TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Cooperative Agreement for the Park Street Transit Signal Priority & Signal Optimization Project
ACTION ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager to execute a Cooperative Agreement with the City of Alameda for the Park Street Transit Signal Priority & Signal Optimization Project
Staff Contact:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
The Park Street Transit Signal Priority (TSP) & Signal Optimization Project is intended to improve service reliability and reduce travel time along the Park Street corridor in the city of Alameda.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The Park Street TSP & Signal Optimization Project overall budget is $1,236,211 and funded by State Transit Assistance (STA) funds through Round One of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery (BusAID) Program. The District applied capital funds to meet the local match requirement of 11.47%, or $141,793, for the STA funds.
The Cooperative Agreement outlines responsibilities associated with design, construction support, and ongoing operation and maintenance, and does not distribute funding to the City of Alameda. 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 rate of failure, if any. 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 Park Street TSP & Signal Optimization Project will install GPS-based TSP technology and optimize signals along Park Street, between Alameda Avenue and Otis Drive. As the City of Alameda has already implemented TSP technology and signal optimization along the rest of Park Street (from Blanding Avenue to Central Avenue), this project will complete the TSP network along the remainder of the corridor.
The Board adopted Resolution No. 24-027 on July 10, 2024 to receive funding from MTC for this project. The project completed the design phase in February 2026, and the solicitation for the construction Invitation for Bid (IFB) was released in May 2026 with construction expected to start in Fall 2026.
AC Transit staff works closely with local jurisdictions for operation and maintenance of TSP equipment. Since this project is located within the City of Alameda and also intersects a roadway owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), staff have established two agreements to clearly define each party’s responsibilities and prevent future misunderstandings related to project implementation, operations, and maintenance of new TSP equipment:
• Cooperative Agreement with the City of Alameda: This agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities of both the City and AC Transit, including project delivery, ownership and maintenance of TSP equipment, and liability and risk management for the Park Street TSP & Signal Optimization Project. City staff presented the Cooperative Agreement to the Alameda City Council on June 2, 2026, and subsequently signed by the City Manager. If authorized by the Board, the General Manager’s signature will fully execute the Cooperative Agreement.
• Master Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Agreement with Caltrans: This agreement was approved by the Board and fully executed in February 2022. It defines responsibilities for the ongoing operation and maintenance of TSP equipment at Caltrans-controlled intersections. The Park Street TSP & Signal Optimization Project required an amendment to the Master O&M Agreement to add Encinal Avenue (State Route 61) and the Park Street intersection to Exhibit A-1, which identifies Caltrans intersections covered under the agreement. Since this amendment only adds a new location and does 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.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The advantage of entering into the Cooperative Agreement with the City of Alameda is that responsibilities for each agency are clearly defined so that there is agreement on operations and maintenance of the TSP system installed along Park Street in Alameda through the Park Street TSP & Signal Optimization Project.
There are no known disadvantages to entering into the Cooperative Agreement except for potential future financial responsibility by AC Transit should the District need to replace equipment.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
An alternative scenario would be for AC Transit to install new equipment without entering into the Cooperative Agreement. Responsibilities of maintaining the TSP equipment would be unclear and the TSP system may not be maintained or function well.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
Staff Report 24-374: BusAID Applications for Park Street and International Boulevard Projects
Staff Report 22-038: Operations Agreement with the California Department of Transportation
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Final Cooperative Agreement Park St TSP Alameda and AC Transit
Prepared by:
Casey Bruno, Senior Transportation Planner
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