Title
Receive Presentation from Alameda County Transportation Commission on the Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project. (Transportation Planning 91161)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Receive Presentation from Alameda County Transportation Commission on the Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project
BACKGROUND
In April 2006, the City of Alameda led the effort of developing a Feasibility Study that resulted in 16 conceptual alternatives for access and circulation in downtown Oakland, Oakland Chinatown and Alameda. In March 2011, a project study report (PSR) was approved by Caltrans for the project that included a 6th Street circulation alternative from the 2006 Feasibility Study. In 2011, the cities of Alameda and Oakland co-sponsored a grant application for this multimodal transportation project, which was then included in Alameda County Transportation Commission’s (Alameda CTC) Countywide Transportation Plan (CWTP). The project revenues now total $83 million with $75 million from Measure BB and $8 million from Measure B.
The project, which was formerly called the I-880/Broadway-Jackson Interchange Improvements Project, is now known as the Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project, and the PSR for it is being managed by the Alameda CTC. The project proposes to improve connectivity between I-880, I-980 and the cities of Alameda and Oakland. Improvements could include reconfiguration of existing ramps, demolition of some existing ramps and construction of new ramps. Reconfiguring Oakland access to the Webster and Posey tubes and modification of Oakland city streets between Oak Street and Broadway used to access I-880 and I-980 also would occur.
Exhibits 1 and 2 provide the latest fact sheet and map of the project area limits for the Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project. A link to the Alameda CTC’s web page on the Project can also be found at: <http://www.alamedactc.org/FreewayAccessProject>.
DISCUSSION
The project is currently in the preliminary engineering and environmental analysis phase. Alameda CTC is developing project concepts (Exhibit 3). Build alternatives plus a no-build concept are also expected to be evaluated. Since 2016, key stakeholders - Alameda residents, College of Alameda, Bike Walk Alameda, commercial and office land-uses in Marina Village area, Webster Street businesses and residents, Oakland Chinatown community, Jack London Square residents and businesses, Downtown Oakland community and west Oakland residents - are being engaged to develop a project that addresses the needs of the broader community. The key benefits to Alameda and Oakland include: (1) travel time savings to and from the freeway for Alamedans during the peak hour in Alternative A1, including three minutes of savings in the AM Peak to Northbound I-880; (2) re-opening of the western walkway in the Posey Tube for additional pedestrian and bicycle traffic; (3) improved bicycle and pedestrian circulation leading up to the tubes in Alameda and Oakland; (4) improved circulation and connectivity in Oakland in and around I-880, Chinatown, and Jack London; and (5) significantly improved pedestrian safety in Oakland from reduced Alameda traffic in and around the senior and childcare center on 7th Street.
The purpose of this agenda item is for the Alameda CTC staff and consultants to seek comments on two potential concepts for further review. The Transportation Commission (TC) reviewed these potential alternatives on March 22, 2017. TC members were supportive of the preliminary concepts, and had questions and comments that focused on project administration, bicycling benefits and impacts to operations.
In addition to this Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project, Alameda CTC also is recommending almost $35 million in transportation projects for Alameda as part of Alameda CTC’s 2018 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which were approved by the City Council and Transportation Commission. Alameda’s grant projects that were successful are shown below along with other projects of significance to the City of Alameda, which have other agencies as the lead.
City of Alameda Projects - Recommended by Alameda CTC Staff
• Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal - $8.2 million (Measure BB 2014 monies) in FY2019-20 for construction;
• Central Avenue Complete Street (Main/Pacific to Sherman/Encinal) - $3.487 million in FY2019-20 for construction;
• Clement Avenue Complete Street (Broadway to Grand) - $5.018 million in FY2017-19 for environmental/design and FY2019-20 for construction;
• Clement Avenue East Extension and Tilden Way including Right-of-Way Purchase from Union Pacific - $8.395 million in FY2017-19 for planning/environmental/design/ROW and FY2019-20 for construction;
• Alameda Point Bus Rapid Transit: Dedicated Bus Lanes - $9 million in FY2017-19 for planning/environmental/design and FY2019-20 for construction; and
• City Wide Street Resurfacing: Pavement Management - $827,000 in FY2019-20 for construction.
TOTAL: $34,927,000
Other Agency Projects of Significance to the City of Alameda - Recommended by Alameda CTC Staff
• San Francisco Bay Trail: Doolittle Drive (East Bay Regional Parks District) - $2.833 million;
• Alameda County Safe Routes to School Program (Alameda CTC) - $10.089 million;
• Comprehensive Multimodal Monitoring (Alameda CTC) - $1.250 million;
• I-880/23rd-29th Avenue Interchange Improvements (Alameda CTC) - $3 million;
• Fruitvale Avenue Gap Closure (City of Oakland) - $1.634 million; and
• I-880/42nd-High Street Access Improvements (City of Oakland) - $10 million.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project study does not impact the General Fund. The project revenues for full project completion total $83 million with $75 million from Measure BB and $8 million from Measure B.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This study does not affect the Alameda Municipal Code. This study is consistent with the Transportation Element of the City's General Plan (2009) as shown below:
Policy 4.1.2.e: Work with regional, state, and federal agencies to develop plans for design, phasing, funding, and construction of facilities to enhance multimodal cross-estuary travel, such as increased access to Interstate 880 (bridge, tunnel or other vehicle connection) bike/pedestrian shuttles or high occupancy vehicle-only crossing (e.g. transit or carpool lane) to Oakland.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project is currently in the preliminary engineering and environmental phase.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive presentation from Alameda County Transportation Commission on the Oakland Alameda Freeway Access Project.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
By,
Gail Payne, Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Freeway Access Project Fact Sheet
2. Project Study Limits Map
3. Presentation