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Date:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Staff: Steven Schmitz |
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Agenda:
I. Introductions & Public
Comments
(10
Minutes)
II. Approval of Agenda &
Minutes
(5 Minutes)
III. Staff Reports
(15 Minutes)
-
Airport Blvd. Bike Lane Striping Issue at Highway 101.
- Bike/Pedestrian Access Issue at
- Santa
Rosa Ave./Robert’s Lake Rd. Hwy.101 On-Ramp Issue.
IV. General Meeting:
A. Review administrative
draft of updated Sonoma County Unincorporated Bicycle and Pedestrian
Plan. (60 Minutes)
B. Consider request for
letter of support for Safe Routes to Schools grant application for
V. Other Business &
Announcements
(10
Minutes)
VI. Next Meeting &
Adjournment
(5 Minutes)
Next meeting of the Sonoma County BPAC is scheduled for Wednesday,
August 20, 2008.
June 18, 2008 Minutes
Members in Attendance:
Janice Eunice - 1st District
Sherry Adams - 1st District (Alternative)
Bernie Album - 2nd District
Vin Hoagland - 3rd District (Chair)
Tim Gonzalez - 5th District (Vice-Chair)
Other Participants:
Mike Eunice - 1st District Resident
Linda Picton - 3rd District Resident
Kate Westrich - 4th District Resident
Ken Tam - Regional Parks
Todd Holmes - Regional Parks
Steven Schmitz - SCBPAC Staff
Meeting Summary
Self-introductions were made. Ken Tam introduced Todd Holmes as the new Parks Planning Manager for Sonoma County Regional Parks. The committee welcomed Todd to the meeting and also welcomed 1st District resident Mike Eunice, 3rd District resident Linda Picton, and 4th District resident Kate Westrich.
Ms. Westrich introduced herself as a resident of the Larkfield area with
children who attend
Regarding the speeding issue, staff recommended
that Ms. Westrich contact the local California Highway Patrol (CHP)
office. The CHP is
responsible for traffic enforcement on all County-maintained
roadways, including
Linda Picton introduced herself as a 3rd
District resident in the
II. Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the June 18, 2008 meeting was approved as presented. The minutes from the May 21, 2008 meeting were approved as presented.
III. Staff Reports
Because Kevin Howze of Transportation and
Public Works was not in attendance, staff said that there was
nothing new to report about the Airport Blvd. bicycle lane striping
issue at Highway 101.
Other than the upcoming submittal of a Safe Routes to Schools grant
application, staff said there was nothing else new to report about
the Bodega Avenue and Watertrough Road bicycle and pedestrian access
issue. Staff also
reported that W-Trans continues to work on finalizing the text for
the Unincorporated Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update and that an
“administrative draft” version of the plan would be ready for the
committee’s review and approval during the July 16 meeting.
Ken Tam reported that Regional Parks recently
completed the Cheney Creek bicycle and pedestrian bridge project in
Bodega Bay, which connects Bird Walk Park to Doran Beach Road.
A dedication ceremony for the bridge, which was partially
funded with Measure M funds, is being planned for July.
The next section of the Bodega Bay Trail to be focused on
will be to the north near the Memorial Bell Tower and Bodega Bay
Community Center. Staff
said that the Transportation and Public Works Department, in
cooperation with Regional Parks, also recently submitted a Bicycle
Facility Program grant through the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District to install new Class II bicycle lane striping and signs
along Occidental Road between State Highway 116 and where the West
County Trail continues north toward Graton near Atascadero Creek.
IV. General Meeting
A.
Review existing and proposed new bicycle and pedestrian projects for
the unincorporated areas in the Measure “M” Strategic Plan.
Staff said that this agenda item was
resurrected after being tabled several months ago.
The issue was originally raised by former committee member
Bob Hasenick
regarding whether or not the
bicycle and pedestrian projects located in the County’s
unincorporated areas were being allocated their fair-share of
Measure “M” funding through the current Strategic Plan.
In order to bring the committee up to speed on the issue,
staff presented the following background information regarding
Measure “M” and the Strategic Plan.
In November 2004, the
voters of Sonoma County passed Measure M, a ¼ cent sales tax to
address transportation needs throughout the County. The Traffic
Relief Act for Sonoma County – Measure “M” Expenditure Plan defines
the overall program. The plan is very specific on how revenue will
be expended. In general, the plan provides funding for seven (7)
program categories as follows:
40% for local street rehabilitation (LSR) and local
street projects (LSP);
40% for Highway 101 widening projects;
10% for improving local bus transit (LBT) service;
5% for the SMART project to develop passenger rail
service;
4% for bicycle and pedestrian projects;
1% for administration.
In June 2005, the SCTA
Board of Directors passed the first Strategic Plan, known as the
2005 Measure M Strategic Plan. In addition to implementing initial
Measure “M” policies, such as audit and reporting requirements, the
2005 Plan defined the project sponsor and the management of the
programmatic components, created basic financial policies and
initial revenue forecasts, and provided a funding schedule for
specific projects between FY 06/07 and FY 10/11.
In order to effectively reflect upon actual revenues and
project progression, the 2005 Strategic Plan set a timetable for
updates of every two years. The 2007 Strategic Plan was the first
update of the Plan and provided a new funding schedule for specific
projects between FY 07/08 and FY 11/12.
Discussions regarding programming for the next update of the
Plan are to begin in January 2009.
The Bike and Pedestrian
Projects program in the Measure “M” Strategic Plan provides an
estimated $19 million (2004 dollars) over 20 years to fund the
construction of new bicycle and pedestrian routes that increase
overall safety, close gaps in existing routes and provide safe
routes to schools and to transit. Bike safety programs focused on
educating the public and, in particular, school children, are also
eligible to receive sales tax funds. In addition to the education
program, the Measure “M” Expenditure Plan lists 15 projects as high
priority needs for the county.
The following specific bike and pedestrian projects were
approved by the voters in Measure “M:”
1.
Santa Rosa Creek Trail
($1,450,000)
2.
Old Redwood Highway/Mendocino
Avenue - Santa Rosa ($500,000)
3.
Central Sonoma Valley Trail
($1,900,000) *
4.
Sonoma-Schellville Trail
($650,000) *
5.
Arnold Drive ($2,000,000) *
6.
Petaluma River Trail
($2,000,000)
7.
Copeland Creek Trail - Rohnert
Park ($350,000)
8.
Street Smart Sebastopol
($2,000,000)
9.
West County Trail/Mirabel Road
($500,000) *
10.
McCray Road - Cloverdale ($250,000) *
11.
Hwy.1/Bodega Bay Trail ($950,000) *
12.
Foss Creek Trail – Healdsburg ($3,250,000)
13.
SMART Rail Trail - Estimated 35% in County ($1,000,000) *
14.
Hwy. 101 Overcrossings - Estimated 10% in County ($1,000,000) *
15.
Unallocated - Countywide Bike Safety & Education ($1,200,000)
Marked by an asterisk,
8 out of the 15 specific bike and pedestrian projects included above
are located in the County’s unincorporated areas.
For the SMART Rail Trail project (# 13), it is estimated that
approximately 35% of the trail might be located in the
unincorporated areas.
And for the Highway 101 Overcrossings project (# 14), it is
estimated that approximately 10% might be located in the
unincorporated areas. A
total of $6,700,000 (2004 dollars) in Measure “M” funding is
provided for the 8 projects located in the unincorporated areas,
which assumes that the County might also receive approximately
$350,000 for the SMART Rail Trail project and $100,000 for the Hwy.
101 Overcrossings project.
This equals 36% of the total Measure “M” funding provided for
bike and pedestrian projects.
While $240,000 of the funding for project # 15 is already
programmed for bike safety and education in the 2007 Strategic Plan,
the remainder can still be programmed toward other bicycle and
pedestrian projects.
Staff distributed a
spreadsheet to the committee that outlines the Measure “M” funding
allocated to specific bike and pedestrian projects in the 2007
Strategic Plan between FY 07/08 and FY 11/12.
A total of $1,183,000 in funding was allocated to the
following projects that are located in the County’s unincorporated
areas: Central Sonoma
Valley Trail ($213,000), Sonoma-Schellville Trail ($100,000), West
County Trail/Mirabel Road ($500,000), and Highway 1/Bodega Bay Trail
($370,000). There was no
Measure “M” funding allocated in the 2007 Measure “M” Strategic Plan
for Arnold Drive, McCray Road, SMART Rail Trail, or Hwy. 101
Overcrossings. The
$1,183,000 in funding allocated to projects located in the
unincorporated areas in the current plan equals about only 20% of
the $6,025,000 total that was allocated for bike and pedestrian
projects through FY 11/12.
With the next update of
the Measure “M” Strategic Plan in 2009, an argument could be made
that the bicycle and pedestrian projects located in the
unincorporated areas should be allocated funding closer to 36% of
the total, or approximately $2,169,000.
This equals an additional $986,000 over what is currently
allocated for County unincorporated bicycle and pedestrian projects
through the 2007 Strategic Plan.
Staff said that this analysis seems to show that the bicycle
and pedestrian projects located in the County’s unincorporated areas
are not being allocated their fair-share of Measure “M” funding
through the 2007 Strategic Plan.
In making the argument that more funding should be allocated
in the next update of the Strategic Plan, staff asked the committee
for feedback regarding which bicycle and pedestrian projects should
be allocated additional funding.
Sherry Adams said that
she would advocate that additional funding should be allocated to
the Arnold Drive project and the Central Sonoma Valley Trail
project. These are both
very important projects to bicyclists and pedestrian in the Sonoma
Valley area. Janice
Eunice said that she would advocate that a portion of the remaining
funding for project # 15 should be programmed toward the
installation of new bicycle parking facilities countywide.
With no further feedback, staff asked the rest of the
committee members to continue reviewing the findings of the analysis
and to be ready to provide additional feedback.
It will also be important to include staff of Transportation
and Public Works and Regional Parks in future discussions since they
will be responsible for implementing the Measure “M” projects.
Staff said that this item would appear on the committee’s
August agenda for further discussion.
B. Consider requests for
letters of support from Transportation and Public Works for Safe
Routes to Schools grant applications.
Staff said that Transportation and Public
Works would be submitting a “non-infrastructure” Safe Routes to
Schools grant application in partnership with Health Services.
The grant will fund the implementation of a Safe Routes to
Schools educational and encouragement program at schools located in
the Bellevue and Roseland school districts in south Santa Rosa.
After some discussion, the committee voted unanimously to
approve a letter of support for the grant.
Also, once again, the committee opted not to approve a letter
of support for the Safe Routes to Schools grant application for the
Burbank Avenue pedestrian pathway until additional information from
Transportation and Public Works was provided about the need for more
funding. The committee asked
staff to contact Kevin Howze to verify whether or not he would be
able to attend the next meeting.
V. Other Business & Announcements
There was no other business or announcements.
VI. Next Meeting & Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m.
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Hearing Impaired (TDD): 707.585.9817
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