Title
Named Measure BB Bus Project Repurposing - City - 10 mins
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To: Members of the City of Alameda - AC Transit Interagency Liaison Committee
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City of Alameda (City) staff recommends repurposing the Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (Appezzato Pkwy) Dedicated Bus Lane project to three high-priority multimodal projects that benefit transit service to new development, totaling $9 million. These funds are from Measure BB’s Transportation Expenditure Plan (TEP), which has a named bus project benefiting the City for bus efficiencies that provide service to new development. This recommendation was developed in coordination with AC Transit and Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) staff.
BACKGROUND
In 2014, Alameda County voters passed Measure BB, which is a one cent sales tax for transportation administered by the Alameda CTC. The TEP for Measure BB has four named rapid bus projects. One of them is for a bus corridor project within the City of Alameda and is titled “Alameda to Fruitvale BART Rapid Bus” for $9 million. As stated in Exhibit 1, these named rapid bus projects must:
“enhance the reliability and speed of bus transit services in the East Bay. These projects include the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit and transit priority projects on some of the busiest corridors in the AC Transit system…. Funds may be used for project development, design, construction, access and enhancement of the rapid transit corridors.” (Exhibit 1)
For the “Alameda to Fruitvale BART Rapid Bus” project, the TEP states that the project:
“will provide a fast and reliable connection between the City of Alameda and the Fruitvale BART station, providing service to new development proposed for the City of Alameda.” (Exhibit 1)
A timeline of actions since then follows:
• In 2016, the City requested to use the $9 million in Named Measure BB funds for dedicated bus lanes on Appezzato Pkwy with the expectation that AC Transit would provide high-frequency service on this corridor due to the Alameda Point development.
• In 2017, Alameda CTC approved the Appezzato Pkwy dedicated bus lanes project as part of its 2018 Comprehensive Investment Plan.
• In 2017 and 2019, the City included the Appezzato Pkwy bus lane project in its two-year Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs) (Exhibit 2).
• In 2023, AC Transit’s draft Realign plan did not include new bus service on Appezzato Pkwy, however, it did propose new bus service along Willie Stargell Avenue and service along Lincoln Avenue between Main Street and Webster Street.
• At the October 2023 AC Transit/City of Alameda Interagency Liaison Committee (ILC) meeting, the Named Measure BB bus project was discussed to inform the group of the need to repurpose the $9 million bus project from Appezzato Pkwy to other locations within the City.
• In November 2023, the Alameda CTC Commission approved a time extension to repurpose the funds by September 30, 2024, at which time the City would be “required to provide an update to Alameda CTC with a viable project delivery plan.”
• In 2023 and 2024, City staff worked with Alameda CTC staff to further the proposal to repurpose the funds, and provide the required documents. The attached memo (Exhibit 3) analyzed and prioritized possible replacement projects and ultimately supported the three recommended high-priority projects benefiting bus transit.
• In October 2024, AC Transit finalized the Realign plan with a re-routed Line 19 (instead of Line 20, which had previously been proposed) that will serve Appezzato Pkwy and Stargell from Main St to Fifth St, at one-hour frequency.
• At its December 2024 meeting, the Alameda CTC Commission took action to “not approve a time extension for the Alameda to Fruitvale BART Rapid Bus project (TEP-14)… [Alameda CTC] Staff will continue to work with the project sponsor and return to the Commission in 2025 with proposed strategies to reprogram Measure BB funds.” (Exhibit 4) This step was taken to enable the funds to be repurposed, and City staff are waiting for a confirmation of next steps.
DISCUSSION
City staff and the Kittelson consultant team worked with AC Transit and Alameda CTC staff to develop the project proposal shown in Table 1 below. The proposal prioritizes locations that have bus lines serving areas where new development is expected: the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor improvements ($4 million) and the Stargell/Alameda Point multimodal improvements ($4 million) serve bus lines to Alameda Point, and the Westline Drive bus queue jump lane project by Washington Park ($1 million) would benefit any new development at the South Shore shopping center.
This proposal focuses on continuing the momentum of the City’s existing high-priority projects, which is important due to the lack of funding reserves. While the final alignment of the future Line 19 does run on Appezzato Pkwy, the low frequency does not require bus-only infrastructure, and there are existing bus stops. Instead, the recommended allocation for Stargell/Alameda Point would fund transit infrastructure at new stop locations where there are none today. The three projects and their transit-supportive features include:
• Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvements: The overall three-mile corridor project is located on a high-injury corridor identified in the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan. Along with safety enhancements, the Measure BB Named project funds would support a bus island at the Academy of Alameda (at Pacific Ave and Fourth St), consolidated bus stops between Fifth Street and Webster Street for improved efficiency, bus stop amenities, and intersection improvements to make bus stops safer and easier to access.
• Stargell/Alameda Point Multimodal Improvements: The overall Willie Stargell Avenue Complete Street project (from Main St to Mariner Sq Loop) includes separate walking and biking paths, traffic calming, and pedestrian crossing enhancements. The additional Measure BB Named project funding would enhance the project with additional transit-focused improvements, including two pairs of new bus stops with amenities for the rerouted Line 19, enhanced crossings to those new bus stops, and improved intersection operations for the 19 and 96 with a new roundabout at 5th Street.
• Westline Bus Queue Jump Lane: The Westline Drive Bus Queue Jump Lane project would identify a transit-only lane along Westline Drive/Eighth Street between Otis Drive and Portola Avenue, in the northbound direction. A dedicated bus lane would allow buses traveling northbound to Central Avenue to bypass general traffic queues. As part of a multimodal concept design process, the project would also identify protected bikeways on or adjacent to Westline Drive/Eighth Street to close the Westline/Shoreline and Central Avenue bike lane gap.
Construction would be expected to begin in 2026 for the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor, by 2027/28 for the Stargell Avenue corridor, and in 2027 for the Westline Drive bus queue jump lane.
The City is seeking ILC feedback in January and Transportation Commission review and recommendation in February. Alameda CTC is expected to initiate a 45-day public comment period on the amendment to the TEP sometime in late Spring/early Summer 2025. During this period, City staff would seek City Council approval and formal endorsement of the amendment (possibly in April). Alameda CTC Commission approval to amend the TEP with the repurposed project would be expected in Summer 2025.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
City staff recommends that the projects be funded by the Measure BB Named Bus project in the 2014 TEP for $9 million. Alameda County’s transportation sales tax is administered by the Alameda CTC. Alameda CTC will need to approve the City’s proposal to repurpose the Named Bus Project from the Appezzato Pkwy project to the projects. If approved, the Appezzato Pkwy project (C65400) will shift to the capital projects as follows:
Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor improvements (C65700): $4 million
Stargell/Alameda Point multimodal improvements: $4 million
Westline queue jump lane: $1 million
Total: $9 million
There is no financial impact to the City from this requested action; however, these projects may require financial contributions from the City that would be subject to future City Council approval such as City staff time for implementation.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The recommended projects are consistent with the General Plan (2021) and make progress towards meeting the four goals of the Mobility Element, which are as follows:
Goal 1 - Equity: Provide for the mobility needs of all Alameda residents, workers, and visitors regardless of income, age, ability, or neighborhood.
Goal 2 - Safety: Eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on Alameda’s streets, sidewalks, crosswalks and trails by 2035.
Goal 3 - Choices: Expand and improve alternatives to low occupancy automobile trips to incentivize mode shift to more environmentally sustainable modes of transportation while recognizing the diverse needs for mobility.
Goal 4 - Sustainability: Reduce the impacts of transportation systems on the environment, and transition to a more resilient transportation system to address the impacts of climate change.
Vulnerable users are supported in the Mobility Element under ME-6 with a policy that prioritizes transportation improvements for vulnerable users including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and underserved communities.
Roundabouts are supported in the Mobility Element under ME-7 by prioritizing use of roundabouts to improve safety and access while lowering maintenance costs.
Transit is supported in the Mobility Element under ME-16 to ensure community members have access to safe, reliable and high-quality transit.
RECOMMENDATION
Review and discuss the City recommendation to repurpose $9 million in Named Measure BB Bus Project from the Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway Bus Queue Jump Lane to three transit-focused multimodal projects
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Director of Planning, Building and Transportation
By,
Gail Payne, Project Manager
Susie Hufstader, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Measure BB Transportation Expenditure Plan
2. Appezzato Pkwy Bus Queue Jump Lane Project Sheet
3. Proposed Project Memo
4. Alameda CTC Repurposing Memo from 12/05/24 Commission Meeting