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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 04201999 - SD2 2�o 'ro: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: TRANSPORTATION, WATER AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE DATE: March 15, 1989 SUBJECT: Correspondence from Assemblyman Toriakson on State Route 4. SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION 1e Recommended Action: AUTHORIZE the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign the attached letter to Assemblyman Tom Torlakson regarding efforts to improve congestion on State Route 4. I1, Financial Imp No impact to the General Fund. Continued on Attachment: X SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMI EE —APPROVE —OTHER SIGNATURE(S): Donna Gerber,Chair ark DeSaulnier ACTION OF BOARD ON APPOIQFD AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I hereby certify that this is a true and correct UNANIMOUS (ABSENT 1)n ) copy of an action taken and entered on the AYES: NOES: minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the ABSENT: ABSTAIN: _ date shown. ATTESTED: A JB:eh PHIL BAT LOR, Clerk o the Board g:\transeng11999\bobr99te/SR4hearing.doc of ervisorS and unty Administrator Orig.Div: Public Works(TE) Contact: J.Bueren-313-2342 By Deputy c: Transportation Planning,CDD Contra Costa Transportation Authority Regional Transportation Planning Committees(via CDD) The Board of upervIsorsPh€€Batchelor Contra Clerk of the Board County Administration Building Costa County Administrator 651 Bine Street, Room 1016 (925)335-1900 Martinez, California 94553-1293 y Cour`JJ John Glola, tst District Gayle Ulikema,2nd District Donna Garter,3rd District Mark DeSauffiler,4th. District Joe Canclarn€Ela,5th District April 20, 1099 Honorable Tom Torlakson Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee State Capital P.O. Bax 942849 Sacramento, CA 942490001 Dear Assemblyman Todakson: The Board of Supervisors is pleased to hear that you are interested in continuing your leadership role in solving the traffic congestion problems on State Route 4. As you know, the project to convert State Route 4 in latest County to a four-lane divided highway through Franklin Canyon is scheduled to begin construction this summer. While this project will solve the immediate safety problems, upgrading this facility to a freeway is a much more desirable alternative. State Route 4 West through Franklin Canyon is the only east-west highway that allows tanker truck traffic in Contra Costa County. As such, it is the only connector between the heavy industry along the County's shoreline and the market in the Central Valley. For reasons of safety, freight movement and economic viability, upgrading State Route 4 West is essential. During the morning commute, congestion on State Route 4 in East County now extends from Fort Chicago Highway in Concord to Somersville Road in Antioch. With 18,000 residential units already approved and another 25,000 potential units on the general plans of the East County jurisdictions. improving State Route 4 in East County is critical. The project to add lanes from Bailey Road to Railroad Avenue will be under construction shortly, but additional improvements are needed. It has been more than ten years since you initiated efforts to form the State Route 4 Bypass Authority and subsequently the East County Fee and Financing Authority to implement the bypass of State Route 4 from State Route 150 to south of Brentwood. We are happy to report that the first useable segment of the State Route 4 Bypass will be under construction this summer. The Strategic Plan for the Fee and Financing Authority calls for beginning the project to construct the connection to the existing State Route 4 at State Route 180 in 2004. However, the project does have a certified environmental document under CEQA and could be under construction much sooner if financing were available. 1 In your letter you asked for suggestions to expedite project delivery on the State Route 4 corridor. We would like to provide our response in three components: funding and programming, project implementation and operational strategies. Funding and Programming: The financing plan for the State Route 4 East corridor and the Stag Route 4 Bypass includes development traffic mitigation fees, State Transportation Improvement Program funds and our half-cent local transportation sales tax. Each new dwelling unit in East County pays over $5,000 per unit to help improve the corridor. Sime funds must be accumulated before a project can proceed, project delivery may not be timely. As in the case of the State Route 4 Bypass, the project has a certified environmental document and could proceed to construction if financing were available. The loan program you have proposed in AB 1012 has the potential to greatly accelerate the delivery of this project. If such a program were enacted by the Legislature, the County would be interested in pursuing a loan to accelerate this project, so long as the loan would not obligate the East County jurisdictions to approve additional development. When SB 45 was enacted, Caltrans was given the programming responsibility for the interregional transportation system. The interregional system is very narrowly defined for highways. A road must be part of the State Highway System and has to,be in a rural area. Byron Highway and Vasco Road in Contra Costa County are legislative routes that are waiting to be adopted into the State Highway System. Unfortunately,-current rules prevent these routes from competing for interregional funds and Caltrans will not accept these routes until they are improved to current Caltrans standards. The County is interested in finding ways to designate Vasco Road and Byron Highway as interregional routes and improve them to fit their function. Project Implementation: Contra Costa County is fortunate to have a strong partnership with Caltrans in implementing both State and local projects. Mr. Harry Yahata, the District Director, has been instrumental in forging this strong relationship. Local governments are involved in every phase of project implementation to help resolve problems arising from the project. The State Route 4 projects and the Carquinez Bridge project are good examples of where this partnership can shorten the project delivery time. There are other areas that we feel improvements can be made. The partnership between Caltrans and local governments regarding the allocation of resources to prepare Project Study Reports needs to be strengthened, Currently, local governments are not directly involved in deciding priorities for allocating resources to prepare Project Study Reports. Since a Project Study Report is a prerequisite for programming projects on the State Transportation Improvement Program, Caltrans should partner with local agencies in determining local priorities. The permitting process for State agencies can be improved by developing a memorandum of understanding between project sponsors and State permitting and resource agencies, similar to the one developed for Federal agencies. The memorandum of understanding should provide for early consultation with the permitting and resource agencies and should establish time lines for responding to requests and provide a process to resolve disputes. 2 The design process can be compressed. The time it takes to prepare the environmental document can be shortened by preparing time consuming special environmental studies (biological studies and traffic) as part of the Project Study Report process. Using state or local funds to design a project concurrent with the preparation of the environmental document could save much design time. Operational Strategies. The State Route 4 East projects include high occupancy vehicle lanes. We need to look at operational strategies to improve transit access to tape advantage of these facilities so that we can better balance the transportation needs and make more efficient use of the infrastructure. Funding for additional transit operating costs is not readily available and this .should be considered in seeking additional funding for transportation improvements. The County has been Working With transit operators on developing alternatives to commuting by car. Using a County sponsored State grant, Tri Delta completed a Transportation Access Program for service to the Say Point SART Station. One of its recommendations to increase express bus service from Brentwood Will be implemented within the year. The County is currently finalizing the Contra Costa Welfare to Work Transportation Action Plan which developed recommendations for improving transit access for individuals moving from Welfare to work. Implementation of its recommendations would be aided through Senate Bill 65 which would provide additional funds for new transit service that will aid welfare reform. Contra Costa County is also evaluating available origin and destination data for State route 4 commuters to determine if travel patterns have significantly changed, and what effect that might have on our current plans for freeway and transit improvements in the corridor. We appreciate the opportunity to provide input. Though our suggestions would not provide immediate relief to the congestion problems on State Route 4, they would help us in planning, programming and delivering projects in the corridor in a timely manner. Very truly yours, yAlloard milla, Chair pervisors J�;je g:\transeng\1999Mtetemp\BOS SR4 Letter cc: BCC Fee&Financing Authority G.Omania,Assemblyman Torlakson"s District Office H.YahaW Caltrans R.McClary,CCTA W.Kempton,Smith-Kempton W.Gray,WR Cray&Associates R.Ramacier,County Connection J.Krieg:Tri-Delta M.Watford,PWD Director M.Shlu,FWD L.Tunison,PWD D.Barry,CDD Director S.Goetz,CDD P.Roche,CDD 3 Correspondence from Assemblyman Torlakson on State Route 4. March 15, 1999 Page 2 Ill. Reasons for Recommendations and Background: On March 5, 1999, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Board's Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee correspondence from Assemblyman Torlakson requesting assistance in identifying strategies to relieve traffic congestion on State Route 4. Subsequently, Assemblyman Torlakson, Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has scheduled a special Assembly Transportation Committee hearing on the Route 4 Corridor in Contra Costa County. The hearing is scheduled for April 22, 1999. Assemblyman Torlakson is interested in pursuing strategies to improve project delivery in the route 4 Corridor. The Board of Supervisors' Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee shares this objective and recommends the Board send the attached letter of support. The letter also offers some suggestions on ways to accelerate protects in the corridor. REQ ST TO SPUR FORK {fi3 EE (3) XIMUTZ LX=T) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakerst rostrum before addressing the Board. r 7 ' ` Name: � � :� �� Phone: A� �`r •w Address: City:. I an speaking for myself or organization. (now of am"nUotfan) CMZCx olx e I wish to speak on Agenda Ytam # � Date My comments will be., genera. for _ against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave those comments for the Board to consider: