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C. 61

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Transport., Water & Infrast. Committee
Date:	January 12, 2010

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Report on Actions of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to Implement Measure J

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 01/12/2010

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Steve Goetz (925)335-1240

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 12, 2010
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ACCEPT report on the activities of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to implement Measure J, as recommended by the Transportation Water and Infrastructure Committee.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None

BACKGROUND:

The Board has requested the Transportation Water & Infrastructure Committee to monitor the activities of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (Authority), particularly actions to implement the Measure J transportation sales tax program. This report covers Authority actions regarding the Growth Management Program, the Strategic Plan, and the San Ramon Valley school bus program.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Growth Management Program

In November 2008, the Authority held a workshop on the Growth Management Program and possible changes to it. The Board of Supervisors asked that the Authority sponsor such a workshop to address issues that were an outcome of the Authority’s update of the Actions Plans for Routes of Regional Significance. The traffic growth anticipated on regional routes by 2030 and the lack of effective actions to address this growth called for an examination of the Growth Management Program’s policy on the review of General Plan amendments by cities and the County. Among other things, application of existing policy on General Plan amendments would likely conflict with the requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to disclose to the public the potential traffic impacts of land use projects on the regional transportation system by way of applying “multi-modal transportation service objectives” that are not suitable for Environmental Impact Reports. It is the Board’s position that Growth Management Program procedures be integrated with existing planning requirements and not duplicate or confuse existing planning procedures.

Last month, the Authority released a draft revision to its policy on the review of General Plan amendments for review and comment. Elements of the revised policy are summarized in Exhibit A. County staff advised the Committee that the revised policy, as summarized, substantially complies with the Board’s objective to integrate Growth Management Program procedures into existing planning procedures and will add value to the evaluation of General Plan Amendments. The Committee believes the Authority should adopt this policy revision and has directed staff to work through the Regional Transportation Planning Committees to develop procedures that will guide local jurisdictions in implementing this policy.

Strategic Plan Update

The Authority updates the Strategic Plan approximately every two years to commit transportation sales tax revenue to specific projects for the next seven years. The current Strategic Plan was adopted in 2007, before Measure J became effective, in order to maintain momentum for the State Route East widening project, to begin attracting other funds for the Caldecott Tunnel and eBART projects, and to enable bonds to be issued soon after Measure J became effective in April 2009. The Authority began the update process last year as the current economic downturn began, which is adversely affecting sales tax revenue and increasing debt service on proposed bonds. The draft Strategic Plan was circulated for review and comment in the fall, and is scheduled to be adopted by the Authority on December 16. Major changes from the current Strategic Plan are as follows:

• Sales tax revenue for the next seven years has been revised downward by 23%.
• Debt service costs on proposed bonds have been increased, which include $11.4 million to terminate $100 million of a 2005 bond financing agreement.
• The overall expenditure cap on Measure J projects was lowered from 90% of expenditure plan levels to an average of 66%.
• The Measure J Expenditure Plan will be amended to maintain full funding for eBART and the State Route 4 East freeway widening through shifting revenue from the following East County categories: East County Corridor ($50 M), Transportation for Livable Communities ($29 M), BART parking/access ($11 M), major streets/roads ($18 M), and subregional needs ($3 M) (2004 dollars).
• Funding to the East County program/project categories shall be restored if actual revenues exceed projections, project cost estimates are reduced, and/or other fund sources are secured to complete eBART or the State Route 4 East freeway widening projects.

On the positive side, project costs were revised downward by $60 million for eBART and State Route 4 East freeway widening due to reduced material unit costs. The favorable bid environment for transportation projects may also result in future savings that can be accounted for in future updates of this Strategic Plan. The County project to benefit most from the Strategic Plan is an allocation of $4.5 million (2004 $) to help fund a truck climbing lane on Kirker Pass Road.

San Ramon Valley School Bus Program

The San Ramon Valley School Bus Program, now referred to as “TRAFFIX”, was established by Measure J. The goal of the program is to reduce school related traffic congestion and/or improve the safety of children traveling to and from school. The service is administered by a Joint Powers Agency established in Fall 2008 by Danville, San Ramon, Contra Costa County and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Service began this year and is overseen by three advisory committees; the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) , Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) , and Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) .

All are appointed by members of the Joint Powers Agency. Service is being provided to the following schools:

Danville/ Alamo	San Ramon
Los Cerros Middle School	Pine Valley Middle School
Green Valley Elementary	Walt Disney Elementary
Vista Grande Elementary	Country Club Elementary
	Neil Armstrong Elementary

Bus pass sales data in the fall indicated that sales with the Alamo/Danville schools are close to 100% of the target goal. However, sales in the San Ramon area have been lower than expected (41% below projections). Failing to meet the pass sales goal has resulted in a revenue gap of approximately $133,000 (due to less than anticipated parent contributions).

The TAC addressed the budget gap by increasing marketing efforts targeting the underperforming routes in San Ramon. This did not have a significant enough effect on bus pass sales to close the funding gap. The TAC subsequently acted to reduce the vehicle fleet to 18 vehicles (from an original 19 vehicle fleet) through the consolidation of underperforming routes in San Ramon. This saved approximately $40,000. The TRAFFIX Board approved another two-bus fleet reduction from underperforming routes in November. The fleet reductions realized a total savings of approximately $100,000. The TAC intends on closing the rest of the budget gap through cost cutting across other program activities and will report on these efforts at a future TRAFFIX Board meeting.

TRAFFIX Program Staff is currently developing reports to fulfill monitoring requirements and will report the findings at a future TRAFFIX Board Meeting. Anecdotal observations from drivers in the affected areas indicate the program seems to be having a noticeable positive affect on congestion.