TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Transit Travel Time Improvement Project
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager to execute a Cooperative Agreement with the Cities of Fremont, Union City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto for the Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Transit Travel Time Improvement Project.
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
The proposed project is intended to improve service reliability and reduce travel time along the Dumbarton Bridge Corridor by upgrading the Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system, better signal coordination and bus stop optimization.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Project is funded by various federal, state, and local sources, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Innovative Deployments to Enhance Arterials (IDEA) grant, the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) and the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). The overall project budget is $3.6 million.
The Cooperative Agreement outlines responsibilities associated with design, construction support and ongoing operation and maintenance; it does not distribute funding to the stakeholder agencies and therefore, has no immediate ongoing funding requirement for AC Transit. AC Transit is required to provide replacement TSP equipment when necessary to maintain the TSP system for 15 years after initial deployment. Such replacement, if required, would result in a fiscal impact on the District in the future. The initial TSP system installation was funded by grants. A low rate of equipment failure is expected as there has not been any equipment failure from the TSP equipment installed for the Line 51 project in 2017. The Project will add TSP at 37 signalized intersections to approximately 400 signalized intersections where AC Transit installed or is in process of installing TSP equipment through various projects. An estimated cost of TSP intersection equipment is $8,000 per location.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The Dumbarton Corridor is approximately 15 miles long and is the major Transbay travel corridor between southern Alameda County and parts of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties along the Peninsula. The Project will improve operations of Dumbarton Express Lines DB and DB1 and AC Transit Line U and local routes on Decoto Road (Lines 97, 99, 200, 216, and 232). The Project will extend AC Transit's TSP network across the corridor, install bus queue-jump lanes and include other bus stop enhancements to decrease travel and dwell time, and improve the reliability of transit service. This project was developed in partnership with AC Transit, the cities of Union City, Fremont, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto, the County of Alameda, Caltrans District 4, Stanford University, and MTC.
The Dumbarton Express is administered and governed by AC Transit, with oversight by the Dumbarton Bridge Regional Operations Consortium (DBROC), comprised of AC Transit, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, BART, SamTrans, and Union City Transit. Operations of Dumbarton Express is currently funded by Regional Measure 2 and EasyPass. The project is intended to improve operations and reduce passenger travel times as part of AC Transit’s general responsibility.
The District completed design and is preparing to enter the construction phase of the Dumbarton Corridor Transit Travel Time Improvement Project. Staff will return to the Board for approval of an operations agreement with Caltrans as well as award of a construction contract in Spring 2021.
The Cooperative Agreement with the cities clearly defines each party’s responsibilities to avoid any future misunderstanding over the project implementation, and the operations and maintenance of new equipment. Under the Agreement, the District is responsible for providing TSP field equipment in case of failure. The cities are responsible for operations and maintenance of all equipment installed by the Project.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The advantage of entering into a Cooperative Agreement with the cities is that responsibilities of each agency are clearly defined so that the TSP system will be operated and maintained for 15 years after the initial deployment.
There are no known disadvantages to enter into the Cooperative Agreement except for potential future financial responsibility by the District should equipment need to be replaced in the next 15 years.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
A possible alternative would be for the cities to maintain all new equipment without a cooperative agreement. Responsibilities of maintaining TSP system would be unclear without the agreement, and the TSP system may not be maintained or function well.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
SR20-381 - Dumbarton Bridge Corridor Transit Travel Time Improvement Project Notice of Exemption
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Cooperative Agreement with the cities of Fremont, Union City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto and Related Exhibit
Prepared by:
Wil Buller, Traffic Engineer
Mika Miyasato, Senior Transportation Planner
In Collaboration with:
Jim Cunradi, Transportation Planning Manager
James Arcellana, Attorney III
Approved/Reviewed by:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Jill A. Sprague, General Counsel
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development and Planning
Chris Andrichak, Acting Chief Financial Officer