with this policy, improvements and right-of-way space shall be allocated based upon the following principles and priorities…Provide safe and convenient access for vulnerable users including children, seniors, and people bicycling and walking..., and Safety for people walking and bicycling shall be the highest priority.”
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15269(c) Emergency Projects, 15301(c) Existing Facilities, Section 15304 (h) Minor Alterations to Land and the creation of bicycle lanes on existing public rights of way, and CEQA Section 21080.20.5, the proposed reconfiguration of these existing streets for to increase space for pedestrians and bicyclists is categorically exempt from further environmental review.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Transportation Commission recommend that the City Council:
1. Waive the Encroachment Permit fees through October 31, 2021 for the Commercial Streets program;
2. Delay short term, temporary, “special event” street closures along Park Street and other side streets; and
3. Authorize staff to apply for the Alameda CTC COVID-19 Rapid Response Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program to enhance and expand the Commercial and Slow Streets Programs, and allocate $75,000 in matching funds.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Director, Planning, Building, and Transportation Department
By,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibit:
1. City of Alameda Status Report on Transportation (September 2020)