Agenda

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TRANSPORTATION, WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	12/07/2015
Subject: ACCEPT report on I-680/Treat Boulevard Bike/Pedestrian Plan and take ACTION as appropriate.
Submitted For:	TRANSPORTATION, WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
Department:	Conservation & Development
Referral No.:	17
Referral Name:	Review transportation plans and services for specific populations, including but not limited to County Low Income Transportation Action Plan, Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan for the Bay Area, Priorities for Senior Mobility...
Presenter:	Jamar Stamps, DCD	Contact:	Jamar Stamps (925)674-7832

Information

Referral History:

In 2013, the County was awarded a grant in the amount of $75,000 for Transportation for Livable Communities (“TLC”) from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (“CCTA”) to develop the I-680/Treat Boulevard Bike/Pedestrian Plan (“Plan”). The Plan identifies improvements to serve bicyclists and pedestrians using the Treat Boulevard/I-680 over-crossing near the Contra Costa Centre/Pleasant Hill BART station area.

The I-680/Treat Boulevard over-crossing is one of the main arteries into the Contra Costa Centre/Pleasant Hill BART station area from areas of Walnut Creek west of the freeway. The study area consists of the segment of Treat Boulevard from the Iron Horse Trail overcrossing, extending west to North Main Street in the City of Walnut Creek (Exhibit A).

Referral Update:

The Department of Conservation and Development (“DCD”) contracted with Alta Planning + Design (“consultant”) to develop the Plan. DCD staff formed a technical advisory committee (“TAC”) to review work on specific project tasks. The TAC consists of representatives from County Public Works Department, County Supervisor District IV, City of Walnut Creek, Caltrans, Contra Costa Center Municipal Advisory Council and CCTA.

Stakeholders invited to participate in the project include various agencies and public advocacy groups, some of which are: City of Pleasant Hill, BART, East Bay Regional Park District, Walnut Creek School District, Walden Improvement Association, Bike East Bay, Bike Concord, etc.

With input from site evaluations, traffic analysis and direction from TAC members, the consultant initially developed three preliminary improvement plan options. A public workshop held in December 2014 led to a fourth “preferred” option, which combined elements from the initial three concepts. The fourth preferred option was included in the Draft Plan which was published in September 2015 for public comment (Exhibit B).

County staff received numerous comments from the public, bicycle advocacy groups and other agencies within the three week comment period (September 16, 2015 through October 9, 2015). A summary of those comments is provided in Exhibit C. DCD staff met with Walnut Creek staff to discuss how best to proceed. It was determined that a thorough response would require revisions to the Plan that unfortunately would not be able to be covered by the existing scope of work. Additionally, the project’s funding has been exhausted.

The Consultant provided DCD staff with an addendum to the scope of work and budget (Exhibit D) for the additional work required to complete the Plan, which was vetted by DCD and Walnut Creek staff. The total cost for additional work would be $20,705. Potential funding sources for the additional work include: Measure J Subregional Transportation Needs funds, CCTA TLC, OneBayArea (“OBAG”) planning grant, Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning grant.

Recommencement of the project would depend on when funding is secured. If Measure J funds are available, Plan development would proceed in January 2016. However, relying on grant funds would provide less certainty due to the competitive nature of grant funds and varying schedules for award disbursements.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT report on I-680/Treat Boulevard Bike/Pedestrian Plan and take ACTION as appropriate.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

No fiscal impact.

Attachments
Exhibit A – Study Area Map
Exhibit B – Draft Plan
Exhibit C – Summary of Comments
Exhibit D – Addendum to Scope of Work/Budget