Title
Recommendation to Approve the Updated Clement Avenue Safety Improvement Project Concept.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Transportation Commission
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is requesting Transportation Commission and City Council approval of the final design plans for the Clement Avenue Safety Improvement Project and Cross Alameda Trail improvements between Grand Street and Broadway.
BACKGROUND
The City of Alameda has been working for several years on a redesign of Clement Avenue and the Cross Alameda Trail between Alameda Point and the Miller-Sweeney Bridge. Parts of the Trail are complete, parts are under construction, and parts are still in the planning phase. The Clement Avenue Safety Improvement Project between Grand Street and Broadway is part of and consistent with a citywide focus on public safety, greenhouse gas reductions, transportation mode shift and climate resiliency.
Clement Avenue between Grand Street and Broadway is 48 to 50-foot wide, curb to curb, and has two travel lanes separated in the center by a single set of paved over railroad tracks, on-street parking along both sides of the street and no bike lanes. Excessive speeds averaging over 30 miles per hour, challenging crossings for pedestrians and a lack of bicycle facilities cause safety concerns along this segment of Clement Avenue, which averages over 8,000 vehicles per day. In the last five years, about 70 collisions have occurred.
The Clement Avenue project began in October 2016, when the City Council approved a federal grant application submittal to the Alameda County Transportation Commission, which the City won totaling over $5 million.
In June 2017, the City Council approved $641,000 from local and federal funding sources for fiscal years 2017 to 2019 for project approvals, environmental review and preliminary design.
In December 2018, the City Council approved the CDM Smith consultant contract for planning, environmental review and preliminary design after City staff conducted a competitive consultant selection process that involved issuing a request for qualifications in late 2017 and a request for proposals to prequalified teams in late 2018.
In March 2019, the City Council declared a climate emergency calling for an immediate and emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe climate.
In June 2019, the City Council approved a fiscal year 2019-2021 budget allocation for $1 million in Clement Avenue expenditures from local and federal funding sources for the construction drawings and construction bid support.
In September 2019, the City Council approved the preliminary design concept for the Clement Avenue project.
In September 2019, the City Council passed the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, which requires construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety projects including the Clement Avenue project to reduce Alameda’s greenhouse gas emissions generated by the transportation sector from private automobile use.
In November 2019, the City Council passed a Vision Zero policy eliminating fatal and severe injury collisions as a citywide guiding principle for transportation planning, the design of streets and sidewalks, and the maintenance of the public rights-of-way making safety as the highest priority when balancing competing needs and demands for space within the public right-of-way.
In April 2020, the City Council adopted a policy that provides guidance for standard street and parking lane widths and that the safety of people walking and bicycling shall be the highest priority when allocating right-of-way space, followed by transit efficiency and finally on-street parking.
DISCUSSION
Since the September 2019 City Council action to approve the preliminary design concept for the Clement Avenue project, the staff/consultant team has been working to finalize the design. The purpose of the Transportation Commission and City Council review is for the Alameda community, the Transportation Commission and the City Council to make any final changes and approve the final design prior to preparation of construction drawings and the commencement of construction (Exhibit 1).
Outreach: The final Clement Avenue design is the culmination of an extensive community based planning process that included community member comments received at public hearings, from on-line surveys and focus group meetings that occurred from 2015 through 2020. City staff announced these community input opportunities by distributing public notices to property owners within 300 feet of the project site and by providing announcements to the Clement Avenue project email list serve, the project web page - <https://www.alamedaca.gov/Clement>, social media and local news media outlets as well as to key stakeholders - Downtown Area Business Association, Bike Walk Alameda, AC Transit and Caltrans. Exhibit 2 provides a summary of the most recent outreach received on the updated Clement Avenue concept, which state support of the pedestrian improvements, wider bikeway and travel lane area and request an all-way stop at the Clement Avenue/Willow Street intersection, which does not and is not expected to meet a stop sign warrant.
Final Design Safety Improvements: Consistent with recent City Council Vision Zero and lane width policies, the primary design objective of the final design is to improve safety for all users of the 1.2 mile public right-of-way along Clement Avenue between Grand Street and Broadway. The proposed design is specifically designed to improve safety for people bicycling and walking along this portion of Cross Alameda Trail, which will ultimately provide a safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian trail between Alameda Point in west Alameda and the Miller-Sweeney/Fruitvale Bridge in east Alameda.
As shown in the diagrams below as Figures 1 and 2 and in Exhibit 1, the final design provides for:
• Two 11 foot travel lanes for automobiles and trucks;
• One 14 foot protected, two-way bikeway from Grand Street to Walnut Street and from Elm Street to Oak Street, and a 9-10 foot two-way bikeway from Walnut Street to Elm Street and from Oak Street to Broadway; and
• One 8 foot parking lane on the south side of the street from Grand Street to Walnut Street and two 7 foot parking lanes on the south and north sides of the street from Walnut Street to Elm Street and from Park Street to Broadway.
The final design also includes shorter and higher visibility pedestrian and bicycle crossings, improved traffic controls at Grand Street and Broadway, disabled access improvements, drainage and landscape improvements, traffic signal upgrades at the intersection of Clement Avenue and Park Street, raised crosswalks at Oak Street, Everett Street and Alameda Marina Drive, and removal of the existing railroad tracks in the center of the roadway.
Figure 1: Final Design - Grand Street to Walnut Street and Elm Street to Oak Street
Figure 2: Final Design - Walnut Street to Elm Street and Oak Street to Broadway
Note: The Oak to Park segment is two feet wider, which allows for eight feet parking.
On-Street Public Parking: To provide for a safe Cross Alameda Trail, daylight intersections for pedestrian safety, comply with ADA for a continuous path of travel, and provide adequate space for trucks servicing businesses along the corridor, the total number of public on-street parking spaces on Clement Avenue between Grand Street and Broadway will be reduced from approximately 300 to approximately 155 spaces. The 145 parking spaces to be removed include:
• 10 spaces to provide adequate visibility at existing intersections consistent with City Council policy and national and state standards for intersection safety;
• 55 spaces to enable widening of existing sidewalks around existing telephone and power poles to meet Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements;
• 20 spaces to accommodate the protected two-way bikeway and to provide maximum visibility at driveway crossings;
• 50 spaces to widen the bikeway, buffer and parking lane on the south side of the street by restricting parking on the north side of the street between Grand Street and Willow Street; and
• 10 spaces to widen the bikeway, buffer and parking lane on the south side of the street by restricting parking on the north side of the street between Elm Street and Oak Street.
Currently, there are no disabled parking spaces along Clement Avenue, and the concept will include disabled parking spaces on Clement Avenue or on minor streets adjacent to Clement Avenue so as to comply with U.S. Access Board guidelines for on-street disabled parking.
Conclusions: Staff believes that the final design strikes an appropriate balance so as to:
• Implement General Plan, Transportation Choices Plan and Climate Action and Resiliency Plan policy objectives;
• Implement the City Council’s Vision Zero Policy and Lane Width Policy to protect the health and safety of Alameda residents, employees and visitors walking, biking and driving on the Cross Alameda Trail;
• Provide adequate lane width to support use of Clement Avenue as a truck route and potential future transit route and support the transportation needs of Alameda’s business community; and
• Protect, to the extent possible, the supply of public on-street parking.
In conclusion, staff recommends that the Transportation Commission and the City Council approve the final design and direct staff to commence work on the construction drawings.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This last pre-construction phase will be funded by a federal grant and Measure B and BB Local Streets and Roads monies per the approved Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2019-21. The costs are higher than other corridor projects because the City has obtained federal monies, which necessitate the City to fulfill federal requirements.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Clement Avenue project is consistent with the following City documents:
• The Safety and Noise Element of the General Plan (Policy SN-5) states: “Ensure that the City prioritize public safety through the implementation of a Vision Zero policy to reduce annual pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries resulting from collisions with faster moving vehicles and unsafe street design.”
• The Transportation Element of the General Plan lists Clement Avenue as a transit priority street, a bicycle priority street and a truck route, and lists other priorities that will be addressed in the Clement Avenue concept such as multimodal, safety and environmental improvements and considering needs for individuals with disabilities.
• The Pedestrian Plan identifies the Clement Avenue improvements as a priority.
• The Bicycle Plan identifies the Clement Avenue bikeway project as a high-priority project.
• The Transportation Choices Plan lists the Clement Avenue project as a Vision Zero Safety Improvements and Traffic Calming priority.
• The Vision Zero Policy that focuses on eliminating fatal and severe injury collisions, and is the citywide guiding principle for transportation planning, the design of streets and sidewalks, and the maintenance of the public rights-of-way making safety as the highest priority when balancing competing needs and demands for space within the public right-of-way.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the updated Clement Avenue Safety Improvement final design is categorically exempt under the 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.
As a separate and independent basis, the project is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.20.5 (restriping of streets and highways for bike lanes in an urbanized area that is consistent with a bike plan).
To further protect environmental resources the project design includes the following features:
Cultural Resources: To protect any potential impacts to cultural resources, the project design limits all disturbance of native soils between Alameda Marina Drive and Willow Street. Construction activities in this sensitive area consists of making sidewalk repairs and upgrades, restriping the roadway and adding surface mounted signs. Excavation associated with these activities will be limited to removal and replacement of asphalt or concrete paving and the underlying base material, with no disturbance of the native soil subgrade. The adjacent Alameda Marina development project will be removing the railroad ties and tracks and covering these areas between Alameda Marina Drive and Willow Street, and has a cultural resources program in place that includes monitoring and archeological experts. In the event of fortuitous discoveries of buried or concealed heritage resources, ground disturbance activities shall cease in the area of the find and the project sponsor shall consult a qualified archaeologist for recommended procedures.
Hazardous Materials: The former track and railroad ties currently buried under asphalt will be removed in accordance with applicable regulatory hazardous material and other requirements. The removal is needed to ensure long-term street maintenance.
Construction Noise and Vibration: During construction, heavy equipment will be used for excavation, paving and installation of proposed improvements. The construction activities will cause temporary increases of noise and vibration within and adjacent to the project area. No blasting, use of explosives or pile driving activities are required to install the proposed improvements, and it is no excessive vibrations will be caused during construction that would damage buildings or nearby infrastructure.
Visual Resources: The project will not impact the visual environment, nor will it impact any designated scenic resources. The project will increase visual access to waterfront resources because of improved ingress and egress to the estuary and improved ADA considerations due to its designation as part of the Cross Alameda Trail, which is proposed to extend between Alameda Point and Miller-Sweeney/Fruitvale Bridge. The proposed landscaping features in the eastern portion of the project corridor also will improve its visual character.
Land Use and Community Resources: The project will not result in any land use or community impacts. All work will be conducted in the public right of way. No trees will be removed, and no rights-of-way need to be acquired for the project. Minor temporary construction easements will be necessary.
Transportation and Parking. As described above, the proposed project does not reduce the number of existing travel lanes, does not close any existing cross streets, and does not result in any additional vehicle miles traveled. In fact, the proposed project is designed to support safe and convenient mode shift and reduce automobile congestion and automobile greenhouse gas emissions by creating a safe and convenient alternative to automobile travel across the city. Finally, loss of on-street parking is not an impact on the environment under the California Environmental Quality Act.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
Vehicle miles traveled in Alameda is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda. In 2020, automobiles are estimated to generate approximately 70% of Alameda’s greenhouse gas emissions. The Clement Avenue Safety Project implements City of Alameda Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (2019), which calls for the construction of additional bicycle lanes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation to Approve the Updated Clement Avenue Safety Improvement Project Concept.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Nancy Bronstein, Acting Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Updated Clement Avenue Concept - 30 Percent Drawings
2. Compilation of Community Comments (2020)