Title
Recommendation to Endorse the Design Concept for the Lincoln Avenue/Marshall Way/Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project; and Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement with Parametrix, Inc. in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $1,000,000, Including Contingencies, to Provide Additional Technical Services Related to the Lincoln Avenue/Marshall Way/Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this project is categorically exempt under 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). (Transportation 20962743)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Alameda (City) has identified the Lincoln Avenue/Marshall Way/Pacific Avenue (Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific) corridor between Alameda Point at Main Street/Central Avenue/Pacific Avenue and Broadway in the east end of town as a high priority for safety and mobility improvements. The Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor is over three miles long, serves multiple destinations including schools, bus stops, commercial districts and parks, and is a Tier 1 high-injury corridor. The concept includes a road diet, a roundabout at Lincoln Avenue/Fifth Street/Marshall Way, flashing beacons, pedestrian/bicycle signals, modernized traffic signals, crosswalk improvements, school frontage improvements, stormwater gardens, street trees, disabled parking and loading zones, improved lighting and bus stop enhancements. The concept will likely be phased in over time as street sections are resurfaced and constructed with grant funding. Immediate action will occur on Lincoln Avenue at Walnut Street with the installation of flashing beacons and increased intersection visibility. Public on-street parking will be maintained except adjacent to the roundabouts and at intersections and select driveways to improve visibility. Staff is recommending that City Council endorse the design concept and authorize a consultant agreement for the design work. More information can be found on the project webpage: www.alamedaca.gov/LincolnMarshallPacific <http://www.alamedaca.gov/LincolnMarshallPacific>
BACKGROUND
The City has identified the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor between Alameda Point at Main Street/Central Avenue/Pacific Avenue and Broadway in the east end of town as a high priority for safety and mobility improvements. City staff is working with Parametrix, Inc. - formerly Parisi Transportation Consulting (Parisi) - to develop the concept for the corridor. The Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvement Project includes the following related City Council actions:
• In January 2018, City Council adopted the Transportation Choices Plan, which included the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Improvement Project as a Vision Zero project to reduce traffic deaths and severe injuries to zero. The Plan states that the next step would be a feasibility study for a four-lane to three-lane street conversion with bike lanes.
• In June 2021, City Council approved $200,000 in Measure BB Local Streets and Roads monies for fiscal years 2021 to 2023 as shown in the Capital Improvement Program to evaluate safety improvements for this corridor.
• In December 2021, City Council adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan, which identifies this corridor as a High Injury Corridor that should be prioritized for safety improvements.
• In December 2022, City Council approved the Active Transportation Plan, which identifies this corridor as having buffered bike lanes west of St. Charles Street, standard Class II bike lanes east of St. Charles Street to Park Street and a neighborhood greenway east of Park Street to Broadway. A neighborhood greenway also is proposed for Pacific Avenue just north of Lincoln Avenue.
For the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvement Project, the City seeks to:
• Promote safety by prioritizing Vision Zero, which City Council approved as a policy in 2019 to reduce traffic deaths and severe injuries to zero.
• Improve mobility for all roadway users, including AC Transit buses.
• Improve pavement for better operations and user experience, and to reduce maintenance.
• Provide flood reduction and landscaping opportunities including to reduce the heat island impacts that occur in urbanized areas.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving traffic flow and shifting trips to walking, bicycling and riding transit.
• Comply with City plans and policies, including the City's General Plan update, the Active Transportation Plan and the upcoming Urban Forest Plan.
The Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor connects neighborhoods across Alameda, is over three miles long, and serves multiple destinations including schools, commercial districts and parks. It is also a high-injury corridor with four high crash intersections according to the City's Vision Zero Action Plan. In 2022, the City staff/consultant team evaluated the current uses, intersection controls and crash data, and engaged with community members to develop the design concept. The final concept, which was endorsed by the Transportation Commission in February 2023, will likely be phased in over time as street sections are resurfaced and improvements are constructed with grant funding. The City staff/consultant team will continue to engage with community members and key stakeholders as the project progresses through implementation.
The purpose of this agenda item is to request City Council to endorse the design concept of the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvement Project and to authorize the Parametrix consultant agreement for the design work in preparation for construction and to increase the likelihood of obtaining competitive grants to complete the design and construction.
DISCUSSION
The Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor is one of the widest corridors in the City with four lanes of motor vehicle travel and a continuous center two-way left turn lane in some sections. Only the eastern sections of the project corridor are narrower with two lanes and a two-way left turn lane west of Park Street and a two-lane street between Park Street and Broadway. During peak periods, the roadway carries 200 to 700 vehicles per hour in each direction, and the corridor’s capacity is up to three times what it currently carries. The average daily traffic (ADT) for the corridor, which reflects pre-pandemic conditions, is between 3,900 and 11,000 vehicles per day. The corridor has an existing speed limit of 25 miles per hour (mph), and observed speeds are often higher ranging between 29 and 34 mph for 85th percentile speeds. There are no bike facilities, and AC Transit bus lines serve Pacific Avenue, Marshall Way and Lincoln Avenue west of Webster Street.
Lincoln Avenue is a high injury corridor with 258 reported crashes from 2017 to 2021. Out of this total, 17 crashes involved pedestrians and 11 crashes involved cyclists. There were three fatal crashes, which included one pedestrian fatality, and two crashes that resulted in severe injury. The majority of the crashes - 67 percent - did not result in an injury, and 31 percent resulted in a minor injury. Hot spots for all crashes increase to the east with the highest frequency occurring between Willow Street and Park Street. Two hot spots for bicycle and pedestrian-involved crashes are near Webster Street and Park Street. Bicycle and pedestrian crashes accounted for 13 percent of all crashes but almost 33 percent of all injuries.
The adjacent land uses are primarily residential with a mix of commercial. According to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor sees different levels of equity priority areas with the western portion as having the highest level of social vulnerability in the City and the area east and west of Park Street as also having high social vulnerability characteristics. Traffic signals are spaced on average one quarter mile apart, and there are 11 traffic signals over the 3.1 mile corridor. Marked crosswalks are spaced an average of 400 feet apart, and 54 percent of them are at signalized intersections. The Pacific Avenue crosswalk at Fourth Street in front of the Academy of Alameda has a flashing beacon system. Even though there are no bus routes directly on Lincoln Avenue east of Webster Street, there are bus routes to the north on Buena Vista Avenue and high ridership bus routes to the south on Santa Clara Avenue, which generate pedestrian travel across Lincoln Avenue.
In 2022, the City staff/consultant team completed two rounds of community engagement, which consisted of two online surveys (480 and 155 respondents), three project development team meetings (averaging 16 participants at each meeting), two letters to adjacent properties (3,000 and 6,000 letters), several emails to about 2,000 recipients, two virtual community workshops (26 and 14 participants), two in-person open houses (15 and 4 participants) and 625 unique project webpage views. The key stakeholders include City staff, business communities, neighborhood community members, AC Transit, Alameda Unified School District, Love School, Academy of Alameda and Bike Walk Alameda. The City staff/consultant team also analyzed street safety concern reports submitted to SeeClickFix, which showed that out of 56 submittals, 45 percent pertained to unsafe crossings, 18 percent pertained to other safety issues, 14 percent concerned speeding, 12 percent were related to a walking near-miss and 9 percent were about a driving near miss. The Transportation Commission reviewed the preliminary concept in May 2022 and endorsed a revised concept in February 2023. On April 5, the Commission on Persons with Disabilities will be asked to review the concept.
The project webpage (www.alamedaca.gov/LincolnMarshallPacific <http://www.alamedaca.gov/LincolnMarshallPacific>) shows the detailed results from the surveys, virtual workshops and in-person open houses as well as video recordings of the virtual workshops and Transportation Commission meetings. The main themes from the community outreach include concerns about safety, speeding, lack of enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle crossings, parking loss in high density housing areas, citywide traffic congestion, emergency response, lack of bike facilities and school access issues at the Academy of Alameda and Love School. The majority of the survey respondents stated that they are dissatisfied with the safety and operations of the corridor. Survey respondents ranked core maintenance and safer speeds/traffic calming as the highest priority, and prefer protected bike lanes over traditional bike lanes adjacent to the travel lane.
Concept Overview
Summary: The concept includes a road diet - going from four to three travel lanes with a center turn lane and bike lanes - as well as a roundabout at Lincoln Avenue/Fifth Street/Marshall Way, flashing beacons, pedestrian/bicycle signals, modernized traffic signals, crosswalk improvements, school frontage improvements, stormwater gardens, street trees, disabled parking and loading zones, improved lighting and bus stop enhancements. The concept details are as follows:
Road Diet: The City staff/consultant team recommends a road diet because the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific corridor’s capacity is up to three times what it currently carries. Under future year 2040 conditions, the corridor would generally have at least twice as much capacity as needed for projected conditions. Travel demand forecasting was undertaken for the project, which considered citywide growth, added vehicle trips along and across the corridor and to/from Alameda Point, and other planned transportation improvements throughout the city. According to the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) informational guide, road diets have multiple benefits for people driving, walking and bicycling, such as:
• Reduces crashes by up to 47 percent;
• Decreases vehicle travel lanes for pedestrians to cross;
• Allows for better visibility of pedestrians crossing the street;
• Improves circulation for bicyclists when a bikeway is added;
• Reduces speeds by three to five miles per hour, which reduces crash severity; and
• Improves flow since through vehicles are separated from left-turning vehicles.
Bike Lanes: Bicycle lane additions reduce crashes up to 30 percent for total crashes on two-lane roads and up to 49 percent on four-lane roads according to the FHWA. In 2019, the City conducted a statistically significant citywide survey, which showed that 73 percent of respondents agree that Alameda needs to do more to make it safer for people to bicycle. A summary of the bikeways in the concept is as follows:
• Buffered: On Pacific Avenue and Lincoln Avenue west of Morton Street where a wider street exists, the recommended bicycle facilities are buffered bicycle lanes similar to Otis Drive with a two to three foot striped space between motorists and bicyclists.
• Conventional: East of Morton Street where the street is narrower, standard bike lanes are recommended similar to Santa Clara Avenue and Broadway with a stripe that separates motorists and bicyclists.
• Protected: Due to the lack of driveways west and east of the Academy of Alameda and in the St. Charles commercial area, parking protected bicycle lanes are recommended to allow for more protected bicycling with minimal parking loss.
Neighborhood Greenways: A neighborhood greenway is recommended for Lincoln Avenue between Park Street and Broadway, which is consistent with the Active Transportation Plan (ATP), and includes a mountable neighborhood traffic circle on Lincoln Avenue at Everett Street. The ATP also proposes a neighborhood greenway on Pacific Avenue, which is just north of the Lincoln Avenue study area and will allow for a low stress bikeway in this neighborhood parallel to the Lincoln Avenue corridor. To improve bicycle and pedestrian crossings at neighborhood greenways, the City staff/consultant team is recommending high-intensity activated crosswalk (HAWK) signals to be installed to cross Lincoln Avenue at Ninth Street, St. Charles Street and Broadway. These bicycle and pedestrian signals require drivers to stop when the light is red after being triggered by people who want to walk or bicycle across the street.
Roundabouts: A roundabout is recommended at Lincoln Avenue/Fifth Street/Marshall Way. For a long-term vision, the City staff/consultant team recommends consideration of a roundabout at Lincoln Avenue/Wilma Chan Way/Eighth Street. At Lincoln/Wilma Chan/Eighth, the traffic projections show that the roundabout would need to have two lanes, which is best evaluated at a later date after single-lane roundabouts are constructed in Alameda. At Pacific Avenue/Central Avenue/Main Street, a roundabout is already approved and funded as part of the Central Avenue Safety Improvement Project. This Pacific/Central/Main roundabout shows a minor change to how it is configured to improve safety. The entrance to the local Main Street, which is a one-way street for northbound traffic, is now shown north of the roundabout rather than as part of the roundabout.
Roundabouts reduce the types of crashes where people are seriously hurt or killed by 78 percent when compared to signalized intersections. Roundabouts result in lower vehicle speeds, generally 10-15 miles per hour in the circular intersection around the roundabout. Crashes that occur will be less severe because of this reduced speed. Pedestrians are safer at roundabouts, and are faced with simpler decisions. Roundabouts reduce delays compared to traffic signals, provide landscaping and flood reduction, and have lower maintenance costs. Videos and presentations on roundabouts are as follows:
• Roundabout Education at City of Alameda Transportation Commission (Jan 27, 2021) - Staff Report/Presentation <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4758234&GUID=2345B774-9EAA-4A94-9A51-BFC236809F5E&Options=&Search=&FullText=1> - Video <http://alameda.granicus.com/player/clip/2716?view_id=6&redirect=true> (at 30 minute mark)
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission Roundabout Videos <https://mtc.ca.gov/operations/programs-projects/streets-roads-arterials/roundabouts>
• FHWA Roundabout Safety Resources <https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/roundabouts/index.cfm>
Parking: Public on-street parking will be maintained except adjacent to roundabouts, at intersections and at select driveways to improve visibility. On-street disabled parking spaces will be added throughout the length of the corridor with a focus on commercial and school areas. Loading zones will be added, where needed or requested, such as by the Domino’s Pizza on Lincoln Avenue between Bay Street and Sherman Street.
Pedestrian Crossing Improvements: In 2019, the City conducted a statistically significant citywide survey, which showed that 81 percent of respondents agree that Alameda needs to do more to make it safer for people to walk across busy streets. Pedestrian crossing improvements include:
• High visibility crosswalks: Reduce pedestrian injury crashes by up to 40 percent;
• Intersection lighting: Reduce pedestrian crashes up to 42 percent;
• Advanced yield/stop markings/signs: Reduce pedestrian crashes up to 25 percent;
• Medians with marked crosswalks: Reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 46 percent;
• Medians with pedestrian refuge islands: Reduce crashes by up to 56 percent; and
• Flashing beacons: Reduce pedestrian crashes up to 47 percent, increase motorists yielding rates up to 98 percent and are recommended at:
o Lincoln Avenue / Concordia Street
o Lincoln Avenue / Stanton Street
o Lincoln Avenue / Walnut Street (immediate action)
Signal Modernization: Enhancements for signalized intersections include left turn arrows, leading pedestrian/bicycle intervals, adjusted signal timing, yellow change intervals and backplates with retroreflective borders. Adding left turn arrows will be possible in conjunction with the new left turn lanes added by the road diet; the left turn arrows will reduce the potential for vehicle/pedestrian conflicts across side-street crosswalks. Yellow change intervals can provide a 36-50 percent reduction in red light running, an 8-14 percent reduction in total crashes, and a 12 percent reduction in injury crashes. Backplates with retroreflective borders can provide a 15 percent reduction in total crashes. Leading pedestrian intervals can provide a 13 percent reduction in pedestrian-vehicle crashes at intersections. The Park and Webster Street signals already have some modernization treatments, and the remaining signalized intersections are expected to have more extensive upgrades.
Bus Stop Enhancements: The City staff/consultant team recommends improved operations and safety of the AC Transit bus lines. Enhancements include bus stop islands and bulb-outs, benches, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements, consolidated bus stops for faster operations and bus stops moved to the far side of intersections for safety. For consolidated bus stops, the bus stops on Lincoln Avenue at Sixth Street are recommended to be removed and the bus stops on Lincoln Avenue at Fifth Street are recommended to be shifted east to Lincoln Avenue at Linden Street adjacent to the park and school facilities. Bus stops are preferred on the far side of intersections to improve visibility at intersections, especially for bus riders crossing the street who would do so without a bus blocking their visibility. Far side bus stops are recommended on Pacific Avenue at Second Street/Santa Clara Avenue instead of on Pacific Avenue at Main Street/Central Avenue.
Green Infrastructure: Includes street trees, stormwater gardens and landscaped medians similar to the ones that exist on Lincoln Avenue by St. Charles Street and Bay Street. Green infrastructure treatments improve aesthetics, reduce speeding, passing and parking at curbs, and provide flood and heat island effect reductions. Landscaped bioretention curb extensions are considered sustainable systems that reduce flooding on adjacent streets, slow stormwater runoff and allow for cleaner runoff into the bay and estuary. These enhanced streetscapes promote Bay Friendly landscaping with California native, drought tolerant species and help implement the upcoming Urban Forest Plan, which is in the process of being updated.
Resurfacing: Some street sections will include resurfacing treatments such as Lincoln Avenue between Eighth Street and St. Charles Street as well as the Park Street and Broadway section.
Phases: The concept will likely be phased in over time, as street sections are resurfaced and constructed with grant funding. Immediate action will occur on Lincoln Avenue at Walnut Street with the installation of flashing beacons and increased intersection visibility.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may consider a range of alternatives:
• Approve the concept and authorize the recommended agreement;
• Approve the concept and authorize the recommended agreement with revisions determined necessary by the City Council; or
• Direct staff to pursue a different design approach and return at a future date with a revised contract.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvement Project (C65700) concept phase is funded by Measure BB, Alameda County’s transportation sales tax, which is administered by the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC). The total project is estimated to cost approximately $27 million, which is an order-of-magnitude planning cost estimate, and includes the design and construction and is unfunded. In June 2022, City staff/consultant team submitted a grant application to the Alameda CTC totaling $14.7 million, which to date has been unsuccessful; however, Alameda CTC will announce more grant recipients in May 2023. In March 2023, City staff requested a $2 million federal earmark for the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific project to complete design and to install flashing beacons or high-intensity activated crosswalk signals. City staff/consultant team is anticipating a phased implementation of the project as grant and resurfacing funding become available.
As part of this agenda item, City staff is recommending City Council authorize a contract agreement with Parametrix, Inc. - formerly Parisi Transportation Consulting, Inc. - to continue design work totaling $1,000,000 to prepare for early actions on the corridor related to street resurfacing and to increase the likelihood of obtaining competitive grants to complete the design and construction. In April 2020, City Council previously approved a contract agreement with Parisi as part of the City’s on-call transportation consultants (Exhibit 4), and the task orders to date total $357,391 and spent to date totals $303,714. This agreement expires April 21, 2023 so the new agreement allows for the design work on the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific project to continue and be under contract with the company under its new name, Parametrix (Exhibit 5). The appropriation of the local funds for this work will be subject to future City Council approval as part of the upcoming two-year budget and Capital Improvement Program. The contract agreement for design work includes the following tasks: project management, technical studies, community engagement and design up to 65 percent design drawings.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Improvement Project is consistent with the General Plan (2021) and makes progress towards meeting the four goals of the Mobility Element, which are as follows:
Goal 1 - Equity: Provide for the mobility needs of all Alameda residents, workers, and visitors regardless of income, age, ability, or neighborhood.
Goal 2 - Safety: Eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on Alameda’s streets, sidewalks, crosswalks and trails by 2035.
Goal 3 - Choices: Expand and improve alternatives to low occupancy automobile trips to incentivize mode shift to more environmentally sustainable modes of transportation while recognizing the diverse needs for mobility.
Goal 4 - Sustainability: Reduce the impacts of transportation systems on the environment, and transition to a more resilient transportation system to address the impacts of climate change.
Vulnerable users are supported in the Mobility Element under Policy ME-6, Vulnerable Users, as follows: When designing, redesigning or resurfacing streets, provide safe and convenient access for vulnerable users, including children, seniors, people with disabilities, and people walking and bicycling.
Roundabouts are supported in the Mobility Element under Policy ME-7, Safe Streets, as follows:
e. Roundabouts. Increase the use of roundabouts at intersections to improve the safety and lower maintenance costs compared to traffic signals.
j. Intersection Safety. To improve safety at a stop controlled or signalized intersections, consider a roundabout design or eliminating right turns on red and adding pedestrian scrambles to existing signals.
k. Roundabouts and Traffic Circles. When considering modification to an intersection, prioritize roundabouts and traffic circles recognizing that land acquisition needs, operational considerations, or other engineering factors or constraints may result in other intersection solutions on a case-by-case basis.
Road diets are supported in the Mobility Element under Policy ME-8, Roadway Diets, as follows:
Roadway Diets. To reduce speeding and collisions on 4-lane roads on high-injury corridors, consider converting the 4-lane road to a 2-lane road with turning lanes, transit lanes, or bicycle lanes.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific concept is categorically exempt pursuant to 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. None of the exceptions to the exemptions apply.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Since vehicle miles traveled in Alameda is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda, City staff is expecting that the Lincoln/Marshall/Pacific Corridor Improvement Project would have a positive climate impact. The concept is being developed to make it safer and more convenient to bicycle, ride the bus and walk, and to reduce congestion and idling motor vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
Endorse the design concept for the Lincoln Avenue/Marshall Way/Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project; and
Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Parametrix, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000, including contingencies.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Director of Planning, Building and Transportation
By,
Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Concept: Central/Main/Pacific to Eighth/Wilma Chan Way/Lincoln
2. Concept: Eighth/Wilma Chan Way/Lincoln to Grand Street
3. Concept: Grand Street to Broadway
4. Agreement - Parisi
5. Agreement - Parametrix
cc: Erin Smith, Public Works Director