TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Cooperation Agreement for the Fruitvale Avenue Transit Signal Priority and Signal Communication Integration Project
ACTION ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager to execute the Cooperation Agreement with the City of Oakland for the Fruitvale Avenue Transit Signal Priority and Signal Communication Integration Project.
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
The Fruitvale Avenue Transit Signal Priority (TSP) and Signal Communication Integration Project is intended to improve service reliability and reduce transit travel time along the Fruitvale Avenue corridor in the city of Oakland.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The Fruitvale Avenue TSP and Signal Communication Integration Project overall budget is $4,983,334 and funded by three grant funding sources:
• Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program ($2,000,000),
• California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Low Carbon Transit Operations (LCTOP) Program ($1,036,594), and
• Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) Vehicle Registration Fee ($1,723,000).
The overall project budget includes $223,740 in District Capital funds to meet local match requirements.
The Cooperation Agreement outlines responsibilities for design, construction support, and ongoing operation and maintenance. It does not provide funding directly to the City of Oakland. As requested by the City of Oakland, the District will provide consulting services to support the City’s coordination and review during the design phase. Additionally, in the event of equipment failure, the District’s fiscal responsibility would include providing all labor, materials, incidentals, field assistance, troubleshooting, replacement, reconfiguration, and testing associated with the new TSP equipment. Staff expects a low failure rate. For reference, the global positioning system (GPS)-based TSP equipment installed for the Line 51 project in 2017 has not failed to date.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The Fruitvale Avenue TSP and Signal Communication Integration Project will implement a TSP system and signal coordination along Fruitvale Avenue between MacArthur Boulevard and E. 9th Street, as well as San Leandro Street leading into the Fruitvale BART Station, E. 12th Street from 29th Avenue to 35th Avenue, and 29th Avenue from E. 12th Street to E. 10th Street. The two-mile project area is located along Fruitvale Avenue, one of AC Transit’s 12 major corridors, and is served by lines 30, 31, and 639. The project will implement short-term improvements recommended in the 2016 Major Corridors Study to enhance traffic and transit operations and improve service reliability. The project does not include bus stop improvements; potential improvements to bus stops along the corridor will be considered as part of future efforts.
The project’s design phase will begin after the final execution of the Cooperation Agreement. Because this project is located within the City of Oakland and intersects roads owned by Caltrans, staff have established two agreements to clearly define each party’s responsibilities and prevent future misunderstandings regarding project implementation, operations, and maintenance of new TSP equipment:
• Cooperation Agreement with the City of Oakland: This agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of the City and AC Transit for the Fruitvale Avenue TSP and Signal Communication Integration Project, including project delivery, ownership and maintenance of TSP equipment, and liability and risk management. It does not address TSP data sharing, which requires network security authorizations from the City of Oakland Information Technology Department. AC Transit’s Traffic Engineer has been working with the City of Oakland Traffic Engineer to establish a process and mechanism for receiving TSP data for all TSP signals within Oakland. City staff presented the Cooperation Agreement to the Oakland City Council on July 21, 2026, and it was subsequently signed by the City Administrator. If authorized by the Board, the General Manager’s signature will fully execute the agreement.
• Master Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Agreement with Caltrans: The Board approved and fully executed this agreement in February 2022. It defines responsibilities for the ongoing operation and maintenance of TSP equipment at Caltrans-controlled intersections. The Fruitvale Avenue TSP and Signal Communication Integration Project will require an amendment to Exhibit A-1 of the Master O&M Agreement to add Caltrans intersections within the project area. Because this amendment will add only new locations and will not modify the terms of the agreement, it is consistent with the approach outlined in Staff Report 22-038, which states that additional Caltrans signalized intersections could be added to the agreement as needed (in the form of an amendment to Exhibit A-1).
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The advantage of entering the Cooperation Agreement with the City of Oakland is that responsibilities for each agency are clearly defined so that there is agreement on operations and maintenance of the TSP system installed along Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland through this project.
There are no known disadvantages to entering into the Cooperation Agreement.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
AC Transit could install new equipment without entering the Cooperation Agreement; however, this is not recommended. Without an agreement, the responsibilities of maintaining the TSP equipment would be unclear, and the TSP system may not be well maintained or function as intended.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Staff Report 22-038: Operations Agreement with the California Department of Transportation
Staff Report 25-230: Consider adoption of Resolution No. 25-015 authorizing the Interim General Manager or her designee to file and execute applications and funding agreements with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for allocations of the FY 2024-25 Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) funds for the Tempo Service Operating Assistance Project and the Fruitvale Corridor Transit Signal Priority Project, execute related Certifications and Assurances, and assign the Interim General Manager, or her designee, as the Authorized Agent for resulting LCTOP grants
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Final Cooperation Agreement Fruitvale Ave Project Oakland and AC Transit
Prepared by:
Casey Bruno, Senior Transportation Planner
In Collaboration with:
Wil Buller, Traffic Engineer
Approved/Reviewed by:
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development & Planning
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Chris Andrichak, Chief Financial Officer
Paul Kincaid, Assistant General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer