REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt a Resolution of Local Support, Authorize the Filing of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Safe & Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Grant Application, and Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Grant-Related Documents for the Sunnyvale Saratoga Road Class IIB Buffered Bicycle Lanes Project
Report
BACKGROUND
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the metropolitan planning organization for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region, which includes Santa Clara County. The MTC administers the federally funded One Bay Area Grant 2 (OBAG 2) Program where funds are provided to invest in various areas including local street and road maintenance, streetscape enhancements, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, safe routes to school projects, priority conservation areas, and transportation planning.
The MTC has created a new $54.4 million one-time grant in the regional Surface Transportation Block Grant Program/Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (STP/CMAQ) program. It was originally programmed for other projects and was returned to the STP/CMAQ balance for re-programming. The STP/CMAQ fund is part of the Federal Highway Infrastructure Program (FHIP).
On January 27, the MTC adopted Resolution Nos. 3925, Revised and 4202, Revised, and the policy framework for a Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike program to be funded through capacity created by the FHIP within the OBAG 2 framework. The Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Program is a one-time, competitive grant program to fund local projects that can be implemented very quickly to benefit communities responding and adapting to the COVID-19 environment. The Program emphasizes bicycle/pedestrian safety and mobility, connections to transit, and projects that advance equitable mobility. Santa Clara County has a targeted funding amount of $14.69 million.
In order to be eligible for this grant, MTC requires that local jurisdictions adopt a Resolution of Local Support to authorize the filing of the application for funding assigned to MTC and committing any necessary matching funds and stating assurance to complete the project. Project eligibility and requirements are included in MTC Resolution No. 4202, Revised, Appendix A-11 (Attachment 2).
EXISTING POLICY
Resolution No. 793-16 Complete Streets Policy (and Resolution No. 896-18 amending Resolution No. 793-16): the City wishes to improve its commitment to Complete Streets and desires that its streets form a comprehensive and integrated transportation network promoting safe, equitable, and convenient travel for all users while preserving flexibility, recognizing community context, and using the latest and best design guidelines and standards.
General Plan Chapter 3 Land Use and Transportation:
• Goal LT-3: An Effective Multimodal Transportation System - Offer the community a variety of transportation modes for local travel that are also integrated with the regional transportation system and land use pattern. Favor accommodation of alternative modes to the automobile as a means to enhance efficient transit use, bicycling, and walking and corresponding benefits to the environment, person-throughput, and qualitative improvements to the transportation system environment.
Vision Zero Plan
• Reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2029 and to continue improving traffic safety towards zero fatal and serious injury collisions in the ten years that follow.
• Call to action to make Sunnyvale’s streets safer, especially for people biking and walking.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
DISCUSSION
The newly created one-time Safe and Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Program emphasizes bicycle/pedestrian safety and mobility, connections to transit, and projects that advance equitable mobility. Eligible project types include quick-build projects that improve bike, pedestrian and transit facilities and accessibility, provide equitable mobility options, improve bike and pedestrian safety, improve connections to transit, and implementation of safe and seamless mobility planning and programming efforts.
Quick build measures and strategies are designed to facilitate quick deployment to provide maximum timely benefit for the public. City staff would like to utilize this grant opportunity to implement some strategic quick build bicycle improvements to improve the bicycling experience on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road.
Sunnyvale Saratoga Road is a six-lane major north-south corridor with a Class II bicycle lane on both sides of the street and a posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour. The proposed project is to upgrade the existing Class II bicycle lanes on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road to a Class IIB bicycle lane, which will include a striped buffer to improve bicyclists’ safety and comfort. The project limit is between Homestead Road and Mathilda Avenue/Talisman Drive. Improvements include application of slurry seal treatment to the roadway, removal of the existing roadway striping and installing narrower travel lanes to facilitate adding a striped buffer to provide a physical separation between the bicycle lane and vehicular travel lane. The project location is shown graphically in Attachment 3.
In the recently adopted Sunnyvale Active Transportation Plan (ATP), the improvement identified for the project location is to implement a Class IV separated bikeway. However, at this time, staff has not been able to prepare a study of the maintenance equipment and staffing necessary to maintain a Class IV facility. Therefore, staff would like to take this grant opportunity to upgrade the existing Class II bicycle lanes to Class IIB buffered bicycle lanes by installing the striped buffer. In the future, when the City has adequately studied and prepared for the change in maintenance, Sunnyvale Saratoga Road can be quickly upgraded from Class IIB buffered bicycle lane to Class IV separated bikeway by installing a physical vertical barrier such as delineators or channelizing curb to provide additional protection for bicyclists from vehicular traffic without additional modification to the vehicular travel lanes.
Staff will complete the preparation of environmental documents; the design will be completed using existing operating and staff augmentation funds this fiscal year. The application for grant funding is for the construction phase of the project only, with a project budget of $2.2 million.
Staff has presented the proposed project to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) at its March 18 meeting as a review and comment item only and no action or vote was taken, however BPAC commissioners expressed support for the project.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact related to designing and constructing the improvements. Staff will be using existing resources and budgets to complete the design and environmental study. The City has requested allocation of Toll Credits in lieu of local matching funds for the construction phase.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, Sunnyvale Public Library and Department of Public Safety. In addition, the agenda and report are available at the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution of Local Support, Authorize the Filing of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Safe & Seamless Mobility Quick-Strike Grant Application, and Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Grant-Related Documents for the Sunnyvale Saratoga Road Class IIB Buffered Bicycle Lanes Project.
By implementing a Class IIB buffered bicycle lane on Sunnyvale Saratoga Road, the proposed project will add a striped buffer to provide a physical separation between the bicycle lane and vehicular travel lane, which will convert Sunnyvale Saratoga Road to a low-stress bicycle facility and enhance the bicycling experience on this corridor.
Staff
Prepared by: Lillian Tsang, Principal Transportation Engineer
Reviewed by: Chip Taylor, Director, Department of Public Works
Reviewed by: Jaqui Guzmán, Deputy City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution of Local Support for the Sunnyvale Saratoga Road Class IIB Buffered Bicycle Lanes Project
2. MTC Resolution No. 4202, Revised, Appendix A-1
3. Project Location Map