San Francisco County Transportation Authority
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AGENDA

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Meeting Notice

Date: 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Location: 100 Van Ness Avenue , 26 th Floor

6:00 1. Committee Meeting Call to Order

6:05 2. Adoption of Minutes of the March 22, 2006 Meeting - ACTION * (attachment)

6:07 3. Chair's Report – INFORMATION

6:10 4. Status Report on the Third Street Light Rail Project – INFORMATION* (attachment)

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. In parallel with startup testing and certification, MTA's operator signup, and training processes are on the critical path. MTA has rescheduled the start of revenue service to a window between January 1st to March 1 st , 2007 depending on the outcome of startup testing . Conceptual Engineering Report (CER) for the Southern Terminal has not progressed substantially despite a Prop K allocation of $498,000 in March 2005. The MTA is planning to start the CER on June 1, 2006 and the final CER on August 1, 2007. This is an information item.

5. Status Report on the Central Subway – INFORMATION* (attachment)

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.

6:30 Programming and Legislation

6. Adopt a Motion of Support for Approval of the Fiscal Year 2006/07 Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) Program of Projects for Submission to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) – ACTION* (attachment)

The TFCA Program was established to fund the most effective transportation projects that achieve emission reductions from motor vehicles in accordance with the BAAQMD's Clean Air Plan. Funds are generated from a $4 surcharge on the vehicle registration fee collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles. As the San Francisco TFCA Program Manager, the Authority annually develops the program of projects for the TFCA Local Program Manager funds. In December, we issued the call for Fiscal Year 2006/07 TFCA applications to San Francisco public agencies. We received only 11 project applications by the February 22 deadline and some of the projects had potential eligibility issues. Therefore, we extended the application deadline to March 8 to expand the number of applications with the intent of being able to fully program $1,016,656 in local TFCA funds. We now have 18 applications requesting a total of $1.67 million in TFCA funds. Following the Board's adopted process for developing the TFCA program of projects, we evaluated projects using the BAAQMD's eligibility requirements and cost effectiveness ratio, and our local expenditure criteria. Based on this review, we are recommending funding the 14 projects shown in Attachment 3, including eight bicycle projects, three traffic calming/bicycle projects, two clean air vehicle projects, and one transit signal priority project. As always, the final list of projects and recommended funding amounts are subject to BAAQMD approval. We are seeking a motion of support for approval of the Fiscal Year 2006/07 TFCA Program of Projects for submission to the BAAQMD, as presented.

7. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Appropriation of $90,000 in Prop K funds to for the Streetscape Master Plan, Subject to the Attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule – ACTION (attachment)

Consistent with the Board of Supervisor's recently adopted Better Streets Policy, the Mayor's Director of City Greening and the Planning Department have developed a proposed scope of work for the Citywide Streetscape Master Plan (SMP). The goal of the SMP is to develop a single set of design standards that will guide streetscape design for capital plans and projects led by a variety of city departments such as the Department of Public Works (DPW), the Municipal Transportation Authority (MTA), the Planning Department, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and the Authority. The SMP is also intended to result in strategic recommendations to improve and simplify how streetscape improvements—pedestrian amenities, street furnishings, landscaping, and lighting—are managed and maintained by the city. The $250,000 consultant effort is proposed to be funded with $90,000 in Prop K funds and $80,000 each from DPW and the PUC. In order to expedite the consultant procurement process, the Mayor's Director of City Greening and the Planning Department have requested that the Authority procure the consultant for the SMP on their behalf. The project will be overseen by the Mayor's Director of City Greening, making monthly reports to the Directors' Working Group, which is comprised of heads of city agencies with transportation-related functions, including the Authority. Day-to-day project management will be led by a DPW contract manager, operating under the guidance of the Planning Department. We are seeking a motion of support for the appropriation of $90,000 in Prop K funds for the Streetscape Master Plan, subject to the attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedule.

8. Adopt a Motion of Support for the Amendment of Resolution 05-66 to Revise the Scope to Add Variable Message Signs on 4 th and 5 th Streets in the South of Market Area and Update the Schedule for the Municipal Transportation Agency's 3 rd Street ITMS Project – ACTION* (attachment)

In June 2005, the Authority approved Resolution 05-66, allocating $700,000 to the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) for construction of the 3 rd Street Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) project. The project includes, among other elements, $200,000 for installation of a variable message sign (VMS) on I-280 northbound to provide information to motorists about events and traffic congestion related to the ballpark and special events in the downtown. Field inspections and further discussions with Caltrans revealed that the proposed location is on a steep slope that would require special structural support, causing Caltrans to revise its cost estimate upwards to $500,000, 2.5 times what the MTA had budgeted for this work based on a typical Caltrans VMS installation. Thus, MTA is encouraging Caltrans to pursue funds for the I-280 VMS through its own budget, and in the meantime, has requested a scope change to the 3 rd Street ITMS project to substitute installation of two VMS in the South of Market Area: one facing southbound on 4 th Street near Minna Street and one facing northbound on 5 th Street north of Harrison Street. The VMS would alert travelers of roadway conditions, street closures, detours and other transportation related information. Installation of these signs would also enhance traffic operations in the vicinity of the 5th and Mission garage. The VMS would be connected to the MTA's main Transportation Management Center at 25 Van Ness Avenue using the existing communications network for central control. The proposed scope amendment would not change the overall budget for the project. Concurrent with the proposed scope change, we are recommending update of the schedule and extension of the fund expiration date established by Resolution 05-66. The MTA anticipates starting construction in first quarter of Fiscal Year 2006/07 and completing the project by December 2006. We are seeking a motion of support for the amendment of Resolution 05-66 to revise the scope to add VMS on 4 th and 5 th Streets in the South of Market Area and update the schedule for the MTAs 3 rd Street ITMS Project.

9. Prop K Fiscal Year 2006/07 Annual Allocations – INFORMATION* (attachment) (Applications received)

Each spring the Authority issues an annual call for Prop K projects with the intent of bringing as many of the programmatic and other individual capital project allocations to the Authority Board for approval in June. This allows project sponsors to incorporate the level of Prop K funding in their annual budget processes, and to put into place the staff and other resources necessary to deliver Prop K projects and programs. P roject sponsors that can demonstrate need and project readiness can also receive allocations for individual projects and programs during the year. We are presenting 16 applications requesting over $34.3 million in Prop K funds to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for information this month. This represents significantly fewer applications than we have received in the past and appears to be partially attributable to staffing changes at the MTA and the fact that MTA staff is focusing their efforts on completing projects funded in Fiscal Year 2005/06. Thus, we do not yet have, but anticipate receiving within the next few months, applications for programs such as bicycle circulation/safety, pedestrian circulation/safety, and traffic calming. The other key grouping of annual requests that we have not received are part of Caltrain's capital improvement program. These applications are expected in mid to late summer, corresponding to the Caltrain annual budget process. At the April CAC meeting, we will highlight any issues or policy choices that we foresee, as well as project delivery successes, as appropriate. We have invited project sponsors to attend the meeting to answer any questions that the CAC may have. We are continuing to work with sponsors to evaluate and revise applications and review project delivery track records for prior year allocations, and expect to bring these 16 applications to the CAC for approval in May. We are seeking guidance and input from the CAC. This is an information item.

10. Update on the 2006 State and Federal Legislative Programs – INFORMATION/ACTION* (attachment)

7:50 11.Public Comment

8:00 12. Adjournment

* Materials Attached

Next Regular Meeting: May 24, 2006

CAC MEMBERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND SHOULD CONTACT POOJA JHUNJHUNWALA AT 522-4831

This meeting location is wheelchair accessible. In order to allow individuals with environmental illness or multiple-chemical sensitivity to attend the meeting, individuals are requested to refrain from wearing perfume or other scented products. All times shown are for information only. Items will be called at the discretion of the Chair.

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