{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 1, "text": "Transportation Commission\nNovember 19, 2014\nItem 4A\nAction\nTransportation Commission Minutes\nWednesday, July 30, 2014\nCommissioner Jesus Vargas called the Transportation Commission to order at 7:00 p.m.\n1.\nRoll Call\nRoll was called and the following was recorded:\nMembers Present:\nJesus Vargas (Chair)\nChristopher Miley (Vice Chair)\nMichele Bellows\nEric Schatmeier\nGregory Morgado\nThomas G. Bertken\nStaff Present:\nAlex Nguyen, Assistant City Manager\nVirendra Patel, Transportation Engineer\nGail Payne, Transportation Coordinator\n2.\nAgenda Changes\nNone.\n3.\nAnnouncements / Public Comments\nCommissioner Vargas announced that he recently visited Chicago and was able to easily traverse\nthe city on a number of different transit modes.\nStaff Payne stated that Assemblyman Rob Bonta will hold a Town Hall Meeting Tuesday,\nAugust 12 at the Alameda Free Library.\nPage 1 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 2, "text": "4.\nConsent Calendar\n4A.\nMeeting Minutes - Special Meeting - December 11, 2013\n4B.\nMeeting Minutes - March 26, 2014\n4C.\nMeeting Minutes - Special Meeting - April 23, 2014\n4D.\nMeeting Minutes - May 28, 2014\nCommissioner Miley moved to approve Items 4.A., 4.B., 4.C. and 4.D. of the Consent Calendar.\nCommissioner Bellows seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.\n5.\nNew Business\n5A.\nApprove Installation of a Bulb-out at Park/Lincoln Northwest Corner\nStaff Patel said the plan was originally presented to the Commission on March 26 and the\nproject's consultant would present the report.\nJoy Bhattacharya, Traffic Senior Project Manager, Stantec Consulting, presented the report.\nCommissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments.\nJohn Knox White, Alameda Resident, said he supported staff's recommendations.\nCommission Schatmeier said he was glad that a review of the intersection took place and he was\nglad staff was able to make improvements.\nCommissioner Vargas moved to approve staff recommendations for Item 5A. Commissioner\nSchatmeier seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.\n5B. Review and Provide Comments on Ferry Terminal Access Issues and Potential Solutions\nStaff Payne presented the report and introduced Kevin Connolly, Water Emergency\nTransportation Authority (WETA) and Becca Homa, AC Transit.\nKevin Connolly, WETA Planning and Development Manager, presented the Alameda Terminal\nAccess Plan results to date.\nBecca Homa, AC Transit Service Planner, presented AC Transit's a potential change to Line 31\nroute to allow for it to serve the Main Street ferry terminal.\nStaff Payne presented the next steps found on page 4 of the staff report and she requested\nrecommendations from the Commission.\nPage 2 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 3, "text": "Commissioner Miley referred to page 3 of the staff report, where the last point made was for the\nWETA Board to adopt the plan. Thus, he wanted to know when the board would adopt the plan.\nKevin Connolly replied the board would adopt the plan sometime in the fall between October and\nNovember.\nCommissioner Schatmeier asked Kevin Connolly to compare the Harbor Bay Ferry's ridership\noriginating from Oakland and Alameda.\nKevin Connolly replied the total breakdown of Alameda-Oakland ridership is 51 percent of riders\nare from Alameda and 49 percent of riders are from Oakland. He went on to say that 70 percent\nof Alameda passengers board during the AM peak commute and 70 percent of Oakland riders\nboard during the midday to late evening hours.\nCommissioner Schatmeier wanted to know how many Harbor Bay Alamedans ride. He assumed\nthat if there are 2,800 riders a day and roughly 1,400 a day are from Alameda, then roughly 70\npercent or 900-1,000 riders are boarding during the AM peak commute.\nKevin Connolly replied roughly, there are 992 riders from Harbor Bay.\nCommissioner Vargas opened the floor to public comments.\nLucy Gigli, President and Co-founder Bike Walk Alameda, explained that there are a number of\nissues that should be addressed within the plan. Firstly, she said creating a crosswalk from the\nD'Club to the west of the dog park would allow pedestrians to get from their vehicles to the\nterminal safely. Secondly, she said reducing the speed limit to 25 mph along Main Street would\nincrease pedestrian and bicycle safety. Thirdly, she noted that improving bicycle access along\nMain Street could be done by constructing a cycle track on the west side of the street. However,\nshe explained the only issue would be that cyclists would ride down Main Street, cross over and\nthen go up the cycle track and then cross over again. Also, she mentioned the option of including\nbuffered bike lanes within 0.2 miles of the stretch on the east side between Singleton Avenue and\nthe ferry terminal. Lastly, she felt asphalt paving dominated Alameda Point and converting the\nlast unpaved lot into a parking lot was not environmentally sound.\nJohn Knox White explained that AC Transit Line 63 was eliminated due to low ridership because\nthe bus could not make the scheduled route. He pointed out that the intended Line 31 re-route\nwould inconvenience the Alameda Point Collaborative, which is a 214-unit transit dependent\nresidence. Thus, he felt turning the existing service into a loop was detrimental. He requested\nthe Commission to ask staff to conduct a ridership study to see the origin of Harbor Bay ferry\nriders.\nCommissioner Bellows asked about enforcing parking restrictions on Adelphian Way.\nSpecifically, she mentioned the solution of working with WETA and the San Francisco Bay\nConservation and Development Commission (BCDC) staff to enforce the two-hour parking on\nthe landside of Adelphian Way. She wanted to know how BCDC could dictate how the City\nregulates parking.\nPage 3 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 4, "text": "Staff Payne replied the City was obligated to comply with the BCDC permit found under page 2\nof the staff report. The BCDC prohibits parking on the Bay side, but short-term parking is\nallowed on the land side.\nCommissioner Bellows asked staff how willing would BCDC be to let the parking requirement\ngo.\nStaff Payne replied that staff needs to work with BCDC to amend the permit.\nCommissioner Bellows asked staff if the parking restrictions were enforced, where would ferry\nriders park.\nStaff Payne noted that the landward side provides about 50 parking spaces.\nCommissioner Miley asked staff if the neighbors around Adelphian Way were notified about\npotential changes to the parking regulations.\nStaff Payne said residents have not been notified and all conversations are informal. Staff is\ndisregarding the two-hour restriction for the time being.\nCommissioner Morgado said he drove by the area around 4:45 pm and there was one parking\nspace in the parking lot and no parking spaces along Adelphian Way. He asked why a two-hour\nlimit would be implemented.\nStaff Payne stated that BCDC works with the City anytime development is within 100 feet from\nthe Bay. Their mission involves public access and making sure the view shed is visible, which\nmay have triggered the parking restrictions.\nSergeant Simmons, Alameda Police Traffic Division, explained that in the last 6-9 months they\nhave received a number of calls from residents about the landward parking side. Community\nmembers at the end of Creedon Circle asked them to lift the parking enforcement because of\nincreased ridership and the number of cars encroaching within their neighborhoods.\nCommissioner Schatmeier said enforcing the two-hour restriction on Adelphian Way would\nspark drivers to park in the surrounding neighborhoods. He mentioned that other cities have\nresidential parking permits and that could be a solution for the area. He was also concerned that\nremoving parking on Adelphian Way would lower ferry ridership. He noted that the curb\ncoming out of Sweet Road onto Adelphian Way should be painted red since it is a fire hydrant.\nHe does not think that BCDC would want ferry riders to decrease.\nCommissioner Miley asked WETA about the ability to purchase the vacant lot adjacent to the\nferry terminal to increase surface parking lot spaces. He wondered if WETA or the City\napproached the landowner about potential development.\nKevin Connolly said the vacant land was privately owned by the Lehman Brothers and the asking\nprice was beyond their budget. They have talked to the owners and the solution may be to\npotentially lease parking spaces.\nPage 4 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 5, "text": "Commissioner Bellows asked WETA if they ever considered implementing a parking fee.\nKevin Connolly replied they discussed the idea and are willing to consider it.\nCommissioner Miley stated that there are other lots along Harbor Bay Parkway and he\nrecommended WETA review those sites. He suggested reaching out to the existing shuttle at the\nnearby business park to see if they could expand their service to reach the ferry terminal.\nCommissioner Vargas stated that he paid more for parking in Chicago than San Francisco and in\nthe densest areas motorists required a sticker. He asked WETA if there are sites where that\nscheme has been implemented.\nKevin Connolly stated that the city of Vallejo owns a number of open surface lots around the\nBaylink Ferry Terminal and they now charge for parking.\nCommissioner Bellows asked staff if they looked at allowing for parking along McCartney Road.\nStaff Patel replied no.\nCommissioner Bellows asked if there was a way to accommodate parking along the road.\nStaff Patel replied they could investigate to see if parking would be possible.\nCommissioner Vargas mentioned that there was a park and ride on Island Drive near Doolittle.\nHe then asked if the AC Transit bus that picks up at the park and ride could stop near the ferry\nterminal to accommodate additional ferry riders.\nBecca Homa replied that Line #21 does stop at the park and ride and near the terminal. However,\nshe felt few people were taking advantage of the service, but she could investigate further.\nStaff Payne replied that the park and ride spaces were at capacity.\nCommissioner Schatmeier asked staff who parked there and where were they going.\nStaff Payne said the lot was owned by the City and charter buses utilized the lot.\nKevin Connolly replied Google runs five buses a day at the park and ride and Apple runs three.\nStaff Payne replied that the Golf Parking Lot was a potential alternative; however, staff once\nexecuted the shuttle approach and only a handful used the service.\nCommissioner Miley replied that all agencies involved should take notes and come back to the\nCommission with feedback and follow up to explore solutions. He would like to see the\ncrosswalk idea reviewed to allow safe access when crossing Main Street.\nCommissioner Vargas felt the Homeowner Associations from the adjacent communities should\nPage 5 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 6, "text": "also be contacted.\nCommissioner Bellows needed clarification on the plan to acquire additional parking and how\nthat would tie into the Seaplane Lagoon improvements and future service at Seaplane Lagoon.\nKevin Connolly replied that they are engaged with Alameda staff to look at the whole range of\npotential outcomes and variations. However, WETA's improvements are based on the short-\nterm access study because they are not looking at making 20-year investments until they know\nthe outcome of the Seaplane Lagoon Project.\nCommissioner Schatmeier stated that he wanted to speak about transit access issues. When he\nworked in Marin County, he traveled using the Alameda-Oakland and Golden Gate Ferries. He\nexplained that Golden Gate Transit had a long history of feeder shuttles to the Larkspur Ferry\nTerminal and no one used the service. Regarding AC Transit, he was disturbed with the 66\npercent on-time performance rating and he was doubtful that eliminating the last trip on Line #\n21 to serve the morning ferry riders was helpful. Moreover, he said staff should review the\nridership gain if they are going to re-route Line #31.\nCommissioner Morgado asked staff how far away was the O'Club lot from the ferry terminal.\nStaff Payne replied that there are 138 spaces at the O'Club parking lot and noted that the staff\nreport displayed the parking lot as the blue rectangle.\nCommissioner Morgado stated that motorists usually park on the unregulated part of Main Street\nin the morning.\nStaff Payne replied that was correct.\nCommissioner Morgado asked staff how many people actually park there.\nStaff Payne replied they saw the total number of cars parking on Main Street come from all over\nthe presented map from West Midway to the west gate/Navy Way, and they were willing to walk\nto the terminal.\nCommissioner Morgado asked staff if the City allowed people to park at the O'Club lot, would a\ncrosswalk be present.\nStaff Payne replied a crosswalk was not present and that was one of the requests presented by\nLucy Gigli of BikeWalk Alameda. She said that the O'Club lot was used by the Park and\nRecreation Department.\nCommissioner Schatmeier replied that his son had a wedding party at Rosenblum Cellars and\nthey recently moved to Jack London. He does not know if the site has been replaced by a new\ntenant, but if not could the vacant parking spaces be utilized.\nKevin Connolly said that Bay Ship and Yacht is interested in leasing the space.\nPage 6 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 7, "text": "Commissioner Vargas referred to Spirits Alley and wondered if the AC Transit Line #31\nextension could cover that area.\nBecca Homa said during the last Commission meeting a few people requested service for the\narea. However, peak ridership occurs during the evening and weekend timeframe and service\nduring that timeframe was expensive and long. She said that this was not a high priority service\narea.\nCommissioner Miley asked AC Transit if they are looking at any specialty transit service to\naccompany regular service.\nBecca Homa replied that AC Transit's Board approved the purchase of smaller vehicles SO that\nmay be a possibility.\nCommissioner Vargas asked if there could be a modification of the loop if someone pushed a\nbutton near Spirits Alley.\nBecca Homa replied the action was called flexible service and staff was looking into the option,\nbut staff would have to address union and driver training issues.\nCommissioner Schatmeier explained in the past WETA and AC Transit representatives talked\nabout implementing bus service to and from San Francisco when the ferries turned people away.\nHe also wanted to know if WETA used a contractor for the bus service. Alternatively, ferry\nriders could board AC Transit Line OX at the Temporary Transbay Terminal. He wondered if\nthe 5:40 pm or 5:50 pm Line OX run could originate at the San Francisco Ferry Building then\nproceed to the Temporary Transbay Terminal.\nBecca Homa replied that would be difficult because layover, restrooms and tour bus spaces\nwould be an ongoing issue. Therefore, they would like to concentrate their operations at the\nTemporary Transbay Terminal.\nKevin Connolly said they contract out the backup buses. Regarding AC Transit and ferry\nservice, WETA had conversations about a partnership between the two agencies and that was\nsomething they would like to see. Moreover, he mentioned that a regionwide Transbay corridor\nplan was enacted between AC Transit, BART and WETA for better integration between the\nentire system and establishing a partnership was an ongoing conversation.\nCommissioner Bertken asked staff about the ability to change the dog park to a parking facility.\nStaff Payne said a new dog park was in construction and overseen by Amy Wooldridge,\nRecreation and Parks Director. The dog park would be located in the new Estuary Park just\nnorth of Mosley Avenue.\nCommissioner Miley commented on the fact that the City was responsible for the ferry\ninfrastructure maintenance on the landward side. He wondered if that was standard practice or\nunique to Alameda.\nPage 7 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 8, "text": "Staff Payne replied that is unique to the City.\nCommissioner Miley asked how much the maintenance work costs the City.\nStaff Payne replied WETA reimburses the City for all maintenance work.\nCommissioner Bertken asked WETA why the improvement of the pedestrian crossing at Main\nStreet was not the responsibility of WETA.\nKevin Connolly replied that they raised the issue since the beginning of the effort and that it was\nnot embraced by the City's Public Works Department.\nCommissioner Vargas said the project looked like a candidate for a joint public partnership.\nAlex Nguyen, Alameda City Manager, said he would like the Commission to come back in the\nfall to discuss the specific studies and present refined recommendations.\nCommissioner Vargas stated that a special committee should be put into place to review the plan.\nCommissioner Schatmeier offered to volunteer for the subcommittee and he stated that the\nCommission should express their requirements for the plan without committing them to a single\nsolution.\nAlex Nguyen recommended that Bike Walk Alameda be part of the subcommittee and requested\nthat staff look into the number of people who could be part of the subcommittee.\nStaff Payne felt that the subcommittee should sit down and include additions and deletions using\nthe next steps part of the staff report as a starting point.\nCommissioner Miley said regarding the potential solution portion, he would like staff to explore\navailable surface lots around the area, include additional bicycle parking under WETA's\nresponsibility and study the effects of re-routing Line #31.\nCommissioner Bellows amended Commissioner Miley's statement to include staff to explore\navailable on-street parking as well.\nCommissioner Schatmeier replied that the solution should also exclude enforcing parking\nrestrictions on Adelphian Way. He also supported reviewing the effects of re-routing Line #31.\nCommissioner Bellows felt they should remove the signage that restricts parking on the landward\nside. She would also like the curb at Adelphian Way and Sweet Road painted red to prevent\nparking. Additionally, she would like to see the first elements of the BCDC parking issue\ncombined because the parking agreement should be released.\nCommissioner Morgado said he agreed with not citing motorists for parking and the City should\nwork with WETA and BCDC to make that happen. He does not completely agree with removing\nthe existing dog park, but if there was an alternative being built then it was not a big problem.\nPage 8 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 9, "text": "Also, he would like to make sure pedestrians and cyclists travel safely along Main Street.\nCommissioner Vargas asked Sergeant Simmons for the speed limit along Main Street.\nSergeant Simmons replied 35 mph.\nCommissioner Vargas felt that safety was an important issue. The Main Street pedestrian and\ncyclist crossing was high priority. Secondly, he said the Commission should work with the\ncontract BCDC laid out since modifying the contract would be difficult. Moreover, he felt that\nparking restrictions were a revenue generator and if the City needed money then start giving\ntickets.\nCommissioner Miley replied WETA should look into implementing parking charges within their\nparking lot.\n6.\nStaff Communications\n6A.\nPotential Future Meeting Agenda Items\nThe next Commission meeting will be Wednesday, September 24th. and potential items\ncould include:\nFerry Terminal Access Recommendations and Updates\nNorthern Waterfront Development Projects\nPedestrian Safety Program Update\nI-880/29th Avenue/23rd Avenue Interchange Improvement Project\nProposed I-880/Broadway/Jackson Multimodal Transportation and Circulation\nImprovements\n7.\nAnnouncements/ Public Comments\nJim Strehlow, Alameda resident, said two months ago he spoke about the I-880/Fruitvale Avenue\nconstruction and how the left turn lane onto Elmwood Drive had an unnecessary 20-second\ndelay. Yet, he found that two months ago the City striped Fruitvale Avenue with an extra lane\nand that alleviated some of the traffic. However, he said a 20-second delay continued to plague\nElmwood Drive and he would like the Commission to talk to City about this issue. In addition,\nhe was upset that he spent the last several meetings asking for a survey of traffic conditions and\nrecently found out that the City conducted a study for Alameda Point. Thus, he wanted better\ncommunication between departments and the Commission. Also, before attending the\nCommission meeting, he attended the Del Monte Warehouse Project meeting at City Hall West.\nHe said a number of transportation issues were brought up, yet the issues are not being\ncommunicated with the Commission.\nCommissioner Vargas asked the Commission if the Del Monte Warehouse Project should be\nincluded as a future agenda item.\nStaff Payne replied the Del Monte Warehouse Project was located within the Northern\nWaterfront and that there are several developments in progress. She advised the Commission to\nPage 9 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}
{"body": "TransportationCommission", "date": "2014-07-30", "page": 10, "text": "call this upcoming agenda item as \"Northern Waterfront Development.\"\nCommissioner Schatmeier made the motion to include the topic within the existing future agenda\nitems. Commissioner Bertken seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0.\n8.\nAdjournment\n8:55 pm\nPage 10 of 10", "path": "TransportationCommission/2014-07-30.pdf"}