WCCTAC
West
Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee
Minutes
The
regular meeting of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee was
called to order at 7:33 a.m. by Chair Brown in the City Council Chambers of the
City of
1. Call
to Order and Self Introductions
PRESENT: Sharon Brown, Chair (San Pablo), Janet
Abelson (El Cerrito), Jerrold Parsons, (WestCAT), Maria Viramontes (Richmond),
Bob Franklin (BART), * Irma Anderson (Richmond), Joe Wallace (AC Transit)
ABSENT: Maria Alegria (Pinole), Ed Balico
(Hercules), Tom Butt (
STAFF: Lisa
Hammon, WCCTAC Managing Director
John
Rudolph, WCCTAC Management Assistant
Nancy
Cuneo, WCCTAC Administrative Analyst
Jeremy
Hughes, Administrative Clerk
Hisham
Noeimi, CCTA Staff
*Not
present for Self Introductions
2.
Public Comment
Peter Loubal, El Cerrito resident and CAC member,
distributed copies of an article written by Alan Lopez, Contra Costa Times,
misstating comments made by Maggie Winslow regarding the proposed condominium
project on the southeast corner of El Cerrito Plaza; Ms. Winslow’s clarifying
comments; and a subsequent correction to the article in the Contra Costa Times.
CONSENT CALENDAR
On motion by Joe Wallace, seconded by Janet Abelson
and carried unanimously, the Board approved the Consent Calendar with the exception
of Item 10.
3. Minutes, Sign-In Sheet, and Meeting Summary from the June 24, 2005 Meeting –
The Board approved the June 2005 minutes.
4. Staff Reports
The
Board accepted the Employee Staff Reports.
5. Cooperative Agreement with
the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) for Transportation Fund for
Clean Air (TFCA) and Measure C Funds for FY 05-06
The
Board authorized the Chair to sign the Cooperative Agreement following approval
by the WCCTAC attorney.
6. Consulting Services for MACK5
The
Board authorized the Chair to sign the Agreement following final approval of
the Scope of Work for this phase of the consultant work and approval by
WCCTAC’s Attorney.
7. Subregional Transportation
Mitigation Fee (STMP) Transfer for Consultant Costs
The
Board approved the request to submit a cash advance request to CCTA for STMP
fees for the Richmond Intermodal Station project in the amount of $22,500.
8. Invoice
for the
The Board approved the request by the
City of
9. Letter of Support for AB 1623
The Board authorized the Chair to sign the letter and
distribute copies to the appropriate agencies.
10. State and
Federal Transportation Funding
Hisham Noeimi, CCTA, reported the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) had adopted the estimates for the Tier 1; these projects will
not receive any funding. The Tier II
projects will receive $47 million for two years. A draft proposal of projects will be
presented to the committee on October 6th. The Authority will be asked to approve the
projects on October 19th as a draft, with a 30-day comment
period. Final action is proposed for the
Authority on November 16th.
Hisham reported that 3 of the
The Managing Director stated the WCCTAC Board would discuss
their Tier II projects at the October meeting.
Maria Viramontes stated CCTA has recently approved a recommendation for
funding swap for projects with strict time guidelines. The Managing Director stated the funding is
puzzling, however, she will provide information for a full discussion at the
October meeting.
11. Recognition
of Participants on the Parchester Elementary School Bus Service Committee
The Board acknowledged the
time and effort of the Committee and the successful outcome.
12. Recommendation of Law Firm
to Provide Legal Services to WCCTAC for FY 05-06
The Managing Director reviewed the RFP for legal services; the firms
who responded; and the subsequent scoring and selection of the responses. Staff’s recommendation for Legal Services for
the WCCTAC Board is Meyers/Nave. The
Board previously budgeted/ approved $25,000 for these services in their FY05-06
budget. The Managing Director introduced
Mr. Bryan Otake, lead attorney, and his colleague Ben Reyes, II.
On motion by Maria Viramontes,
seconded by Irma Anderson and carried unanimously, the WCCTAC Board will present
a resolution to the WCCTAC Advising Attorney for his work with the Board at the
October meeting.
On motion by Maria Viramontes,
seconded by Irma Anderson and carried unanimously, the Board authorized the
Chair to sign a Professional Services Agreement with Meyers/Nave for FY 05-06
(renewable annually for five years).
13. Discussion/Possible Action
Regarding I-80 Freeway Congestion
The Managing Director will draft an
“Op-Ed” piece following the direction given at the September 15th
TAC meeting on regarding the traffic congestion on I-80 and planned
transportation projects and programs, that if implemented in the near-term,
could make a difference in the level of congestion. She also suggested this item be placed on
the CCTA Administration and Projects Committee and/or CCTA Board agenda, and
that speaking engagements be scheduled in the Bay Area to bring the I-80/West
County traffic congestion, air quality and quality of life issues into the
forefront.
Irma Anderson stated an Op-Ed
piece is one way to get the information to the community, but she suggested
holding community meetings to obtain information from the community (surveys)
on how they perceive the issues. The
Managing Director agreed that community meetings are a great idea and timely in
that staff is discussing a Transit Summit.
She suggested staff could present the Information Sheet at the
Maria Viramontes stated
Charlie Anderson supported Ms.
Viramontes’ comments. He also reported
WestCAT has finally introduced new Transbay service to the San Francisco
Terminal. This Express Bus service has
been identified in numerous studies as the most cost-effective investment in
the Bay Region on I-80, and yet the fight for RM2 money and justifying the need
at MTC was a true fight. This Transbay
service is very popular and supported by the community, and yet it is currently
the only express bus service on “probation”.
The service is approved as a “one-year pilot project” with an operating
budget for one year, but no capital support.
Irma Anderson agreed this was a
fight at MTC, but she added as an MTC member, MTC is looking to mobilize
communities. She did not see the
community support at the MTC meetings on this service. She stated having the public attend the
meetings so the MTC members actually see the public is what makes the
difference.
Janet Abelson thanked the
Managing Director for the information.
She stated she is often frustrated when she receives reports listing in
priority order the worst traffic areas.
I-80 in
Jerrold Parsons expressed
frustration that the State, MTC and CCTA are all aware I-80 in
The Managing Director will
prepare an Op-Ed piece for the October meeting.
In the interim, she will begin discussions with
Joe Wallace suggested the
Managing Director talk with the transportation groups regarding LIFT grants as
a piece of the whole I-80 puzzle.
14. Proposed Casinos in
The Managing Director reported the Ad Hoc Committee for
Mitigation of Off-Reservation Impacts of Tribal Casinos agreed to take the
following next steps:
ü
Financial
commitments have been made by cities and jurisdictions for the traffic study,
while other cities and jurisdictions are waiting for responses from the RFP to
determine their share and their possible commitment.
ü
WCCTAC
will act as “fiscal agent” for the traffic study.
ü
WCCTAC
will draft an RFP and scope of work for a consultant to perform a phased
traffic analysis.
ü
The
RFP will be sent to only to consulting firms that have experience using the
Contra Costa Countywide Model.
ü
Distribute
RFP by October 3rd. RFP
responses due October 20th.
Interviews October 21st, 24th, 25th and
possibly 26th. Recommendation
to WCCTAC Board October 28th.
Work to begin on the traffic study November 15th.
Chair Brown expressed concern the Managing Director may
become overworked with this additional project.
The Chair wants the Director’s workload to be controlled and requested
the Managing Director bring a report on the hours spent on this project by the
Director and her staff. The Managing
Director will email the list of cities and jurisdictions that have committed
funding for the traffic study.
15. Update on the
Carter Mau, BART Staff, outlined the Hercules Park &
Ride Facility Parking Management Proposal.
The Park & Ride lot currently on the west side of I-80 is a focal
point for WestCAT transit service; has 250 parking spaces; and 11 bus
bays. In December 2004, BART and the
City of
Currently the free Park & Ride lot is filled to
capacity. Casual carpool riders use the
facility without any compensation to the transit agencies. Carpool riders take parking spaces from bus-to-BART
patrons, which in turn is decreased revenue to BART. WestCAT will begin a competing Transbay
service in September 2005, as well as maintaining all current feeder bus lines
to El Cerrito del Norte BART station.
BART plans to manage the Park & Ride facility more
effectively by supporting BART ridership and generating revenue. All spaces will be charged a parking fee in
the Park & Ride lot. There will be
daily fee parking that will include two one-way bus tickets, and monthly
reserved permits with WestCAT bus passes. BART plans to implement the charge
for parking January 1, 2006.
Joe Wallace asked how long BART plans to keep the current
fee for parking. Mr. Mau stated the BART
General Manager has the authority to adjust parking fees to meet the goal of
the program. BART is responsible for
maintaining the facility and will also provide security for the facility.
The Managing Director suggested the WestCAT be involved
with BART’s Planning Department when the facility is in the planning
stages. WestCAT will be able to provide
valuable information on bus/traffic movement in the facility and connections to
adjacent streets and highways. WestCAT
will also be able to make suggestions on safe paths of travel for pedestrians,
bicyclists and senior/disabled access into and around the facility.
Jerrold Parsons requested a copy of the Seismic Report for
the facility. He also stated there
should be a separate area for the buses at the new facility. Mr. Parsons stated Transbay WestCAT riders
should not be penalized for riding the bus (no discount provided by BART). He suggested charging $5.00 per day for
carpool parking.
Peter Loubal was supportive of this project and felt it was
a fitting response to the I-80 congestion.
16. Presentation on the West Contra Costa County Diesel Study, Emily
Lee, Pacific Institute (and other Committee Members)
Emily Lee, Johnny White and other committee members
presented a summary of the West Contra Costa County Diesel Study. Information and the full Study are available
on the Pacific Institute website at www.pacinst.org.
This Study was conducted by a collaborative partnership between Community
Health Initiative, Neighborhood House of North Richmond, West County Toxics
Coalition, Pacific Institute and Contra Costa Health Services. The project was funded by foundations and the
US EPA. The project goals were to
estimate the amount of diesel pollution released in
The Study found that many diesel sources are near to residents
and their homes, anywhere from less than 50 feet to less than one mile. The diesel sources include trucks, trains,
construction equipment and ships. The
Study findings estimate there is 6 times the amount of diesel soot released per
square mile in
The Study concludes that Inner West County residents may be
exposed to more than their fair share of diesel pollution. Solutions proposed by community members and
project partners depend on the collaboration between community, government and
businesses. Solutions include: 1) a regional truck route developed to keep
trucks away from homes and residents; 2) zoning and land use policies should be
adopted to limit land use conflicts between residential areas and sources of
diesel pollutions; 3) enforcement by local police of a 5-minute maximum idle
time by trucks; and 4) offer and award incentives to fund vehicle and equipment
upgrades and replacements.
Janet Abelson thanked the Committee members for the
report. Maria Viramontes asked for a map
highlighting the rail and port issues in the City of Richmond. Irma Anderson agreed the Study is a cause for
concern, however, she urged caution for the solutions. Some of the significant polluters are also
key to the movement of needed goods and services. Joe Wallace stated there is a problem with
independent truck drivers using a route in Richmond that results in traffic
congestion. Irma Anderson will
investigate the congestion problem at Chestnut and Filbert.
17. Correspondence/Other
Information:
Incoming:
Capitol Corridor ridership information,
9.9.05.
SWAT meeting summary, 9.14.05.
TRAC information (Kaiser Shipyard 3 Bay
Trail Design Funded), 9.15.05.
Newspaper/Internet
Articles (all articles from West County Times unless stated otherwise):
WestCAT Lines Hercules and Contra Costa
College, 9.3.05.
Legislator Seeks State Probe of Casino’s
Bingo Machines, 9.6.05.
Legality of Bingo Machines Questioned,
9.7.05.
Richmond Opposes Creating New Shoreline
Park, 9.14.05.
Richmond Halts Plans for Park, 9.15.05.
WestCAT to Offer Lynx Between
Hercules/SF, 9.16.05.
Indian Affairs Committee Releases Report
on Bill, 9.16.05.
Lyttons Face New Threats to Casino,
9.21.05
Warming up to HOT Lanes, 9.22.05.
Conferences:
CRA/CAL-ALHFA Affordable Housing
Conference, Anaheim, October 26-27.
12th Annual World Congress on
Intelligent Transport Systems, SF, November 6-10.
Other:
Construction Notice for the Richmond
Transit Village Station Building.
TALC’s Great Communities Initiative.
Anti-Violence/Youth Investment Conference
in Richmond, October 15th.
18. Board Member
Comments/Reports
None.
19. Other Business