Title
Approve the AC Transit Line 96 Route Adjustment Proposal to Expand Service to Alameda Point Businesses as Part of the Implementation of the Transportation Plan for Alameda Point (Action)
Body
Transportation Commission
07/25/2018
Item #5A
(ACTION)
Approve the AC Transit Line 96 Route Adjustment Proposal to Expand Service to Alameda Point Businesses as Part of the Implementation of the Transportation Plan for Alameda Point
Background
The City of Alameda closely coordinates with AC Transit to provide the best possible bus service to all of our business parks and employment areas as efficiently and equitably as possible since there are limited financial resources. In an effort to implement the Alameda Point Transportation Plan and to expand service to the underserved businesses in Alameda Point, the City is proposing to AC Transit a cost-neutral adjustment to Line 96 to avoid the redundancy with Line 19 and the Marina Village business park’s free shuttle within Marina Village and to provide expanded service to Alameda Point businesses, such as Bladium, St. George Spirits and Rockwall Winery (Exhibit 1).
With the growth of Alameda Point employment, it has become apparent that many businesses in the Alameda Point business district are not well served by AC Transit, meaning that a bus stop is not within ¼ mile of their place of employment (Exhibit 2). Further, the Alameda Point businesses will be purchasing AC Transit Easy Passes for all of their employees, which are estimated at approximately 1,000 employees, to support and encourage the use of AC Transit Line 96 to/from Alameda Point. Currently, Alameda Point residents and employees have 170 boardings per day and average 15 boardings per bus stop. Assuming that 10 percent of the 1,000 Alameda Point employees use the expanded Line 96 service once free bus passes are issued, staff estimates an additional 100 boardings per day, totaling 270 boardings per day within Alameda Point.
In comparison, the Marina Village business park provides a free shuttle for business park affiliates and AC Transit provides two bus lines - Line 96 and Line 19 - that are within ¼ mile of Marina Village as well as the AC Transit routes that run along Webster Street - Lines 19, 20, 51A, O, W - that are within ½ mile of Marina Village. The City also runs a shopper shuttle - the Alameda Loop Shuttle - on Tuesdays to/from the shopping center between 8:50 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. Based upon a review of AC Transit Line 96 ridership data, there are only 50 boardings per day in Marina Village, averaging 7 boardings per bus stop per day. This lower ridership compared to Alameda Point is most likely due to the redundancy of the Marina Village business park’s free shuttle and the other nearby AC transit routes.
As mentioned above, the Alameda Point existing tenants and property owners are working cooperatively with AC Transit to purchase AC Transit bus passes through the EasyPass program. This action is consistent with the Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan (2014) that envisions a transit-oriented development, reduced automobile trips and mitigated traffic impacts through a required TDM fee paid for by existing tenants that is designed to change travel behavior by using a combination of incentives, disincentives and convenient transportation services. The Alameda Transportation Management Association (Alameda TMA) was formed as a stand-alone non-profit organization to oversee the ongoing implementation of the Alameda Point TDM Plan and the Northern Waterfront transportation mitigation area requirements with potential for expansion citywide. The TDM fees for existing tenants in Alameda Point will be implemented by the Alameda TMA and will be integrated with the other transportation programs slated to be funded by future Alameda Point developers such as Alameda Point Partners, the Site A developer and other private properties through a special tax per the Community Facilities District to fund transportation services and programs consistent with the Alameda Point TDM Plan.
The primary program that has been approved by the Alameda TMA and the City Council for implementation using the transportation fees is the AC Transit bus pass purchases through the EasyPass program for existing tenants. To ensure a successful bus pass program in Alameda Point for existing tenants, City staff has requested that AC Transit extend the bus service to Spirits Alley and by Bladium and the future Site A. City staff requests approval of the Line 96 route adjustment proposal for Alameda to help inform the AC Transit Board on their decision of the final proposal in September.
Discussion
To more equitably distribute public transportation services to all of our business districts and to focus those services in underserved areas and for employers that are committed to using and funding public transportation services, the City of Alameda is requesting that AC Transit extend Line 96 in Alameda Point and reduce its coverage within Marina Village starting in December 2018. This request is not expected to increase the cost to run Line 96, but is expected to result in more bus riders on Line 96, thus reducing peak hour congestion citywide. As such, this proposal is consistent with the City’s recently approved Transportation Choices Plan, which focuses on reducing congestion and solo driving, increasing participation in AC Transit’s Easy Pass discounted bus pass program and working in partnership with existing businesses to reduce congestion.
City staff requests AC Transit to consider the Line 96 route adjustments, and AC Transit staff is analyzing the request. City and AC Transit staff have met to discuss the process and logistics, and to determine potential new bus stop locations in Alameda Point including a potential new layover site, which would move from the current location at the Alameda Point Collaborative to a location closer to Spirits Alley. This new location would ensure that the Spirits Alley area also would be served while still stopping near where the Alameda Point Collaborative resides.
City staff reached out to the key stakeholders in Marina Village to alert them of the preliminary proposal. Representatives from the Marina Village shopping center did not express concern. Marina Village homeowner association members expressed the desire to re-route Line 19 to run along Marina Village Parkway where Line 96 currently serves. AC Transit considered this request, and decided to keep the current Line 19 routing due to the high ridership at Webster Street on Line 19 and the connections made by students at the College of Alameda annex on Atlantic Avenue and the main campus at Webster Street at Atlantic Avenue and due to the concentration of low-income seniors at Independence Plaza at the corner of Webster Street and Atlantic Avenue. Marina Village business association representatives will consider eliminating the Marina Village business park shuttle so as to better support the public transportation provider - AC Transit. The Alameda TMA is in support of the route adjustment, and will be administering the EasyPasses for the Alameda Point existing tenants.
City staff also has heard requests to extend Line 96 to the Main Street ferry terminal, and determined that this line does not adequately cover where the ferry riders live, which tend to be on the other side of Webster Street. To be successful, a bus route would need to run between central Alameda and the Main Street ferry terminal. City staff in cooperation with AC Transit and the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) is actively looking into higher performing bus service proposals to the Main Street ferry terminal as well as to the proposed Seaplane Lagoon ferry terminal as stated in the Transportation Choices Plan in the following three different projects, all of which were high priority projects:
1. Alameda Shuttle Exploration
22. Crosstown Express Bus Service
28. Regional Transit Hub Connector Bus Service
The next steps for this Line 96 route adjustment involve a public hearing led by AC Transit in September with a potential route adjustment scheduled for December. City staff appreciates the collaboration with AC Transit staff and the detailed analysis by AC Transit staff, and is asking the Transportation Commission to approve the Line 96 route adjustment proposal to expand service to Alameda Point businesses as part of the implementation of the Transportation Plan for Alameda Point.
Financial Impact
There is no impact to the General Fund. The bus operations are funded by AC Transit, and this proposal is designed to be cost neutral. AC Transit is in charge of installing, changing or removing the bus stop poles at the bus stops. The City of Alameda would pay for the costs of making the bus stops accessible, when applicable. City staff also would need to move an existing bus shelter at a stop in Alameda Point that will be moved to the other side of that same intersection at West Midway Avenue and Pan Am Way. These City expenses will be paid for using Measures B and BB - Alameda County's transportation sales tax.
Municipal Code/Policy Document Cross Reference
This action does not affect the Alameda Municipal Code. The proposal to adjust Line 96 is consistent with the Alameda Point Chapter of the General Plan, which focuses on de-emphasizing the automobile, creating a mixed-use environment and achieving a transit-oriented development, and the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan as shown below:
• Policy 4.1.5.c: Continue to support the fixed-route AC Transit system to provide mobility for all, including those without access to personal transportation.
• Objective 4.1.6: Increase the efficiency of the existing transportation system by emphasizing Transportation System Management (TSM) strategies and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) techniques.
• Policy 4.3.4.a: Work with major employers to accommodate and promote alternative transportation modes, flexible work hours, and other travel demand management techniques and require that appropriate mitigation be funded through new development if a nexus exists.
• Objective 4.4.6: Work with area employers and other stakeholders to develop one or more TMAs to implement TDM programs.
The proposal to adjust Line 96 also is consistent with the Transportation Choices Plan, and specifically with project #4 - EasyPass Expansion - since the Line 96 adjustment is required to ensure that a bus stop is within close proximity to employees who are benefitting from AC Transit’s EasyPass program.
Environmental Review
AC Transit will evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposal to adjust Line 96, and will prepare the appropriate environmental documents to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. AC Transit also will prepare a Title VI report to ensure that the proposal does not discriminate based on race, color and national origin.
The Alameda City Council certified a Final EIR for the Alameda Point Project on February 4, 2014, in compliance with CEQA, and adopted and incorporated into the project all of the mitigation measures for the project that are within the responsibility and jurisdiction of the City, including the Alameda Point Transportation Demand Management Plan to mitigate traffic impacts.
Recommendation
Approve the AC Transit Line 96 Route Adjustment Proposal.
Respectfully submitted by,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Line 96 Route Adjustment Proposal Map
2. Alameda Point Employee Count by Sub-area