REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Alternative Parking Information for Bay Trail Users (Information Only)
Report
BACKGROUND
The San Francisco Bay Trail (Bay Trail) is a 300-mile regional trail that provides hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, and access to 130 parks in the Bay Area. Members of the public wishing to access the Bay Trail in Sunnyvale currently have three parking options (see Attachment 1-Bay Trail Parking Alternatives):
1. Public parking at the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) on Carl Road;
2. Visitor parking at the Verizon Multimedia (formerly Oath and Yahoo!) campus, along the east end of First Avenue;
3. Parking at Baylands Park, which is $6 during picnic season (March-October), and free during the non-picnic season.
The Caribbean Drive Parking and Trail Access Enhancement Project (Project 833160) was created to replace the first option when Carl Road is vacated as part of the buildout of the Cleanwater Program. On May 8, 2018, Council discussed RTC No. 18-0336-Approve the Caribbean Drive Parking and Trail Access Enhancements Design Alternative, and Amend an Existing Design/Construction Support Contract. Council approved Alternative 1 in the staff report, which included constructing parking along Caribbean Drive to replace the parking on Carl Road. The project will include 39 parking spaces - more than doubling the number of spaces currently available on Carl Road -- to provide additional parking for trail use.
There are two primary drivers for the Project:
• The Cleanwater Program requirement that Carl Road be vacated for WPCP construction activity beginning in early 2020; and
• A San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission permit obligation to provide at least 15 free public parking spaces dedicated for Bay Trail users.
The selected project alternative meets these conditions, as well as satisfying several secondary constraints such as avoiding impacts to the closed Sunnyvale Landfill, providing accessible access to the Bay Trail, appropriate use of Wastewater Management Fund and EPA Green Streets grant funding, and consistency with future planned projects.
In addition to meeting the minimum requirements by replacing Carl Road parking in-kind, the City is increasing the number of spaces by more than 20, and has posted signage to help the public locate currently underutilized spaces at the Verizon Multimedia campus. Sunnyvale Baylands Park also offers more than 100 parking spaces with direct neighborhood access to the Bay Trail.
At the May 8, 2018 Council meeting, Council also directed staff to continue searching for incremental off-street parking alternatives, and to provide an Information-Only RTC with regard to process alternatives.
DISCUSSION
Staff has been reviewing, a broader set of options for supplemental parking. These options could be shared-use and are not subject to a schedule constraint as they could be pursued at any time. The options include: construction of new parking at the triangular lot on the northwest corner of Caribbean and Mathilda (Triangle Option), construction of new parking along Borregas between Caribbean and Carl (Borregas Option), and allocation of parking spaces at the proposed Google campus on the south side of Caribbean (Google Option). If additional on-street parking is also considered, conversion of an eastbound travel lane on Caribbean to parallel parking could also be an option (Caribbean Drive Street Parking Option).
These projects are not currently a study issue or included in the budget for the City. Significant next steps would be required to implement any of these options. These include:
1. Establishment of a funded capital project.
2. Completion of a feasibility study, alternatives analysis, and conceptual design. Staff recommends including environmental survey at this step, since presence of protected habitat or species would substantially impact the cost, schedule, and desirability of constructing parking at that location.
3. Approval of the recommended alternative.
4. If the recommended alternative is the Triangle Option, the Borregas Option, or another option involving constructing new parking spaces, next steps then include:
a. Procurement of an engineering consultant.
b. Coordination with other neighborhood projects, stakeholders such as the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the public.
c. Geotechnical, topographic, and boundary survey.
d. Identification of utilities, easements, and associated restrictions; negotiation/purchase of easement modifications, if applicable.
e. California Environmental Quality Act review.
f. Securing or amending regional permits, if the selected option impacts the closed Sunnyvale Landfill, waters of the State, or other protected resources.
g. Production of engineering plans and specifications.
h. Bidding the project.
i. Construction.
For planning purposes, this process could take approximately four years. Cost and schedule depend heavily on the option selected, and the constraints associated with that option, which would be identified during the alternatives analysis. Completing the alternatives analysis (including environmental survey and conceptual design) could cost up to $600,000.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
Staff
Prepared by: Allison Boyer, Assistant City Engineer
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Department of Public Works
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Bay Trail Parking Alternatives