Title
Review Formation of Citywide Transportation Planning Division
Body
Transportation Commission
September 28, 2016
Item 5B
Discussion
Review Formation of Citywide Transportation Planning Division
Background
The City confronts significant transportation issues and auto traffic congestion associated with regional and local growth, the limited crossings on and off the island and the imbalance of jobs and housing. Transportation planning issues are among the most actively debated issues faced by City government today. As a result, the creation of a strong, well-integrated Transportation Planning Division (Division) that is responsible for developing, integrating, coordinating, and implementing the City’s transportation planning efforts and responding to community member concerns and questions is a priority of City staff. The mission statement for this new Division is “Planning for a multimodal city, serving community members.”
In the past, transportation planning tasks and functions in the City of Alameda were performed by a number of different City departments, including the Public Works, Community Development and Base Reuse Departments. The City Manager has tasked the Director of the Base Reuse Department to expand the purview of the Department and form an integrated, strategic and accountable Transportation Planning Division within the City. While the Division will reside organizationally within the Base Reuse Department, the scope of the Division will be Citywide in nature and highly coordinated with other departments, especially the engineering division within the Public Works Department and the planning division within the Community Development Department similar to how the Base Reuse Department currently addresses inter-departmental planning and infrastructure issues at Alameda Point. Additionally, the intent is to create a strong, functional and cohesive stand-alone Division that could be moved to another department in the future, as appropriate, depending on staffing resources, priorities and expertise.
Discussion
The Transportation Planning Division will be responsible for leading the planning, outreach and design phases of transportation projects and programs in the City (Table 1). Public Works will take the lead in overseeing all transportation engineering and the construction of transportation projects consistent with its role on park and other departmental construction projects. Both departments will coordinate closely with each other throughout all phases of planning and implementation similar to how other Public Works projects are being designed and constructed in coordination with other departments, such as Estuary Park and the Site A infrastructure projects.
Table 1: Life of Projects - Role of Transportation Planning Division:
|
Plans |
Outreach |
Concept |
Design |
Construction |
Monitoring/ Evaluation |
|
(lead role) |
(support role only) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operations/Administration (on-going and shared responsibilities between Departments) |
The Transportation Planning Division consists of one full-time staff person (Transportation Coordinator), one part-time transportation planner, as well as administrative support and executive leadership from the Base Reuse Department. The Division coordinates regularly with the City Engineer and Transportation Engineer in the Public Works Department and with the Community Development Director and Assistant Community Development Director, including at a number of bi-monthly, monthly and project-specific meetings. The Division will also contract with transportation planning and engineering area-experts to supplement existing City staff and expertise depending on the issue and project. All engineering consultants will serve under the direction of the City Engineer.
The current workload for the Division this fiscal year includes the following planning efforts and projects:
Citywide Transit and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan, including 18-month planning and extensive community outreach processes. The Transit/TDM Plan will identify opportunities for strategic transportation investment and coordination with transit providers to provide Alamedans with enhanced transportation options. The final plan is expected to be approved in summer 2017.
Cross Alameda Trail along Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway (Appezzato Pkwy) between Main Street and Constitution Avenue, including finalizing designs this fall and commencing construction next year.
Paratransit Program, including the management of the shuttle, subsidized taxis, group trips and scholarships.
Estuary Crossing Shuttle, including the management of the shuttle in its sixth year until AC Transit takes over the route with the restored Line 19 and modified Line 31.
Grant Applications and Other Efforts to Obtain Transportation Funding, including seeking funding from federal, state and regional funding sources, such as TIGER, the Active Transportation Program, Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) monies, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission funding for projects in the City’s Capital Improvement Program and Master Infrastructure Plan for Alameda Point.
Coordination with Public Transit and Transportation Agency Partnerships, including current planning efforts underway by AC Transit, the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Alameda CTC and attendance at relevant board and commission and ongoing staff coordination meetings, which includes restoring AC Transit’s Line 19 and modifying Line 31
Transportation Commission, including preparing the agenda, drafting staff reports, distributing the agenda packet to the public and corresponding with Transportation Commission members and community members.
Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management Plan, including coordination with grant-funded TDM consultants on bus service planning and implementation with AC Transit at Alameda Point, formation of an expanded Transportation Management Association, and implementation of monitoring and other TDM programs.
Harbor Bay and Main Street Ferry Terminal Access and Parking Strategic Planning and Implementation, including working closely with the Public Works Department, WETA, Homeowner Associations (HOAs), and other relevant stakeholders on parking and improved multi-modal access to the ferry terminals.
New Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal at Alameda Point, including working closely with WETA, the Site A developer, and regulatory agencies, such as Army Corp of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Board, and Bay Conservation and Development Commission for construction of a new Terminal by 2020.
Broadway/Jackson Multi-Modal Circulation Plan, including renewed efforts with Alameda CTC, the City of Oakland and Chinatown community on a financially and politically viable plan for improvements in and around the Broadway/Jackson interchange.
New Bike, Pedestrian, and Transit Improvements, including improving bike and pedestrian access across the Estuary, designing a bike lane gap along Main Street between Appezzato Pkwy and the Main Street ferry terminal, bus rapid transit lanes along Appezzato Pkwy between Main Street and Webster Street, and acquisition of Union Pacific right-of-way for future transportation improvements, among other projects.
Bicycle Safety Education, including the implementation of a two-year effort that is funded by an Active Transportation Program grant totaling $124,000.
Budget Considerations/Fiscal Impacts
This staff report is for information only. The staff and projects that fall within the Transportation Planning Division will be funded through the same sources of funds in the existing Complete Streets budget, including Measure B/BB and paratransit funds.
Recommendation
Receive presentation on formation of a Citywide Transportation Planning Division.
This item is for discussion purposes only.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director