San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

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PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

Rescheduled Meeting Notice
Date: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Location: Room 263, City Hall

Commissioners: Dufty (Chair), Peskin (Vice-Chair), Daly, Maxwell, Sandoval, and McGoldrick (Ex-Officio)

Clerk: Pooja Jhunjhunwala

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of the June 8, 2004, Meeting – ACTION (Attachment 1)

3. Citizens Advisory Committee Report – INFORMATION (Attachment 2)

4. Recommend Adoption of the Spring 2004 Congestion Management Program Network Level of Service Monitoring Report – ACTION (Attachment 3 - Memo) (Attachment 4 - Final Report)

As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for San Francisco, the Authority is responsible for developing and adopting a Congestion Management Program (CMP), which must be updated every two years. The 2003 CMP was updated in Fall 2003 and called for a Spring 2004 monitoring of the CMP network traffic Level of Service, which we have completed. The final Report is attached. LOS Monitoring conducted during April and May 2004 indicates that average vehicle speeds on the congestion management network have remained stable overall since Fall 2001, although the average speeds on some segments dropped. The monitoring results do not identify LOS deficiencies on any segments. Follow-up monitoring on potentially deficient segments will be conducted this Fall 2004, and the next regularly scheduled LOS monitoring will take place in conjunction with the next CMP update in Fall 2005. In addition, the segment definition for the Central Freeway will eventually need to be changed, after construction is complete, to reflect the Market Street terminus. In the interim, the northern monitoring limit of the segment was temporarily defined at the Van Ness Avenue and Mission Street ramps. We are seeking a recommendation to adopt the Spring 2004 Congestion Management Program Network Level of Service Monitoring Report .

5. Recommend Adoption of the Revised Draft 2004 Countywide Transportation Plan – ACTION (Attachment 5) (Link to Report)

Pursuant to state law, as Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco the Authority is responsible for preparing a long-range transportation plan identifying goals, needs and investment priorities. The Authority has developed the 30-year Countywide Transportation Plan (CTWP) to reflect the priorities in the Expenditure Plan for the Prop K Local Sales Tax for Transportation. In addition to projects, the Draft CWTP also identifies opportunities for strategic initiatives and legislative advocacy on a number of transportation policy issues, including funding. We conducted extensive public outreach on the Draft CWTP from April 13 to June 18. At the July 7 CAC meeting, we will present an overview of revisions made to the Draft CWTP in response to public comments we received. Following action by the CAC in July, we will present the revised Draft Plan to the Plans and Programs Committee and Authority Board for approval in July. We are seeking a recommendation to adopt the revised Draft 2004 Countywide Transportation Plan.

6. Recommend an Allocation of $15,799,000 in FY 2004/05 Prop K funds to 11 Annual Programs – ACTION (Attachment 6) (Link to Applications)

On June 18, 2004, the Authority Board allocated $27,656,000 to 18 annual programs, deferring allocation of nine requests to allow further discussion with project sponsors, primarily to clarify scope, address deliverability issues, and refine scope and budget to match likely recommended funding levels (Attachment 1). On February 9, 2004, we initiated the call for FY 2004/05 Prop K Annual Programs , comprised of annual activities and annual projects. The former are for projects that will receive an amount of Prop K funding to be spent only within the fiscal year, such as incremental operations and maintenance projects or paratransit support. The latter include allocations made to implementing agencies for clusters of small projects, such as installation of traffic signals or curb ramps for wheelchairs at multiple locations throughout the city. The guidelines issued for the call for annual programs reflect the change from a pay-as-you-go program to a program that includes debt issuance in order to satisfy the requirements of an ambitious roster of capital projects and new programs. This is a transition year from Prop B to the Prop K program, and we do not yet have a Prop K Strategic Plan that will provide the long-term road map needed to guide Prop K allocations. We initially received nearly $60 million in requests for annual programs against an estimated $35 million in available resources for this purpose. We've been working closely with project sponsors to make sure that the highest priorities are addressed, and that recommended amounts reflect levels of effort that can actually be delivered by the implementing agencies in FY 2004/05. Since the last Plans and Programs Committee meeting, we split one project into two projects to better match the new Expenditure Plan and added one annual program that the project sponsor had inadvertently neglected to submit for funding. We are seeking a recommendation for allocation of $15,799,000 in FY 2004/05 Prop K funds to 11 annual programs as shown in Attachment 3.

7. Recommend Allocation of $534,000 in Prop K funds to BART for the Environmental and Engineering Design Phases of the 16 th Street Station Northeast Plaza Redesign, with a Commitment to Allocate $2,142,000 for Construction when BART Substantially Completes Engineering Design and Allocation of $2,000,000 to the Port of San Francisco for Construction of Phase 1 of the Illinois Street Inter-modal Bridge over Islais Creek – ACTION (Attachment 7 - Memo) (Attachment 8 - BART Application) (Attachment 9 - Port Application)

One of the most important tasks currently facing the Authority is to structure a smooth transition into the New Expenditure Plan ushered in by Prop K. The transition process is quite complex, and the differences in the structure of the Prop B and Prop K Expenditure Plans necessitate the development of an entirely new Strategic Plan, to address not just the new categories of funding, but also the realities of moving from a pay-as-you-go program to a program that includes a healthy amount of borrowing on order to satisfy the requirements of an ambitious roster of capital projects and new programs. In the absence of a Prop K Strategic Plan, we established FY 2004/05 funding targets for annual programs and individual capital projects to help provide some guidance to project sponsors. The target for annual programs was $35 million, though already approved allocations and recommended allocations under consideration at the July 13 Plans and Programs Committee meeting total about $43,455,000, leaving about $20.5 million of the original $29 million target for individual capital projects to be allocated during the next 12 months. Earlier this year we conducted a survey of Prop K project sponsors to get a feel for the total amount of FY 2004/05 Prop K funds that they would likely request for individual capital projects, to be considered later in the year after completion of the Strategic Plan. The results of that survey, shown in Attachment 1, total nearly $71 million in requests. As part of the survey, we requested that sponsors identify projects with an urgent need for Prop K funds in the first quarter of FY 2004/05. Of the 47 projects identified in the survey, only two appear to meet our definition of urgency. We are recommending both of them for funding. We are seeking a recommendation for allocation of $534,000 in Prop K funds to BART for the environmental and engineering design phases of the 16 th Street Station Northeast Plaza Redesign, with a commitment to allocate $2,142,000 for construction when BART substantially completes engineering design; and for allocation of $2,000,000 to the Port of San Francisco, for construction of Phase 1 of the Illinois Street Inter-modal Bridge over Islais Creek.

8. Status Report on the Third Street Light Rail Project – INFORMATION (Attachment 10 )

This is a status report on the Third Street Light Rail Project. Construction activities are currently ongoing throughout the entire corridor. As of May 31, 2004 the project had spent approximately 47% of the total budget and it is anticipated to start spending approximately $15 million per month when the Metro East Maintenance Facility begins construction. As of the end of May 2004, total local hires for the corridor reached 160. Efforts continue to address environmental concerns along Third Street, and MUNI continues to publish its air monitoring results. During May 2004, 100% of the tests were below the action threshold. Completion of the rail line is scheduled for the end of 2005 with the Metro East Facility contract completion expected one year later. At the May 18 meeting, the Board approved a revised budget and funding plan for the project subject to budget ratification by the MTA Board and other conditions. At the same meeting, the Board also approved a $12M allocation for construction management, also subject to budget ratification, completing the allocations to this project for this fiscal year. The MTA Board subsequently adopted the Budget and funding plan at its June meeting. This is an information item.

9. Central Freeway Project Update – INFORMATION (Attachment 11 )

This item is a status report for the Central Freeway Replacement project. The project's two main elements, the Caltrans led touchdown ramp, and the DPW led Octavia Boulevard, are both under construction, and anticipated to be complete in mid-2005. DPT is continuing to use parking control officers where warranted to manage the increased traffic load, on city streets, and to manage detours near the construction site. Octavia Central, the Authority's public awareness office continues to disseminate information about the project and to address concerns raised by neighbors and commuters relative to the construction. Ancillary projects are intended to help reconstruct the urban fabric near the touchdown ramp, and address the changing traffic patterns resulting from the project. We are working on developing a prioritized ancillary project list and will be issuing a RFP in the next thirty days for consultant assistance in this effort. The project is on budget and might have a surplus of funds that could be used for additional ancillary projects. The original ancillary project budget was fiscally constrained and not based solely on need. The project currently has adequate funds to construct the first phase. Funding for the second phase, which includes the ancillary projects, Van Ness repaving, and the south of Market signal interconnection, will be subject to land sales. Land sales are scheduled to occur after approval of the new zoning as a part of the Planning Department's Better Neighborhood's Plan. This is an information item.

10. Introduction of New Items – INFORMATION

11. Public Comment

12. Adjournment

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