Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution for Approval of the 2014 Alameda County Transportation Expenditure Plan and Request for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to Place a 30-Year Extension and Augmentation Measure for the Existing Transportation Sales Tax on the November 4, 2014 General Election Ballot
Staffreport
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the 2014 Alameda County Transportation Expenditure Plan (Plan) and request that the Board of Supervisors place it on the November 4, 2014 ballot. The ballot measure supported by this Plan will extend and augment the existing half-cent sales tax for transportation in Alameda County for a 30-year term and add an additional half-cent sales tax for the transportation programs and projects described in the 2014 Plan.
BACKGROUND
In 1986, voters approved Measure B, a half-cent sales tax, to fund transportation improvements and programs throughout Alameda County. In November 2000, Alameda County voters approved an extension of the first sales tax through 2022 to fund a new set of project and program investments throughout the County. All of the major projects approved by the voters in the 2000 Measure are either underway or complete. Funds that go to Alameda County cities and other jurisdictions to maintain and improve local streets, provide critical transit service, provide transportation services for seniors and persons with disabilities, as well as implement bicycle and pedestrian safety projects will continue until the current Measure B expenditure plan ends in 2022.
In 2012, 66.53 percent of Alameda County voters supported a 2012 Transportation Expenditure Plan; it was just 721 votes shy of achieving the two-thirds majority necessary to pass. Because of the strong voter support and the ongoing and growing need for transportation investments in Alameda County, the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) unanimously approved a slightly revised 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan that includes a sunset date. Alameda CTC is recommending the 2014 Plan for approval by the cities in Alameda County and the Board of Supervisors, so that voters will have an opportunity to reauthorize and augment Measure B to fund critical transportation projects included in the detailed 2014 Plan that directly benefit every city and the County.
Without new transportation investments, Alameda County will lose jobs, experience increased traffic, suffer potential service cuts on buses and BART, and see more costly transportation services for seniors and people with disabilities.
For over 25 years, Alameda CTC has successfully delivered transportation projects throughout Alameda County that create good quality, local jobs while delivering transportation solutions. These projects were funded in large part by Measure B. Alameda CTC combined agencies, saving millions of dollars per year, and earned AAA financial credit ratings-the highest possible rating-and 100 percent of its annual audits have been verified by independent auditors and a citizens watchdog committee made up of Alameda County residents. These ratings underscore the strong financial management and accountability measures at Alameda CTC. Reauthorizing and augmenting Measure B is critical to meet local and countywide transportation needs, and the 2014 Plan has the highest level of accountability, including strict limits and oversight of the funds.
Analysis
Development of the 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan
The Plan was developed in conjunction with the Alameda Countywide Transportation Plan (CWTP), the long-range policy document that guides transportation investments, programs, policies, and advocacy for Alameda County. The Plan benefited from a performance-based project evaluation process undertaken for the CWTP. This allowed policies and goals to be expressed in quantifiable terms and competing transportation investments to be compared to one another objectively by using performance criteria. This led to a more systematic and analytical selection process for effective investment priorities. A steering committee and two working groups (technical and community) were established to guide development of both the CWTP and the Plan.
Public engagement and transparency were the foundations of the development of these plans. A wide variety of stakeholders, including businesses, technical experts, environmental and social justice organizations, seniors, and people with disabilities, helped shape the Plan to ensure that it serves the County's diverse transportation needs. Thousands of Alameda County residents participated through public workshops and facilitated small-group dialogues; a website allowed for online questionnaires, access to all project information, and submittal of comments; and advisory committees that represent diverse constituencies were integrally involved in the plan development process from the beginning.
Benefits of the Plan for Alameda County Residents and Businesses
The ballot measure supported by the 2014 Plan will augment and extend the existing half-cent transportation sales tax by a half cent through March 31, 2045. Recognizing that transportation needs, technology, and circumstances change over time, the Plan covers the period from approval in 2014 and subsequent sales tax collections for 30 years, programming nearly $8 billion in new transportation funding.
The Alameda CTC unanimously approved the Plan on January 23, 2014. The 2014 Plan will:
· Expand BART, bus and commuter rail for reliable, safe and fast services, including BART expansion and improvements within Alameda County, bus service expansion, and commuter rail service improvements.
· Keep fares affordable for seniors, youth and people with disabilities, including affordable senior shuttles, vans and services that help keep seniors independent, and critical funding for student transit passes to ensure youth can affordably get to school. It also funds reliable and inexpensive transportation for people with disabilities.
· Provide traffic relief, including funds to every city in the County to repave streets, fill potholes, and upgrade local transportation infrastructure. It also invests in aging highway corridors to upgrade on and off ramps, using modern technology to manage traffic and improve safety.
· Improve air quality and provide clean transportation by reducing pollution using innovative technology and expanding bike and pedestrian paths, and BART, bus and commuter rail expansion and operations.
· Create good jobs within Alameda County by requiring local contracting that supports residents and businesses in Alameda County.
Strict Accountability and Performance Measures
The 30-year Plan includes strict accountability measures to ensure all $8 billion for County transportation improvements are spent on approved projects. It requires open and transparent public processes to allocate funds, annual independent audits, an independent watchdog committee made up of people who live in Alameda County, and annual compliance reports to the public that detail costs, including strict limits on administrative expenses, and document how specific performance measures are met. The Independent Watchdog Committee and Alameda CTC will evaluate performance and cost-effectiveness of projects funded in the 2014 Plan as they are being implemented.
A key feature of the local transportation sales tax is that it cannot be used for any purpose other than local transportation needs. It cannot be taken by the state or by any other governmental agency under any circumstance, and over the life of this Plan can only be used for the purposes described in the Plan, or as amended.
Transportation Investment Summary
Over the course of the 30-year Plan, total investments of nearly $8 billion will fund the types of transportation investments described in further detail as follows.
$8 Billion in Total Investments 2015 to 2045*
· Traffic Relief on Streets and Highways $3,025M
Ø City and County Streets ($2,348M)
Ø Highway Safety and Efficiency ($677M)
· BART, Bus, Ferry, and Commuter Rail $2,768M
Clean Transportation, Community Development,
Technology and Innovation $1,028M
Ø Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths and Safety ($651M)
Ø Community Development to Improve Access to Jobs and Schools ($300M)
Ø Technology and Innovation ($77M)
· Affordable Transit for Youth, Seniors and People with Disabilities $964M
* Estimated funds from 2015 to 2045 are anticipated to be nearly $8 billion.
BART, Bus, Ferry and Commuter Rail
BART, bus, ferry and commuter rail investments will ensure transit operators can provide reliable, safe, and fast services. These operations, maintenance, and capital projects were guided by the principles of enhancing safety, convenience, and reliability to maximize the number of people who can use the transit system.
By doubling the amount of local sales tax funds available for transit operations and maintenance, this plan represents a major investment in Alameda County's transit system to increase transit services and expand access to transit throughout the County, and to help avoid further service cuts while preserving the affordability of transit.
Affordable Transit for Youth, Seniors and People with Disabilities
Investment in an Affordable Student Transit Pass Program and innovative grant funds for successful student and innovative transit programs will support affordable access to schools for students and youth in Alameda County. Investments in city-based and federally mandated para-transit services from AC Transit, East Bay Paratransit and BART, along with coordination and service grants, will provide affordable transit for seniors and people with disabilities.
By doubling the amount of local sales tax funds available for transit service and programs for youth, seniors and people with disabilities, Alameda County is investing in its youth and helping seniors and people with disabilities remain independent.
Traffic Relief on Streets and Highways
Alameda County has more than 3,400 road miles of aging city and County streets. These streets are essential to cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, and pedestrians. Investing in local streets maintenance and safety will fund much-needed repair, fix potholes, improve intersections and improve the flow of traffic, including transit on our local roadways. Fifteen percent of city and County streets funding will support bicycle and pedestrian improvements on local streets to increase safety and accessibility, and to close gaps.
Highway investments focus on improving safety, relieving bottlenecks at interchanges, improving on and off ramps, closing gaps, improving efficiency using modern technology, and increasing safety on major truck route corridors.
Investments fund traffic relief, local bridge seismic safety, and direct allocations to the cities and County for their local streets maintenance and safety program. Local cities and the County will set their priorities within a framework that supports complete streets-where the needs of all users of city and County streets, including cars, trucks, pedestrians, bicyclists, seniors, youth, and people with disabilities are encompassed in our street systems designs.
Clean Transportation, Community Development and Technology and Innovation
Investments will fund bicycle and pedestrian paths and safety; community developments to improve transportation choices and access to jobs, housing, and schools; and new technological advances in transportation management and information.
Alameda County's bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure extends the reach of transit services and expands safety for youth, seniors, and all users of the County's streets. These investments support non-polluting and sustainable travel, and contribute to public health and quality of life. Investments will improve bicycle and pedestrian paths and other infrastructure and provide programs that encourage people to bike and walk. In particular, the Safe Routes to School Program encourages the County's youth to adopt safe and healthy habits for their transportation to school.
Community development investments will improve every part of the County, enhancing areas around BART stations and bus transfer hubs slated for new development, and support communities to improve connections between transportation, housing, jobs, and education.
Investments in technological innovations will support projects that reduce greenhouse gases and pollution by increasing the use of non-auto types of transportation.
New Investments Will Restore Services, Meet Growing Transportation Needs, and Create Good Jobs
The 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan will expand BART, bus, and rail services within Alameda County; keep transit fares affordable for youth, seniors, and people with disabilities; provide traffic relief on city streets and highways using new technology; improve air quality; and create good quality, local jobs.
The 2014 Plan supports an environmentally sustainable future and will transform our transportation network over the coming decades to meet our growing needs, while supporting jobs as our local economy continues to recover.
To implement the Plan, the Alameda CTC will create policies supporting the hiring of local contractors, businesses, and residents from Alameda County as applicable in the expenditure of these funds.
TEP projects that directly or indirectly benefit San Leandro include the following:
· Transit
o FLEX Shuttle Funding
o East 14th Street AC Transit BRT Project
o BART Station Modernization
· Local Streets & Roads
o San Leandro Local Streets and Roads (LSR)
o Lewelling Boulevard/Hesperian Boulevard
o Yearly LSR Allocation
· Highway Efficiency & Freight
o I-880 NB HOV/HOT Extension from A Street to Hegenberger Road
· Bicycle and Pedestrian
o East Bay Greenway/UPRR Corridor
o Yearly Bicycle and Pedestrian Allocation
· Sustainable Land Use and Transportation Linkages
o Downtown San Leandro TOD
o Bay Fair BART Transit Village
o San Leandro City Streetscape Project
For the Board of Supervisors to place a tax measure on the November 4, 2014 County election ballots, a majority of the fourteen jurisdictions in Alameda County need to forward resolutions of support. The Board of Supervisors will vote on this matter in June/July 2014. There would be a net increase of half-cent on sales tax in Alameda County if over 2/3 of the voters in Alameda County approve the ballot measure. An estimated $8 billion would be generated in Alameda County for transportation investments over the 30-year period.
Previous Actions
On March 5, 2012 by Resolution 2012-018, the City Council forwarded a resolution approving the 2012 Alameda County Transportation Expenditure Plan and Request for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to place an Extension and Augmentation Measure for the Existing Transportation Sales Tax on the November 6, 2012 Ballot
On April 4, 2011, by Resolution No. 2011-071, the City Council authorized submitting the 2013 Regional Transportation Plan and 2012 Countywide Transportation Plan Project List.
Applicable General Plan Policies
· 14.02 Funding
· 15.07 Allocation of Regional Funds
· 20.01 Coordination with Regional Agencies
· 20.02 Representation on Commissions
Summary of Public Outreach Efforts
Transportation Town Hall Meeting
September 27, 2012 - Senior Community Center - A town hall meeting to inform and discuss transportation issues. City, LINKS, Paratransit, BART, AC Transit and Alameda County Transportation Commission provided information and received comment on associated transportation issues
Supervisorial District 3 - Workshop
March 16, 2011 - San Leandro Main Library - A community workshop to support the development of the Alameda Countywide Transportation Plan Update and the TEP
Transportation Planning in Alameda County - Interactive Workshop
October 19, 2011 - San Leandro Community Center - A well-received workshop that provided input into the development of the Transportation Expenditure Plan
Fiscal Impacts
Sales tax would increase by half-cent in the City of San Leandro. San Leandro's annual receipt of Measure B pass through funds would increase by approximately 93% for Local Streets and Roads funds and 83% for Bicycle and Pedestrian funds if the new Measure B passes. The augmented funding could start as early as April 2015.
ATTACHMENTS
Alameda County 2014 Transportation Expenditure Plan
PREPARED BY: Keith R. Cooke, Principal Engineer, Engineering and Transportation Department