Title
Review Complete Streets Checklist and Provide Input on Stargell Ave Safety Improvements Project (Discussion)
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Transportation Commission
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff are developing a grant application to make safety improvements and add walking and biking facilities along Stargell Avenue from Main Street to Mariner Square Loop, including new separate walking and biking paths in the vacant City right of way north of Stargell Ave, and crossing improvements for people walking across Stargell Avenue. The City will apply for an approximately $5-6 million project to both the state and regional Active Transportation Program, Cycle 7. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which administers the regional program, requires that a transportation-related City commission or committee review a draft Complete Streets Checklist, which is part of the application. The Transportation Commission is requested to review and provide input on both the Stargell Avenue Safety Improvement Project draft checklist (Exhibit 1) and the draft concept plan (Exhibit 2).
BACKGROUND
Stargell Avenue between Main and Fifth Streets serves as an automobile, pedestrian and bicycle connection between Alameda Point, the Alameda Point Collaborative and the Main Street Ferry Terminal; and the College of Alameda, Alameda Landing Shopping Center and Webster Street. Along the way, the roadway serves multiple low-income housing communities and Coast Guard housing, and serves as a school route to Ruby Bridges Elementary School. It is a two-lane roadway with a sidewalk on the south side only, sharrows in the 14’ travel lanes (which are wide lanes but too narrow to add bicycle lanes), and a vacant right of way to the north.
The width of the Stargell Avenue right of way was originally established to accommodate a four-lane arterial connecting the former Naval Air Station to the rest of Alameda, but it was ultimately constructed as a 28-foot wide, two-lane street consistent with its Island Arterial designation in the General Plan at the time. As a result, the existing city-owned public right of way can accommodate additional improvements to support and improve bicycle, pedestrian and transit access between Alameda Point and West Alameda.
Over the years, the City has received many complaints from the community regarding speeding along Stargell Ave; the difficulty of crossing and cars not yielding at the Main St, Mosely Ave and Coral Sea St intersections; and the lack of dedicated bicycle facilities. The 2018 Transportation Choices Plan (TCP) included the “Stargell Avenue” project to install “separated bikeway, walkway and bus lanes” as a priority project, and the 2022 Active Transportation Plan recommends a multi-use trail along Stargell Avenue. More project information, and an ongoing open survey, can be found on the project web page: www.alamedaca.gov/stargell <http://www.alamedaca.gov/stargell>.
In 2016, the City applied for a project to construct a complete street in this corridor, including physically separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities, signal upgrades and bus queue jump lanes for eastbound buses at Main Street and Fifth Streets. This almost $3 million project was not funded. In the same year, the City also applied for a TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant for the “Naval Air Station Alameda Multi-Modal Regional Connections Project” to improve access to Alameda Point. The same Stargell Complete Street project was included in this package of projects, but this grant also was not funded. In 2022, staff again applied for funding, this time to both the state and regional Active Transportation Program (Cycle 6). While not ultimately successful, the project scored just below the funding cut-offs, and in debriefs, agency staff encouraged the City to apply again in future funding cycles.
DISCUSSION
The City is applying for the 2024 Active Transportation Program (Cycle 7), at both the state and regional levels. The regional grant program, administered by MTC, requires all projects with a total project cost of $250,000 or more applying for regional discretionary transportation funding or requesting endorsement from MTC to comply with their Complete Streets Policy, and to show this compliance by submitting a Complete Streets Checklist. One requirement of the policy is that the project be reviewed by a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Per its byalws, the Transportation Commission serves as the City of Alameda’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The Commission is requested to review the Checklist (Exhibit 1) and provide any comments on it, which will be added to the final Checklist.
A draft project concept plan (Exhibit 2) was developed in 2022, and staff are in the process of updating this concept for the 2024 application, to further respond to the concerns raised by the community. The draft concept, which will extend along Stargell Ave from Main St to Mariner Square Loop, includes or will include:
Along Stargell Ave:
• Separate walking and bicycling paths in the un-used, city-owned, right of way to the north of Stargell Ave, between Main Street and Bette Street, which will connect to the existing multi-use path between Bette Street and Fifth Street. Pathway lighting will be added.
• Narrow the travel lanes from 14’ to 12’, with a 4’ wide striped center median.
• Add horizontal deflection in the westbound directions, either by moving the curb or with striping, before the Mosely and Coral Sea intersections, is being added to the 2024 concept plan.
• Separated bike lane in the westbound direction on Stargell between Fifth Street and the Alameda Landing/Safeway driveway were included in the 2022 plan. With the 2024 updated concept plan, staff are extending this separated bike lane to Mariner Square Loop, to improve the bike facility safety and to connect to the planned connection to the Webster Tube pathway that will be built in 2025 with the Oakland Alameda Access Project.
Crossing Improvements:
• Main St. Many of the improvements shown at this intersection were implemented in 2023, as part of a striping maintenance project, including closing the slip lane. The planned RESHAP/West Midway development will be upgrading the west side of the intersection and adding a fourth crossing leg in the 2025-2026 timeframe. Therefore, the Stargell Ave project will most likely only refresh the crosswalks and stop limit lines.
• Mosely Ave and Coral Sea St. Both crossings will be upgraded with flashing beacons and bulbouts on the north sides, to improve the safety of crossing and compliance with yielding. For the 2024 concept plan, we are adding 6’ pedestrian refuges to the concept as well, to further protect people crossing, many of which are school children.
• Fifth St. Add a large bulbout, with a protected bike lane, at the northeast corner, to better align the roadway and biking facilities. Add pavement markings to guide bicyclists across the intersection, between the existing pathways on the northwest and southeast corners.
Other Improvements:
• If a new AC Transit bus line is added to Stargell, as contemplated in the latest draft Realign proposal, new transit stops with bus shelters will be added, in coordination with AC Transit.
• The Stargell/Fifth and Stargell/Mariner Square Loop intersections are both candidates for future roundabouts, with possible near-term funding from Alameda CTC for one of them. If both a roundabout and the Stargell project are funded, then the projects will be coordinated and designed to work together.
The Commission is also requested to provide feedback on this draft concept plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Staff are still finalizing the project and cost elements. The total project cost is estimated to be between $5-6 million. The proposed local match would be in the range of $600,000 and is anticipated to come from the City’s countywide transportation sales tax allocation (Measure BB), or other Measure BB sources.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The 2023 Strategic Plan includes Project #TIE11, to “Plan, Design and Construct Stargell Avenue bicycle and pedestrian improvements.” The 2022 Active Transportation Plan recommends a multi-use trail along Stargell Avenue. The 2018 Transportation Choices Plan (TCP) establishes the “Stargell Avenue” project to install “separated bikeway, walkway and bus lanes” as a priority project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed project is categorically exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15301(c) Existing Facilities (Minor alterations to existing facilities including bicycle facilities) and Section 15304(h) Minor Alterations to Land and the creation of bicycle lanes on existing public rights of way. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, this project is a Categorical Exclusion under 23 Code of Federal Regulations 771.117(c): activity (c) (3) Construction of bicycle and pedestrian lanes, paths and facilities.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The Climate Action and Resiliency Plan found that transportation accounts for 70% of the City’s GHG emissions, and that moving people out of automobiles is paramount to reducing transportation-related emissions. Creating a new safe, separated bikeway and additional space for walking will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by allowing people to bicycle and walk to local schools and to major destination like the College of Alameda, the Alameda Landing Shopping Center and the Webster Street transit corridor.
RECOMMENDATION
Provide input to staff on the Stargell Avenue Safety Improvement Project Draft Complete Streets Checklist and the draft concept plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Draft MTC Complete Streets Checklist for Stargell Ave Project
2. Draft Concept Plan for Stargell Ave Project