Status of Projects to Reduce the Impacts of Transportation on Stormwater using Common Transportation Control Measures

Transcription

1 MEMORANDUM Campbell Cupertino Los Altos Los Altos Hills Los Gatos Milpitas Monte Sereno Mountain View Palo Alto San Jose Santa Clara Saratoga Sunnyvale Santa Clara County Santa Clara Valley Water District TO: FROM: REVIEWED BY: Management Committee SCBWMI Land Use Subgroup Carina Chen, Program Staff Wendy Edde, Program Staff DATE: June 7, 2005 SUBJECT: of Projects to Reduce the Impacts of Transportation on Stormwater using Common s The Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative Land Use Subgroup (LUS) and the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) were tasked under the Copper Action Plan with investigating the role of stormwater agencies in regional congestion management planning and implementation and examining the issue of traffic congestion reduction from a stormwater perspective. In this process SCVURPPP developed a technical memorandum on The Role of Stormwater Agencies in Regional Congestion Management Planning and (March 2002), which included a table on the Impacts of Common s from a Watershed-based Stormwater Perspective. This table has recently been adapted to provide a status column to indicate what efforts have been made in the Santa Clara Valley since the original table was created in March The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a status update of projects that may reduce transportation impacts on water quality. Table 1 summarizes the current status of implementation of stormwater transportation control measures in the Santa Clara Valley.

2 Light Rail Extensions Expanding Caltrain capacity Caltrain station improvements: additional parking, expanded transit centers, improved pedestrian and bicycle access, reconfigured boarding platforms, grade separated pedestrian crossings More extensive and accessible public transit system, reduction in automobile demand Increases Caltrain capacity and viability, reduction of automobile demand Safety improvements promoting alternative modes of transportation, capacity expansion Reduce pollutant load originating from breakdown of vehicle materials and fuel Reduce pollutant load Atmospheric deposition of originating from breakdown of combustion by-products vehicle materials and fuel (May be shifted to a point source emission by electrification) Reduce pollutant load Possible increase in originating from breakdown of impervious cover from vehicle materials and fuel additional parking and due to promotion expanded transit centers of alternative transit (May be offset in part with paving surface/parking structure choice). Low-floor Light Rail Vehicle Procurement (September 2003) Tasman East/Capitol Light Rail (8.2 miles, completed June 2004) Vasona Light Rail Extension (6.8 miles, service anticipated to begin in Summer 2005, construction completed). Caltrain will begin operating two more of its popular Baby Bullet trains May 2 to generate revenue as quickly as possible to help offset a fiscal crisis that threatens the survival of the rail line. Completed Projects: Sunnyvale Parking and Transit Center (March 2003) Santa Clara Bus and Parking Improvements (October 2003) Lawrence Bus and Parking Improvements (March 2004) Planned Projects: Palo Alto Transit Center (Summer 2005) Caltrain track Greater public transit improvements including the accommodation addition of double track segments and storage tracks, and electrification. Reduce vehicle demand and subsequent pollutant loads The majority of the maintenance funding and other overhead projects have been cut due to the extreme deficit faced by Caltrain. Fares will be increased 17.5 percent on July 1 and 5.6 percent again on January 1, Completed projects Tamien to Lick Double Track (completed early 2005) F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 2 Revised June 7, 2005

3 Highway widening Addition of lanes to facilitate vehicle travel and reduce congestion Potentially reduce stop and Increase in impervious go traffic and subsequent coverage, increased pollutant loads originating probability of increased from material breakdown and pollutant loads originating fuel from materials breakdown and fuel. Could be growth inducing (Leads to increased automobile ease of use). Completed Projects: US101 in S San Jose and Morgan Hill (May 2003) I-880 in N San Jose (November 2003) Interchange improvements Facilitate the flow of traffic between highways Addition of traffic signals along bike and pedestrian routes Greater safety, increased stop and go traffic Potentially reduce stop and go traffic and subsequent pollutant loads originating from material breakdown and fuel. May promote pedestrian/bicycle use by providing added safety. Could be growth inducing (Leads to increased automobile ease of use 1 ). Increased material breakdown from increased brake pad use. Increased air and atmospheric deposition Completed Projects: Routes 85/87 in San Jose (June 2003) Route 85/US101 S in San Jose (October 2004) US101/Bailey Avenue (December 2004) Route 237/I-880 in Milpitas (completed early 2005) Planned Projects: Route 85/US101 N (Early 2006) I-880/Coleman Ave (September 2006) US101/Blossom Hill Road (deferred pending funding) US101/Hellyer Avenue (deferred pending funding) F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 3 Revised June 7, 2005

4 Pedestrian Path Networks/ Pedestrian Connection Among Transportation Systems Promote mobility, universally accessible for all age groups and abilities, attractive pedestrian connections among buses, light rail, Caltrain, and BART Promotes alternative Potential for more litter transportation, reduction in along pedestrian routes. automobile use. Walking can be a healthful, more attractive option for mobility. VTA promotes designs for pedestrians and practices for the pedestrian environment (Community Design and Transportation, p.2-3, 4-21 respectively) Transit Oriented Development BART Extension Consolidate Biological Mitigation Projects Facilitate public transit usage by developing housing options clustered around transit hubs More extensive and accessible public transit system, reduction in automobile demand Mitigate impacts to water resources associated with projects affecting watersheds Reduction in vehicle demand and subsequent breakdown and pollution, reduction in impervious surface coverage in developing areas. Reduce pollutant load originating from vehicle material breakdown and pollution Identify and mitigate impacts of transportation projects on water quality. Removal of invasive weeds and planting of riparian vegetation, shaded riverine aquatic vegetation, and wetland enhancement. Increase in impervious area in those stations with parking. Moves mitigation farther away from site of distribution and reduces local beneficial effects. VTA has developed a TOD Program San Jose has designated property along light rail lines as higher density, mixed-use. Sunnyvale has a TOD Program Milpitas Midtown Specific Plan has TOD densities (60 developments/acre) and is the City is preparing TOD around the future BART Station, amending the Mid-Town Specific Plan. VTA has been conducting studies to extend BART from the proposed Warm Springs BART Station into the county (16.3 miles). A Draft EIS has been completed for the Warm Springs extension project. Consolidated biological mitigation was completed as part of B (March 2004). Bicycle Studies Address bicycle conditions and improve multi-modal connections and high accident areas, increase the viability of bicycle transit Reduce vehicle demand and subsequent pollutant loads Short Range Transit Plan FY (p. 2-37): Survey (May 2001) indicated that over one day 4,300 passengers (almost 2.5%) boarded the VTA transit system with a bicycle. There was a 94% F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 4 Revised June 7, 2005

5 increase since 1996 when bike racks were installed on all buses and began expanding bike capacity on light rail trains. Maximize public investments in transit infrastructure Redevelopment efforts that add housing in areas where public transit is a viable transportation option Reduce vehicle demand and subsequent pollutant loads, reduction in impervious surface coverage in developing areas There is also a pedestrian/bike committee that is working to promote safe alternative transportation within Cities. Support the partnership between transportation and land-use decision makers Collaborative approach: incorporating land use priorities into transportation decisions Incorporation of relevant stormwater/land-use issues into planning and transportation decisions as well as the implementation of mixed-use development. Cool community benefits. VTA and MTC are working on many cooperative efforts that are described in Appendix H of the Short Range Transit Plan FY Also regional transit service coordination is ongoing with Caltrain, BART, Altamont Commuter Express, AC Transit and Samtrans. Light synchronization Decreased stop and go traffic Reduction in pollutant load breakdowns and fuel San Jose has a program to synchronize lights. Most Cities have a similar program. Replacement of obsolete traffic signals Facilitates steady flow of traffic Reduction in pollutant load breakdowns and fuel F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 5 Revised June 7, 2005

6 HOV gap closures Promotes carpooling Reduction in pollutant load breakdowns and fuel Bicycle lane gap closures Use of hydrogen fuel cells to fuel buses, or use of natural gas powered or other alternative energy powered bus network Facilitates and encourages bicycle usage, reduces vehicle congestion Decreases harmful diesel fuel Reduction in pollutant load, increased safety promotes alternative transportation Reduction in pollutants deposited onto highways from atmosphere; reduces pollutants derived from fuel leakage Proper disposal of spent fuel (batteries, cells) needs to be considered. Projects in Process: Route 87N HOV lanes in San Jose (Early 2007) Route 87S HOV lanes in San Jose (Fall 2007) San Jose identifies priority areas for work within the budget availability. Each City has a bike plan. Bike/Pedestrian Committees help prioritize where bike lanes will be places with limited resources. Encourage bike to work week and is always looking for people to staff stations. In February, the VTA began their zero- Emission Bus Program which includes the operation of three hydrogenpowered, zero-emission fuel-cell buses ZEBs Pilot Program Incorporating landscaping Maintains aesthetic and along transportation routes. functional purposes of street Use of IPM and other nonchemical vegetation sides management of city street landscaping to minimize pesticide/fertilizer runoff. Reduction of impervious surface coverage, enables treatment processes and groundwater recharge to take place naturally, reduces amount and velocity of runoff, reduces runoff from pesticides/fertilizers. This would be the responsibility of the individual cities, which may be implemented more frequently due to the C.3 requirements. F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 6 Revised June 7, 2005

7 References Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Short Range Transit Plan FY October Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, Congestion Management Program. Community Design & Transportation: A Manual of Best Practices for Integrating Transportation and Land Use Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Fact sheet 1996 B Transportation Improvement Program. Provided by Gail Collins (VTA). Revised April 20, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Transit-Orientated Development (TOD) Program. March 2, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Highway Projects. May 26, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Article Congressman Mike Honda Joined Local Officials to Kick-Off Zero-Emission Bus Program. February 25, F:\SC26\SC26-25\FY Work Products\status memo_transportation.doc 7 Revised June 7, 2005