REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Informational Report on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Campaign for Transformative Projects and Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study
Report
BACKGROUND
On August 25, 2017, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) was asked by five members of the VTA’s Board of Directors (Liccardo, Jones, O’Neill, Vaidhyanathan, and Yeager) to scope studies for transit options and complete street implementation on the Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor from Highway 85 in Cupertino through Santa Clara to Diridon Station in San Jose. This corridor is a heavily utilized vehicular route and is expected to experience increased traffic demands due to planned development growth in San Jose as well as the soon to be fully occupied Apple Campus 2 project in Cupertino. On September 12, 2017, at the end of a study session regarding the City of San Jose’s Urban Villages, the Santa Clara City Council approved outreach efforts for the formation of a Stevens Creek Urban Village Task Force with the mayors and council members from the cities of Santa Clara, Cupertino, San Jose, and Campbell. On January 18, 2018, the VTA responded to the August 25, 2017 request with a suggested scope of services to study transportation options for Stevens Creek Boulevard.
On June 22, 2018, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) announced an 11-week campaign to solicit big, bold and billon-dollar ideas from individuals, companies, public agencies, and nongovernmental organizations for improving mobility across the nine-county Bay Area. Officially known as the Request for Transformative Projects, the campaign is part of the Horizon initiative launched earlier this year by MTC and ABAG to explore a wide range of challenges and opportunities the Bay Area may face by 2050. Official submissions are due to the MTC by September 6, 2018. A panel of engineers and transportation planners will evaluate all project submissions for feasibility, potential regional benefits, alignment with Horizon's guiding principles, creativity, and consistency with the minimum cost threshold. The panel will then select five to ten of these projects as finalists for more thorough analysis of benefit-cost ratios and other Horizon performance assessments designed to identify potential new transportation investments for integration into Plan Bay Area 2050, the region’s next long-range transportation and land-use strategy which is slated for completion in 2021.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this informational report is to provide City Council with an update regarding the Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study and San Jose’s proposal to submit an application for the Request for Transformative Projects campaign related to the Stevens Creek Corridor.
Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study
Staff level coordination including the Cities of Santa Clara, San Jose, Cupertino and the VTA for a proposed Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study is underway. On July 25, 2018, staff from the affected agencies met to share information about each respective agency’s plans for land use and road improvements along Stevens Creek Boulevard. At that meeting, staff from the VTA indicated that the cost estimate for the suggested scope of services for the Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor study is approximately $2.0 million and that the VTA is looking for financial contributions from each agency to fund the study. The City does not currently have any budgeted funds for the study. Additionally, the VTA requested that formal support (i.e. Council actions) from each of the affected cities is necessary. Staff will continue to meet with the other affected cities and the VTA to discuss the cost estimate, expectations for each city’s financial contributions, and required technical aspects to be included as part of the study. Prior to final resolution of these items, staff will provide the City Council the opportunity to provide feedback and direction and take into consideration any budget action. Additionally, the VTA indicated that they will soon release a Request for Proposals (RFP) to engage a consultant to evaluate the potential for high capacity transit options for the entire Santa Clara County. The results of this high capacity transit study would likely influence the outcomes of the proposed Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study.
Transformative Projects Application
At this same staff level meeting, the MTC Request for Transformative Projects campaign (<https://mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/horizon/request-transformative-project>) was discussed and staff from the City of San Jose informed the meeting attendees of their plan to submit an idea centered on a potential Stevens Creek Transit Line. As proposed, this potential transit line would connect Diridon Station, along West San Carlos Street and Stevens Creek Boulevard to Highway 85 either underground or aerial and would be designed with transit stops to serve major health, shopping, housing, education, and employment nodes along the corridor. The City of San Jose has requested that the affected agencies be joint applicants to the MTC on this proposal. A joint application by affected agencies would likely rank higher as the MTC reviews proposals.
Staff has reviewed the application and finds that it is line with previous direction from City Council that joint efforts be made amongst affected cities along the Stevens Creek Boulevard corridor to address current and future transportation issues due to land use intensification. The potential solutions to existing and projected traffic congestion along this corridor are expected to be costly and highlighting this multi-jurisdictional issue through the MTC application process could lead to future funding opportunities. Santa Clara is expected to sign the joint application prior to the September 6, 2018 deadline. This is not a grant application but a request open to individuals, community groups, nonprofits and private companies to provide creative new ideas for travel within the Bay Area. Five to 10 public finalists will be announced in October 2018 and these projects will then be considered for further analysis as part of the Horizon initiative. In 2019, these projects may even be considered for inclusion in Plan Bay Area 2050s investment strategy.
Should MTC select the proposal concept, the City Council, stakeholders, and the public at large will have many future opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the proposed transit line as the development of the potential project moves from a concept to potential design options based on future funding opportunities. The City’s joint application to the MTC does not preclude the City Council or staff from making modifications to a potential future project. Currently, there are no anticipated City funds required.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organization or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no additional cost to the City other than administrative staff time and expense. The Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study is anticipated to require a financial contribution (amount to be determined). No funding is currently budgeted and any future allocation of funds will require Council approval.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Community Development Department and the City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Note and file the Informational Report on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Campaign for Transformative Projects and Stevens Creek/West San Carlos Corridor Study.
Staff
Reviewed by: Craig Mobeck, Director of Public Works
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager