Title
Staff Update on City Efforts to Advocate for Accelerated Repaving of East 14th Street
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This is a staff update to the Facilities and Transportation Committee on various efforts to advocate for the accelerated repaving of East 14th Street in San Leandro.
BACKGROUND
As highlighted at the March 7, 2018 Committee meeting, one of the City’s longstanding priorities at the state level is the facilitation of repaving East 14th Street as soon as possible given the neglected state of the road surface. Because this road is State Route 185, responsibility for its maintenance rests with Caltrans. This priority is also reflected in the City Council’s adopted state legislative platform and has been the focus of numerous conversations, meetings and site visits led by the Mayor, members of the Council and staff over the past several years.
In an effort to assist the City in the achieving the above-referenced goal, Assembly Member Bonta’s office organized a meeting in early 2018 that included the Caltrans District 4 Director as well as City staff. At the meeting the District Director confirmed that a segment of East 14th Street from Bayfair Drive to Hesperian Blvd is already scheduled for repaving in fall 2018. Attendees at the meeting also continued to push for ideas that would facilitate repaving the remainder of East 14th Street on an accelerated timeline.
The District Director also informed City staff that Caltrans planned to submit a request to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to formally program SB1 funds for repaving the remaining sections of East 14th Street. However, even with this potential infusion of SB1 funds, the remaining repaving work is not programmed to take place for another three to four years. SB1 funds are not guaranteed given a voter recall effort that will appear on the November 6th state-wide ballot as Proposition 6.
In an effort to accelerate this repaving schedule, the District Director offered this suggestion. If the City were willing to accept relinquishment of the East 14th Street right-of-way from the State, then there might be an opportunity for Caltrans to provide advance funding to the City that would fully offset the entire cost of design and construction for the paving work. The City would then be responsible for completion of the repaving project. However, in order to relinquish the right-of-way, State legislation would be necessary.
Assembly Member Bonta therefore offered to submit draft legislation, now known as AB 2473, which would enable such a right-of-way relinquishment. The legislation would still require the future mutual consent of both the City Council and Caltrans regarding the details of any funding package. There would also be no obligation for the City to accept relinquishment in the absence of a mutually agreed-upon funding proposal and timeline. This legislation has now advanced through the Assembly and has been referred to the State Senate.
Following the above-referenced meeting, Caltrans staff offered to develop a more detailed proposal in writing, which has now been submitted to the City.
Unfortunately, the formal proposal that was submitted to City is inconsistent with the framework that was discussed during the previous meeting. First and foremost, Caltrans’ written proposal offers funds “for construction capital only and excludes engineering costs for environmental, design, right-of-way and construction.” This change in framework would therefore require the City to pay for the design and environmental work associated with the project, which staff estimates to be in the order of approximately $1.5 to $2.0 million. In addition, Caltrans has not yet determined whether the funding for the construction of the work could be provided any sooner than if Caltrans were to implement the project themselves, which undermines the City’s broader goal of seeing East 14th Street repaved within an expedited timeframe.
Because of these significant changes and/or outstanding uncertainties in the general framework, all parties have committed to gathering together for a follow up meeting in September.
Furthermore, even if the above concerns are ultimately addressed, it is important to reiterate that the acceptance of any portion of the East 14th Street right-of-way would ultimately require authorization by the City Council. If the City were to take ownership of East 14th Street, it would bear the cost of all future maintenance required, including pavement rehabilitation. The long-term maintenance costs (approximately $660,000/year) associated with accepting the right-of-way are still being examined and reviewed by City Engineering & Transportation staff, and that information will be critical for the City Council to fully evaluate whether the potential benefits of the proposal would outweigh the long-term costs.
Next Steps
City staff is planning to participate in additional dialogue with Caltrans to continue exploring options that could result in the repaving of East 14th street as soon as possible. Assembly Member Bonta’s office is also aware of the terms of Caltrans’ most recent proposal and has offered to facilitate a follow up meeting.
PREPARED BY: Eric Engelbart, Deputy City Manager, City Manager’s Office