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Adoption of Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Agreements to Accept and Allocate $1,555,000 in Grant Funds from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to Complete a Project Initiation Document for the Alameda-Oakland Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge Project. (Planning, Building and Transportation 4226287)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
After significant study over more than a decade, the City is moving forward with additional planning and design work for the West Alameda-Oakland Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge (Bridge). The Bridge would provide an alternative to the substandard Posey Tube path and would connect West Alameda to Jack London Square, Amtrak, Downtown Oakland, and two nearby Oakland BART stations. Given the major challenges that come with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) navigational clearance requirements, plus the high anticipated project cost, the City was not in a position to pursue development of this preferred option until 2016. Since then, the City has worked with key stakeholders, including the City of Oakland, USCG, Port of Oakland (Port) and Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC).
The next phase for the bridge project is to develop a Project Initiation Document (PID), which is a requirement for further county, regional, state and federal agency funding. On January 28, 2021, the ACTC approved the City’s request for $1,555,000 million in grant funds to complete the PID.
Staff requests that City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute all documents needed to accept and allocate these grants funds, including the attached Funding Agreement with ACTC (Exhibit 1).
The Transportation Commission, at their May 26, 2021 meeting, heard this item and recommended that the City Council take this recommended action.
BACKGROUND
In 2009, the City developed a comprehensive Estuary Crossing Final Feasibility Study Report (Study Report) to analyze and evaluate all of the potential strategies for crossing the Oakland Estuary (Estuary) either by foot, bike, or transit. This planning effort was the first to directly analyze the feasibility of new or improved Estuary crossings, with the goal of developing crossing designs that would appeal to users, adjacent communities, decision‐makers, transit providers, and funding authorities. Near-, mid-, and long‐term solutions were explored, including many bridge types, improvements to the Posey/Webster Tubes, as well as bus and water shuttle services. The top feasible bridge option was determined to be a moveable Bicycle‐Pedestrian Bridge expected to cost $75 million to construct and $1.5 million to operate annually. It was recommended that this option only be moved forward if the major USCG navigational clearance issues could be addressed and regional funding seemed plausible. The Study Report recommended that the City “work with stakeholders to determine if vessel restrictions during commute hours could be possible, vertical and horizontal clearances could be reduced, and funding could be obtained.”
In October 2016, the City Council requested that staff begin working on this project and consider hiring a maritime engineer to further study the project feasibility.
In 2018, the City Council adopted the Transportation Choices Plan with the “West End Bicycle/Pedestrian Crossing” (Project #39), which included the near-term action to “fund a project study report to determine the specifics and feasibility of an additional crossing” and to meet and coordinate with the USCG.
In late 2019, ACTC, allocated over $300,000 to conduct a detailed feasibility study of the proposed lift-bridge, plus other crossing options, and the potential demand for different crossing options. The Estuary Crossing Study: Detailed Feasibility and Travel Demand Analysis (Study) was substantially completed in 2020 and is posted on the City’s website at www.alamedaCA.gov/transportation <http://www.alamedaCA.gov/transportation>, under the “Projects: Infrastructure/Construction” tab. It confirmed that a lift bridge meeting the Coast Guard requirements to have a 600-foot span between piers that can be raised to 175 feet, was indeed technically feasible from an engineering and geotechnical perspective. The travel demand model showed that, depending on its location, 5,000 to 6,000 bicyclist and pedestrian trips would cross the bridge each week day, resulting in over 40,000 fewer auto trips across the estuary per week. After studying many different alignments over the years, the Study included three possible bridge alignments, of which two are considered the most preferable:
• Alameda Landing to Washington Street in Jack London Square: On the Alameda side, the City has reserved an easement in Alameda Landing that would pass through the housing development currently being built, and land near the corner of Mitchell Avenue and 5th Street. While there are different possible ramping options on the Oakland side, this option would land in Jack London Square, just east of the Ferry Terminal, near the foot of Washington Street. Given its central location in Jack London Square, and the easements on the Alameda side, this is one of the two preferred alignments.
• Marina Village to Oak Street in Estuary Park: In Alameda, the bridge would land generally to the east of Shipways, with two landing options, and connect to Marina Village Parkway and the Bay Trail. In Oakland, the bridge would land in or near Estuary Park, not far from Oak Street and the bicycle routes to Lake Merritt BART. Given the open space of the park in Oakland, this is the other preferred alignment.
• Barnhill Marina Area to Alice Street: This alignment, located between the two above, would connect from the foot of Alice Street in Oakland to the Alameda waterfront, with a connection to Marina Village Parkway. Since it would require the displacement of some residents of Barnhill Marina, a local houseboat community, it is not considered a viable alternative.
These alignments are shown as conceptual drawings in Appendix A to the Study. Regardless of its alignment, the total cost to design, engineer and build the bridge is now projected to be just under $200 million, with annual costs to operate and maintain the bridge around $3.5 million per year.
The Study also evaluated another concept included in the 2009 Estuary Crossing Study and the 2018 Transportation Choices Plan, for a new transit-only tube with a multi-use path (Project #37). The tube would only carry two-way traffic comprised of clean transit vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians, and would run from Franklin and 6th streets in Oakland to 5th Street near Mosley Avenue in Alameda for a total length of 4,200 feet (3,200 feet between tube portals). It is projected to cost $2.7 billion to construct and $27 million to maintain annually.
With confirmation of feasibility, the City began seeking funding for the PID. On November 17, 2020, the City Council received an update on the Oakland Alameda Access Project and voted to support the project. The City Council authorized the Mayor to send a letter to Alameda CTC expressing the Council’s support and requesting funding to move the best multi-modal option to cross the Estuary forward, which is a new bicycle-pedestrian bridge. Specifically, the letter requested funding for a Project Study Report (PSR), which is a form of a PID, as the next phase of the project. In response, ACTC staff added the project to the 2020 Countywide Transportation Plan’s 10-Year Priority Projects and Programs List, and in late January, the Commission voted to allocate $1,555,000 in funding for the PID to the City.
Finally, the Oakland A’s Waterfront Ballpark project Draft Environmental Impact Report was released earlier this year, and last month staff submitted comments on the document to the City of Oakland. Staff requested that Oakland require the preservation of an easement for a bicycle/pedestrian bridge landing, possibly connecting the bridge to one of the planned pedestrian railroad crossings. The preservation of an easement increases the feasibility of the Alameda Landing/Jack London alignment option.
DISCUSSION
Staff is requesting City Council authorization to enter into a funding agreement with ACTC (Exhibit 1) so the City can accept and allocate these funds toward completion of the PID.
To pursue and move the new west end bicycle/pedestrian bridge project forward, a PID must be completed, which is a necessary step towards applying for and eventually receiving funding for the environmental review phase. The PID includes:
• Defining the project need and purpose,
• Defining potential build alternatives and landing locations on both sides of the estuary,
• Developing base maps and right of way maps,
• Completing required additional technical studies,
• Preparing detailed cost estimates and schedules,
• Outlining environmental and permitting requirements,
• Identifying NEPA and CEQA lead agencies, and
• Identifying long term ownership and maintenance obligations.
Staff will hire a consultant to develop the PID. It will be completed within 18 months, and will be brought to the City Council for review and final action.
Staff also plans to include City of Oakland staff as partners in this project phase, to ensure that it reflects the needs and constraints of both cities. Further coordination will occur with all necessary stakeholders, most importantly, the Port and USCG.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council may pursue several different alternatives:
• Adopt the resolution, as attached.
• Modify the resolution.
• Not adopt the resolution, and inform ACTC that the City does not wish to pursue this grant funding.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This grant provides $1,555,000 to the City with no local matching requirement. The appropriation of the grant is included in the proposed two-year capital budget that will be considered for adoption by City Council on June 15, 2021. The City’s contribution will be staff time to manage the grant and the necessary consultant contracts. This staffing time is built into the proposed staffing plan in the Planning, Building and Transportation Department for the upcoming two-year operating budget.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The 2018 Transportation Choices Plan includes the “West End Bicycle/Pedestrian Crossing” (Project #39) which included the near term action to “fund a project study report to determine the specifics and feasibility of an additional crossing” and to meet and coordinate with the USCG.
The 2009 General Plan Policy 4.3.3.c states “Identify gaps and deficiencies in the City’s existing bike network and develop strategies to rectify them.”
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Preparation of design and feasibility studies are exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines section 15262. As discussed above, once the PID is completed and the project design is better defined, environmental review will be required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Supporting bicycling and walking will help the City meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by supporting mode shift away from automobiles. The City’s 2019 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.
ACTC studies show that the bridge, if constructed, would result in over 40,000 fewer auto trips across the estuary per week, which would result in a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute agreements to accept and allocate $1,555,000 in grant funds from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to complete a Project Initiation Document for the Alameda-Oakland Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge Project.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager requests adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute agreements to accept and allocate $1,555,000 in grant funds from ACTC.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Annie To, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Project Funding Agreement
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager