Bay Area “Transit Transformation” gets $18 million boost

First commitments spur near-term projects to improve bus, light rail service

County Connection’s routes in Concord’s Monument Corridor will benefit from more reliable service, reduced travel times

By John Goodwin, Assistant Director of Communications and Khristina Wenzinger, Principal, Public Information, Legislation & Public Affairs, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

SAN FRANCISCO – The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) last week approved an $18.3 million allocation to fund eight near-term transit priority projects in Concord, other East Bay cities, San Jose, San Francisco and Redwood City. These investments are the first to be made through the $30 million Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery (BusAID) program established as part of the Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan to implement quick-build solutions designed to improve service at problem ‘hotspot’ locations identified by transit agencies throughout the region.

What Does Transit Transformation Mean?

• Design, adequately invest in and effectively manage a public transit network that is equitable, inclusive, frequent, affordable, accessible and reliable.
• Integrate with unified service, fares, schedules, customer information and identity.
• Serve all Bay Area populations, resulting in increased transit ridership and reduced growth in vehicle miles traveled.

The Action Plan aims to improve the Bay Area’s public transportation network to create a more user-friendly and connected system. It identifies key targets and actions to make this vision a reality.

Approved Projects

Each of the eight approved projects is slated for completion in the next one to three years:

• Monument Corridor Transit Speed Improvements (Concord): This project will transit priority signals along Monument Boulevard between Detroit Avenue and Mohr Lane, and will relocate and reconfigure bus stops to improve efficiency and accessibility. County Connection routes 11, 14, 16, 311, 314, 611, 613, 616 and 619 will benefit from more reliable service and reduced travel times.(See pages 5-2 & 5-3 of the Monument Corridor Community-Based Transportation Final Plan)
• Park Street Transit Signal Priority and Signal Optimization (Alameda): this project will install transit signal priority and optimize signal timing at four intersections along Park Street from Alameda Avenue to Otis Drive, reducing delays for AC Transit routes 20, 21, OX and 663.
• International Boulevard Transit Lane Delineation (Oakland): this project will reduce delays for AC Transit’s Tempo (1T) line, reduce speeding by drivers on non-transit vehicles and improve corridor safety between 14^th Avenue and 42nd Avenue through the installation of vertical treatments to separate the existing bus lanes from general purpose lanes, and by painting the bus lanes red to deter non-transit vehicles from using the bus lanes.
• El Camino Real Bus Boarding Islands & Bus Stop Balancing (Redwood City): To reduce delay for SamTrans routes ECR, 79, 270, 278, 295, 296, 2960 and 397, this project will fund the planning and design of bus boarding islands at stops along El Camino Real between Whipple Avenue and Dumbarton Avenue in Redwood City and unincorporated North Fair Oaks.
• K-Ingleside Rapid Project Ocean Avenue Quick Build (San Francisco): Spanning Ocean Avenue from Junipero Serra Blvd. to Geneva Avenue, this project will increase service reliability and reduce travel times for Muni’s K-Ingleside light rail line by installing longer and wider boarding islands, adding red transit lanes, and implementing signal timing refinements and turn restrictions.
• VTA Frequent Network Cloud-Based Transit Signal Priority (San Jose): This project will install next-generation transit signal priority at 174 intersections along VTA’s Frequent Network in San Jose, reducing delays for numerous bus routes, including 25, 26, 61, 64A, 64B, 70, 71, 72, 73, 77 and 500.
• Vision Zero Senter Road East San Jose Safety Corridor Project (San Jose): This project will reduce delays for VTA routes 70, 72 and 73 by installing bus boarding islands along Senter Road between Story Road and Monterey Road.
• Alvarado-Niles Road Part-Time Transit Lane Pilot (Union City): To reduce congestion-related delays for AC Transit route 97 and Union City Transit routes 1, 3 and 5, this project will install for a two-year pilot period a part-time transit lane along Alvarado-Niles Road from Decoto Road to Almaden Boulevard, providing buses with a dedicated lane during hours with peak traffic congestion.

MTC approved funding for these projects at its regularly scheduled May meeting, after each had been endorsed last month by the multi-agency Regional Network Management Council. Project recommendations were developed based on a two-stage screening process that evaluated potential rider benefits (time savings), equity considerations, and feasibility and readiness. Each project will include pre- and post-implementation evaluation to quantify project benefits. The remaining balance of $12 million in BusAID funding will be used for future funding rounds, when additional projects are identified and ready for implementation.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Caltrans owns and operates the state highway system.

Allen D. Payton contribute to this report.