| Plans and Programs Committee - April 11, 2006 |
|
AGENDA PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEEMeeting Notice Date: 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 11, 2006 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes of the March 14, 2006, Meeting – ACTION* (attachment 1) 3. Citizens Advisory Committee Report – INFORMATION* (attachment 2) 4. Recommend Allocation of $500,000 in Prop K Funds to the Municipal Transportation Agency for Design of the Revised Trolley Coach Rebuild 60 Artics Project, Subject to the Attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule– ACTION* (attachment 3) Through approval of Resolution 06-03 in July 2005, the Authority allocated $333,107 to the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) for testing and evaluation of a prototype Auxiliary Inverter Unit (AIU) and Battery Charger Unit (BCU) needed to replace poorly performing AIUs and BCUs in MTA's New Flyer articulated trolley coaches. The MTA reports that 15 of out of 60 New Flyer articulated buses are on long term hold due to AIU and BCU failures, and another 12 are out of service on any given day due to other problems such as broken axles and defective brakes. Oerlikon Transtec bought out the original manufacturer and stopped producing the units, but had developed a new and presumably more reliable AIU and BCU prototype that MTA wished to test. Within the last several months, MTA learned that Oerlikon intended to reevaluate the cost of the prototype units and that due to other contracts it had recently been awarded, would not start the production phase until June 2006, with delivery of the prototypes expected in June 2007. Assuming 6 months of testing, the MTA anticipates that it would not see production until mid to late 2008. Thus, the MTA has requested de-obligation of the $333,107 and has submitted a new request for a revised and expanded scope for the project. MTA's new approach would address the AIU and BCU reliability issues by improving the cooling system and installing a new filter system. The resultant cost savings, about $21,000 per vehicle, enables the MTA to add other rehab elements to the scope of work such as replacement of axle housings and rehabilitation of the brake system. The total cost of the new project is $4.5 million, currently proposed to be funded over the next three fiscal years by a combination of Prop K ($3.3 million) and Federal 5307 ($1.2 million) funds. MTA expects to complete the project by June 2009. We are seeking a recommendation to allocate $500,000 in Prop K funds to the MTA for design of the revised Trolley Coach Rebuild 60 Artics project, subject to the attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule. 5. Lifeline Transportation Program and Update on Neighborhood Transportation Planning Studies in the Outer Mission, Tenderloin-Little Saigon Areas and Bernal Heights – INFORMATION* (attachment 4) The Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC's) Lifeline Transportation Program (LTP) has two components: a planning component consisting of various community-based transportation planning efforts and an implementation component. The overall intent of the program is to encourage residents and other stakeholders in low income communities to participate in identifying priorities for transportation improvements and ultimately, to get those improvements implemented. As part of the planning component, MTC is providing Community-Based Transportation Planning grants to the Bay Area congestion management agencies (CMAs). We have incorporated these planning efforts into our larger, Prop K-funded Neighborhood Transportation Planning Program. We are leading two community-based neighborhood transportation plans in the Excelsior/Outer Mission (Mission-Geneva) and in the Tenderloin-Little Saigon neighborhoods, as well as a more limited effort in the Mission South of Chavez area. These plans are intended to identify transportation priorities for low-income neighborhoodsin San Francisco in anticipation of funding opportunities, and to build local transportation planning capacity at the neighborhood level.All three studies include extensive community outreach, includingcontracting with community based organizations to provide outreach services. The Mission-Geneva and Tenderloin-Little Saigon studies recentlycompletedtheirfirst major community workshop to identify transportation needs and priorities; the workshops also identified high priority projects for the Lifeline Transportation Program. The Mission South of Chavez study focuses on reviewing needs and solutions identified in The Mission Street Community Vision with a view to developing conceptual designs and a phasing/funding plan for the most promising options. As CMA for San Francisco , the Authority is also responsible for establishing San Francisco 's project priorities for the LTP for Fiscal Years 2006/07 through FY 2008/09. We have $2,753,000 available for San Francisco projects, including capital and operating projects. Applications are due to the Authority at 5 p.m. on April 28, 2006. At the April Plans and Programs Committee meeting we will provide updates on the three aforementioned planning efforts and information about the LTP call for projects. We are seeking guidance and input from the Committee. This is an information item. 6. Status Report on the Central Subway – INFORMATION* (attachment 5) The Central Subway is the second phase of the Third Street Light Rail project. Over the past six months, work has been progressing on Preliminary Engineering, in parallel with the supplemental environmental work necessitated by changing the alignment from Third St. to Fourth St. in the south-of-Market section, which was adopted as the new Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in June 2005. In late 2005, a new cost estimate was prepared for the new LPA, resulting in costs that exceeded the current budget by approximately $400M. In an attempt to reduce costs, the project team conducted a series of cost reduction/value engineering workshops, resulting in cost reductions of approximately $200M. In parallel, MTA embarked upon an alternatives analysis, to consider a variety of surface and surface-tunnel options that could provide comparable service at a lower cost. Those studies have now been completed and MTA staff is recommending a modified LPA option, which will be presented to the MTA Board on April 18 as an information item. The Authority has allocated $5M in TCRP funds and $11.8M in Prop K funds for Conceptual and Preliminary Engineering of the Central Subway, which is scheduled to be completed in December 2007. Final design is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009 and construction will complete in 2015. This is an information item. 7. Status Report on the Third Street Light Rail Project – INFORMATION* (attachment 6) This is a status report on the Third Street Light Rail Project. The focus of construction activities is on segments A, C, and J, as well as on the Metro East Maintenance Facility (MME). As of February 28, 2006, the project has spent approximately 73.4% of the total budget, including soft costs. As of the end of the reporting period, overall construction was 69% complete. Most segments are complete or nearly complete with the exception of segment A (Fourth St. Bridge), segment C ( Islais Creek Bridge ), and segment J (Station Finishes and Project-wide Systems). In Segment J, the contractor has discovered that some of the conduits installed by the preceding civil contractor are out of tolerance, making it difficult to pull cable through them, The conduits in Segment D (Jerrold to Donner) are our main source of concern and may result in delays to the project. MTA's operator signup and training process is on the critical path and will likely result in delay in the projected December 2006 start of revenue service unless it is decisively addressed by the MTA. Conceptual Engineering for the Southern Terminal has not progressed substantially despite a Prop K allocation of $498,000 in March 2005. The MTA will be providing an updated schedule for completion of the Conceptual Engineering document. This is an information item. 8. Introduction of New Items – INFORMATION 9. Public Comment 10. Adjournment Please Note: that the meeting proceedings can be viewed live at http://www.sfgov.org/sfgtv or that evening at 6:00 pm on Cable Channel 26 in San Francisco, with a repeat on the weekend (either Saturday or Sunday evening). To know the exact cablecast times for weekend viewing, please call SFGTV at (415) 557-4293 on Friday when the cablecast times have been determined. In order to assist the City's efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at all public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals. To obtain a disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, to participate in the meeting, please contact Pooja Jhunjhunwala at 415.522.4800 at least two business days before the meeting. Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements: Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code, Sec. 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the S.F. Ethics Commission at 30 Van Ness Ave., Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94102, telephone (415) 581-2300; or website www.sfgov.org/ethics. |
