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C. 8

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Brian M. Balbas, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:	July 12, 2022

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Submit One Bay Area Grant Cycle 3 applications to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Countywide.

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 07/12/2022

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Jeff Valeros, 925-313-2031

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: July 12, 2022
Monica Nino, County Administrator

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE the submission of grant applications to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Contra Costa Transportation Authority under the One Bay Area Grant Cycle 3 Program, as recommended by the Public Works Director, Countywide.

FISCAL IMPACT:

If awarded, grant matching requirements will be funded by Local Road Funds. It is estimated that the three recommended projects will be funded by 80% One Bay Area Grant 3 Funds and 20% Local Road Funds.

BACKGROUND:

Federal funds awarded from the OBAG 3 Program will augment local road funds, stretching local dollars to build improvements that would not be possible otherwise. OBAG3 is a federal funding program which is administered by MTC. MTC is the transportation planning, financing, and coordinating agency for the nine-counties of the San Francisco Bay Area.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Pursuant to MTC Resolution 4505, the OBAG 3 program aims to:

Reward jurisdictions that accept housing allocations through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process and produce new homes
Promote transportation investments in Priority Development Areas (PDAs) or Equity Priority Communities (EPC)
Implement Plan Bay Area 2050, the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) adopted by MTC in October 2021. Pursuant to California’s climate law (Senate Bill 375 – Steinberg, 2008), the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) aligns regional transportation planning with land use and housing to meet state greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The competitive rating criteria for OBAG 3 emphasizes the following goals:

Improve safety and prevent fatalities and severe injuries caused by crashes between vehicles and non-motorized users
Enhance public health, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities to encourage physical activity through active transportation
Improve connectivity through eliminating gaps in existing pedestrian facilities or bikeways and removing barriers to access for non-motorized users
Ensure that the project scope serves a wide range of users such as transit users, shoppers, commuters, and people of different ages and abilities.

Competitive projects must also demonstrate their readiness and deliverability within the required time constraints, including right of way acquisition and environmental clearances expected before the start of construction.


RECOMMENDED CANDIDATE PROJECTS:

Staff recommends the following candidate projects be submitted for OBAG 3 funding consideration. These projects are recommended based upon their competitiveness, project readiness, and staff availability to complete each application. Should any of the following projects be awarded, staff will then assess funding availability to meet the local funding match requirements of the grant. The projects recommended below are all within disadvantaged communities or provide a benefit to service a population within a disadvantaged community to assure competitiveness. The following projects are being submitted: Pacifica Avenue Safe Routes to School, San Pablo Avenue Complete Street/Bay Trail Gap Closure, and Carquinez Middle School Trail Connection. A description of each project is included below.

Pacifica Avenue Safe Routes to School – Bay Point

The Pacifica Avenue Safe Routes to School project is located along Pacifica Avenue between Driftwood Drive and Port Chicago Highway. Classified as a major collector, Pacifica Avenue is a key connection to schools and community destinations in Bay Point. With three schools on the corridor, a community garden, the YWCA, health centers, the Bay Point library, and multiple places of worship, Pacifica Avenue is a critical corridor for walking and biking. There are trail connections on either end of Pacifica Avenue linking the roadway to the Delta De Anza Trail. The existing conditions of Pacifica Avenue include two travel lanes, Class II bike lanes, substandard sidewalk east of Riverview Middle School, on-street parking, and several bus stops. The goal of this project is to increase access, connectivity, and provide safety improvements for students utilizing active forms of transportation to get to school.

As part of the outreach efforts for Contra Costa County’s Active Transportation Plan, a pop-up event was held at the Riverview Middle School in 2021, where dozens of students provided feedback on the types of challenges they face while traveling to school. The improvements included in this project aim to solve these challenges and concerns and create a more comfortable and safer route to school.

The proposed project includes construction of a Class IV two-way cycle track on the south side of Pacifica Avenue between Port Chicago Highway and Riverview Middle School, pedestrian safety enhancements at uncontrolled crossing locations, sidewalk gap closure, lane width reduction, and wayfinding signage. The Class IV separated bikeway will provide dedicated space for children biking along Pacifica Avenue trying to reach their desired destination. Crossing enhancements and curb extensions aim to increase pedestrian safety by making pedestrians more visible and lowering speeds of oncoming traffic. Closing sidewalk gaps will increase access and connectivity to the already improved pedestrian facilities west of Riverview Middle School. The implementation of these improvements will provide a safe and friendly multi-modal route for the community and encourage active transportation.

San Pablo Avenue Complete Streets/Bay Trail Gap Closure – Rodeo/Crockett

The San Pablo Avenue corridor between the unincorporated communities of Rodeo and Crockett has been recognized in numerous planning documents as a key route and targeted for multi-modal improvements. The County’s 2005 General Plan designates this portion of the corridor as a Scenic Route, given its surrounding landscape and views of San Pablo Bay, the Carquinez Strait, and the Briones Hills. The 2018 Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan proposes a Class I bicycle facility along this portion of San Pablo Avenue and noted that this facility is part of the County’s larger bicycle and pedestrian network. The West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee 2017 Action Plan designated the San Pablo Avenue corridor as a Route of Regional Significance and has identified an action to implement a Complete Streets/Bay Trail project connecting Rodeo and Crockett.

In 2014, a feasibility study was commissioned by the County through a Priority Development Area planning grant from Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Contra Costa Transportation Authority for this segment of San Pablo Avenue to identify a preferred complete street alternative and set of improvements for the roadway. The study incorporated a series of technical studies, field work, public outreach, and engineering analysis, which provided the basis for the recommended alternative. A shared use path on the northern side with a road diet was determined as this recommended alternative. On June 5, 2018, the Board of Supervisors approved the feasibility report for the San Pablo Avenue Complete Streets Study and authorized the Public Works Director to seek funding.

This project aims to provide a shared bicycle and pedestrian path, separated by a physical barrier, on the northern side of the San Pablo Avenue corridor between Rodeo and Crockett. This will be accomplished by reducing the existing four travel lanes to one travel lane in each direction with center left-turn lanes, dedicated left-turn pockets, and truck climbing lanes. The addition of a shared bicycle and pedestrian path will close a 3-mile gap of the San Francisco Bay Trail, further connecting these two communities as well as the other amenities tied to the San Francisco Bay Trail. The anticipated benefits are numerous as the new infrastructure will not only provide an option for local residents to use an active mode of transportation for their commute but also extends well beyond these two communities as closing this gap will complete a 29-mile segment of the Bay Trail between Vallejo and Oakland.

Carquinez Middle School Trail Connection – Crockett

The Public Works Department is partnering with the John Swett Unified School District (JSUSD) to close a 1,300-foot gap on the multi-use Carquinez Strait Scenic Loop Trail (CSSLT). This trail connection will provide safe access for pedestrians along the west side of Crockett Boulevard from Pomona Street to Carquinez Middle School, Willow High School, and beyond to the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Crockett Hills Regional trail.

The trail connection will serve residents of the community of Crockett, regional visitors, and students who attend the schools. Currently, students who attend Carquinez Middle School access the campus from the southwest corner of Pomona Street and Crockett Boulevard down a staircase. The school site is located approximately twenty feet below the elevation of the roadway. There is currently no direct access for mobility-impaired individuals. In addition, at the other campus, students who would attend Willow High School depart the Regional transit bus at the intersection of Crockett Boulevard and Pomona Street and must walk 1,200 feet along the roadway shoulder of busy Crockett Boulevard to access their school.

The project will include grading and paving an ADA-compliant separated path that runs parallel to Crockett Boulevard through Carquinez Middle School to Willow High School and beyond to the EBRPD staging area. The JSUSD will maintain the trail, potentially in partnership with the EBRPD. Since this project serves students of Carquinez Middle School and Willow High School, when it is in session, and since it closes a gap in a regional trail, this project is expected to be competitive.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If staff is not authorized to submit applications, grant funding will not be available, which will delay the design and construction of these projects.