TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Quarterly Report on District Involvement in External Planning Processes
BRIEFING ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving the Quarterly Report on District involvement in external planning processes.
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Strong Public and Policymaker Support
Initiative - Service Quality
External planning activities develop public and policymaker support by facilitating dialogue-and possibly consensus-between cities, AC Transit and other stakeholders about 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.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct budgetary/fiscal impact associated with this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
This report summarizes transportation and land use planning processes led by other agencies, which affect AC Transit. It focuses primarily on long-range planning activities rather than project level implementation. AC Transit participates in and tracks multiple external planning processes at multiple levels. A list and summary of these planning processes is included as Attachment 1.
At the regional level, MTC/ABAG has moved into the more project-oriented phase of Plan Bay Area 2050, also known as the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). MTC has wrapped up the Horizon pre-plan project, which sought to define potential economic development scenarios for the Bay Area and their effect on residents. The draft Plan Bay Area will be completed next year with the Plan and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) completed in 2021. It will have sections on transportation, housing, economy, and environment, with equity as a cross-cutting focus. Plan Bay Area is expected to include several AC Transit projects, although MTC also wishes to focus on broader transportation strategies.
The Plan comes at the same time as a group of businesses and organizations are proposing legislation for a regional transportation initiative, known as FASTER, for the nine-bay area county. The proponents of the legislation hope to place the initiative on the November 2020 ballot. If FASTER is approved by the legislature and the voters, it could accelerate the development of some projects in the RTP.
The work of cities in the center of the AC Transit District is a major component of transit planning in the East Bay. The City of Oakland has kicked off the Grand Avenue Mobility Plan, which is intended to create a multi-user transit lane between Lake Merritt and the Nimitz Freeway. A key transit supportive project in Oakland is the installation of red-painted bus only lanes on Broadway between 11th and 20th Streets. This change is supported by the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan.
Emeryville is working closely with AC Transit to provide bus lanes on the major 40th Street bus corridor, and to improve bus access to the Bay Bridge approach. The City of Berkeley expects to improve the Adeline Corridor Plan this spring. Berkeley is also working on revision and augmentation of its “Transit First” policy. Berkeley is also considering eliminating off-street parking requirements for large developments. AC Transit has initiated a “mini-Comprehensive Operational Analysis” (COA) to consider the appropriate service structure in the city of Alameda.
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:
Staff Report 19-342 - External Planning Processes
ATTACHMENTS:
1. External Planning Tracker
Prepared by:
Nathan Landau, Senior Transportation Planner, Long Range Planning
Approved/Reviewed by:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Robert del Rosario, Director of Services Development and Planning
Beverly Greene, Executive Director of External Affairs, Marketing & Communications
Claudia Burgos, Director of Legislative Affairs & Community Relations