TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Quarterly Report on District Involvement in External Planning
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving the Quarterly Report on District’s involvement in external planning processes.
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Strong Public and Policymaker Support
Initiative - Service Quality
External planning activities develop public and policymaker support by facilitating dialogue and consensus between cities, AC Transit, and other stakeholders about their proposals affecting transit. The District’s participation in these activities is generally designed to improve or maintain service quality. Proposals by cities and other entities can improve operating conditions for AC Transit service or degrade them if not monitored closely.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct budgetary/fiscal impact associated with this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
AC Transit’s operations and services are strongly affected by planning conducted by state, regional, county, and city agencies. These agencies’ plans and actions can affect AC Transit positively or negatively in funding, policymaking, roadway design, transit performance, and land use. The District seeks to monitor and affect other agencies’ plan making on an ongoing basis. Resources permitting, the District seeks to take an active role in these planning processes. District activities include participating in Technical Advisory Committees (TACs); providing comments on plans, designs, and other documents; submitting letters and speaking before governing bodies and their advisory commissions.
Plans completed or approved:
• MTC, ACTC, CCTA - I-80 Design Alternatives Analysis
• CCTA, WCCTAC - West Contra Costa County Action Plan
Projects Nearing Completion of Design Phase:
• MTC - Dumbarton Forward - Part-time Transit Lanes
• Oakland MacArthur Smart City Corridor
• I-80 Westbound Bus Lanes Project
Projects with Fall 2023 Outreach:
• ACTC - Multimodal Corridor Study - San Pablo Avenue Phase II
• City of Richmond - Hilltop Horizons Specific Plan
New Plans:
• CCTA - County-wide Smart Signals
• Cities of Oakland & Alameda - Oakland-Alameda Estuary Bridge
• City of Newark - Active Transportation Plan
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
External planning processes provide AC Transit with opportunities to influence decisions by cities, counties, and other agencies that affect roadway design, transit, and land use. In addition, our participation ensures transit service plans can anticipate and adjust to meet the needs of the community. The disadvantage is that participation in external planning processes can be time-consuming with no guarantee of positive results for the District.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
Because this report does not recommend an action, there is no alternatives analysis.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Board Policy 522 - Policy for Transit-Oriented Development and Transit-Supportive Land Use.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. External Planning Tracker
Prepared by:
Jim Cunradi, Transportation Planning Manager
In Collaboration with:
Michael Eshleman, Transportation Planning Manager
Approved/Reviewed by:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development and Planning