San Francisco County Transportation Authority — Moving the City

San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

Plans and Programs Committee - December 8, 2009

PDF version of Agenda

AGENDA

PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

Meeting Notice

Date:                  10:30 a.m., Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Location:                Room 263, City Hall
Commissioners:   Chu (Chair), Campos (Vice Chair), Chiu, Elsbernd, Maxwell and Dufty (Ex Officio) 
Clerk:                      Erika Cheng

 

 

1.                   Roll Call

2.                  Approval of Minutes of the November 17, 2009 Meeting - ACTION* attachment                                   

3.                  Citizens Advisory Committee Report - INFORMATION

4.                  Recommend Approval of the 2009 Prop K 5-Year Prioritization Programs for Bicycle Circulation and Safety and Transportation Demand Management/Parking Management - ACTION* attachment

The voter-approved Prop K Expenditure Plan requires that each programmatic category develop a 5-Year Prioritization Program (5YPP) as a prerequisite for receiving Prop K allocations. This requirement applies to 21 programs such as new signals and signs, street resurfacing, pedestrian circulation and safety, and transit enhancements.  The intended outcome of the 5YPPs is the establishment of a steady stream of grant-ready projects that can be advanced as soon as funds (including Prop K, federal and state) are available. While the Strategic Plan provides the long-term road map for managing Prop K revenue, the 5YPPs ensure that the Authority Board, project sponsors and the public have a clear understanding of how projects are prioritized for funding within each particular programmatic category as well as the five-year program of projects anticipated to be delivered. The 2009 Prop K Strategic Plan, provisionally adopted in July 2009, informed the preparation of each 5YPP, including establishing the allowable annual funding levels and associated financing costs for those categories where sponsors wish to advance Prop K funds to accelerate project delivery. We are seeking a recommendation to approve the 2009 Prop K 5YPPs for Bicycle Circulation and Safety and Transportation Demand Management/Parking Management.

5.                  Recommend Allocation of $178,100 in Prop K Funds, with Conditions, to the Department of the Environment for the Fiscal Year 2009/10 Clean Air Program, Subject to the Attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule - ACTION* attachment   EP 39   EP 43

The San Francisco Department of the Environment's (DOE's) Clean Air Program has been providing commute assistance and promoting the use of transportation alternatives to City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) employees and all San Francisco-bound commuters since 1993. The Clean Air Program has four components: Commuter Benefits Program; Emergency Ride Home; Bicycle Program; and Regional Rideshare Program. The DOE is requesting $178,100 in Prop K funds for its Fiscal Year 2009/10 Clean Air Program, including $119,790 for outreach and marketing of commuter benefits to San Francisco employers and CCSF employees; $13,310 to provide free rides home in cases of emergency for employees of participating agencies who commute by alternative modes; $10,000 to promote cycling as a commute alternative and to purchase 35 bicycles for CCSF employees to use for work trips instead of the CCSF vehicle fleet; and $35,000 for the Regional Rideshare Program to provide outreach to employers on a range of alternatives to driving, including ridesharing. This allocation is contingent upon the Authority Board's approval of the 2009 5-Year Prioritization Program (5YPP) update for the Transportation Demand Management/Parking Management category. We are seeking a recommendation to allocate $178,100 in Prop K funds, with conditions, to the DOE for the Fiscal Year 2009/10 Clean Air Program, subject to the attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule.

6.                  Recommend Approval of the Process to Develop the Expenditure Plan for the Imposition of an Additional Vehicle Registration Fee of Up to $10 in San Francisco Pursuant to the Requirements in SB 83, and Authorizing the Executive Director to Enter into Related Professional Services Contracts in an Amount Not to Exceed $135,000 - ACTION* attachment

In late October, the Governor signed into law SB 83 (Hancock), which authorizes congestion management agencies (CMAs) to impose an annual fee of up to $10 on motor vehicles registered within their respective counties.  The funds would have to be used for programs and projects benefitting the people paying the fee, and they would have to be consistent with the regional transportation plan.  Last month, the Authority approved Resolution 10-27, authorizing the Executive Director to initiate the process to develop an Expenditure Plan as well as a timetable for Authority Board approval to place a measure on the November 2010 ballot.   The fee measure, which is estimated to generate a maximum of about $5 million per year in San Francisco, would require a majority vote of the electorate in order to become effective.  We have been coordinating with the CMAs in the other Bay Area counties and with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and believe that the most successful approach to implementing SB 83 would be for all Bay Area CMAs to simultaneously place the measure on the November 2010 ballot.   To make this timeline, the Authority Board would need to adopt an Expenditure Plan and complete a required nexus study before San Francisco's June 15, 2010 deadline to place an initiative on the November 2, 2010 ballot. The time constraints and the relatively small amount of funds available (e.g. about $5 million annually compared to over $70 million annually for the Prop K half-cent sales tax) call for a very focused and streamlined approach to development of the Expenditure Plan.  With that context in mind, the proposed schedule in Figure 1 lists key dates and outlines interim deliverables to be produced by staff and reviewed by the Authority Board, Citizen Advisory Committee, agency partners, stakeholder representatives, and members of the public.  Development of the Expenditure Plan would include a number of specialized technical tasks that could require outside professional services, including polling, preparation of the nexus study, public outreach, development of educational materials, and development of the ballot measure language and related materials.  We are seeking a recommendation to approve the process to develop the Expenditure Plan for a new vehicle registration fee of up to $10 in San Francisco pursuant to the requirements in SB 83, and to authorize the Executive Director to enter into related professional services contracts in an amount not to exceed $135,000.

7.                  Recommend Approval of the 2009 San Francisco Congestion Management Program and Recommend Support for Designation of a San Francisco Infill Opportunity Zone by the Board of Supervisors - ACTION*   attachment  enclosure a    enclosure b

As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for San Francisco, the Authority is responsible for developing and adopting a Congestion Management Program (CMP) for San Francisco on a biennial basis.  The CMP is the principal policy and technical document that guides the Authority's CMA activities and demonstrates conformity with congestion management law.  The 2009 CMP incorporates several substantive updates, including 2009 system performance monitoring results; the updated CMP Capital Improvement Program (CIP); activities related to recent policy developments, notably state climate protection legislation and the Bay Area's new Regional Transportation Plan (RTP); and significant planning progress since 2007.  The CMP also sets the policy foundation for the potential designation by the City of an Infill Opportunity Zone (IOZ).  SB 1636 (Figueroa) authorizes local jurisdictions to designate IOZs, in which the CMA must use an alternative to automobile level of service (LOS) as the main performance standard for congestion management purposes.  The designation of a San Francisco IOZ would allow the Authority's CMP practices to better support the City's Transit First policy and existing land use patterns.  Importantly, IOZ designation would also strengthen the current effort of the Authority and the City to reform California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) transportation impact analyses within San Francisco.  We anticipate that the Board of Supervisors will consider designation of a San Francisco IOZ later this month.  We are seeking a recommendation to approve the 2009 San Francisco Congestion Management Program and a recommendation of support for the designation of a San Francisco Infill Opportunity Zone by the Board of Supervisors.

8.                  Climate Change Planning Overview - INFORMATION

As of 1990, the transportation sector was responsible for over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in San Francisco.  The City produced a 2004 Climate Action Plan that set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals for 2012 and outlined strategies to address this issue. Several state, regional and local initiatives within the last four years have also brought this issue to the fore, from AB3 2 and SB 375 to the 2007 Prop A voter mandate.  Prop A reaffirms existing targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions-20% below 1990 levels by 2012-and further directs various City agencies and bodies to take action to address them.  Prop A further requires the Board of Supervisors to address GHG emissions reduction targets for the transportation sector after 2012.  At the same time, the California Air Resources Board has launched a series of processes to set regional GHG-reduction targets, with a decision for the Bay Area expected in Fall 2010. Over the coming year, the Authority, working with the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) and Department of Environment, will analyze these issues and propose a policy approach for addressing climate issues within the transportation sector through an update the Climate Action Plan and the Countywide Long-Range Transportation Plan.  These documents will identify policies and strategies to lower GHG green house gas emissions and set investment priorities which will be used as inputs to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's 2012 Regional Transportation Plan Sustainable Communities Strategy.  This item will provide a brief overview of the state and regional context for climate change policy within the transportation sector and summary of key actions the City is already taking to address the City's goals for GHG reduction. We will also outline the collaborative process that the MTA and the Authority will employ to develop the transportation section of the Climate Action Plan, a key input into the Countywide Transportation Plan, over the coming year.

9.                  Introduction of New Items - INFORMATION

10.               Public Comment

11.                Adjournment

 




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If any materials related to an item on this agenda have been distributed to the Plans & Programs Committee after distribution of the agenda packet, those materials are available for public inspection at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority at 100 Van Ness Avenue, Floor 26, San Francisco, CA 94101, during normal office hours. 

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