telegraph avenue, city report

8/10/2019 Telegraph Avenue, City Report

1/21

F i U D

W P I C E or TH ECi l 1 C i t n

O A K L A N D

NOV

20 PHI2:17 .

GEND REPORT

CITY

O F O A K LA N D

T O :

H E N R Y L . G A R D N E R F R O M : Brooke

A .

Levin

I N T E R I M

C I T Y

A D M I N I S T R A T O R

S U B J E C T : Telegraph Avenue Complete

Streets D A T E :

November 7, 2014

Plan

COUNCIL

DISTRICT:

i , 3

RE COM M E NDAT ION

Staff

recommendsthatthe

City Council

adopta resolution authorizing the removal

of

travel

lanes and the installation of

bicycle

lanes on Telegraph Avenue

from19

Street

to

41*'Street,

making

associated

traffic

safety and operational improvements, and committing to future study

of

a continuous bikeway

for

the

areafrom41*'

Street

to

57

Street.

OU TC OM E

Adoption

of

this resolutionwi l l

allow

the

City

to implementbikeways,pedestrian, autornobile,

and transit supportive improvements on Telegraph Avenue

from

19'

Street

to

41*'

Street

by

reconfiguring

travel lanes. The project

w i ll

result in an approximately

13%

reduction

in

the total

number of

on-street

parking

spaces

on Telegraph\A.venue between 19'

Street

and

41*'

Street

(up

to approximately 40

spaces

out of

300,

or less than

space

per block face on average). Project

implementation

w i ll

begin in

conjunctionwith

the paving of Telegraph

Avenue

from

16

Street

to

27

Street,

scheduled for spring of

2015.Committing

to future study of

a

continuous bikeway

between41*'

Street

and 57

Street

w i llallow sufficient timeforthe Phase I improvements to

inform

the designforthatsection of TelegraphAvenue,recognizingthatwhat works

w ell

south

of41*'

Street

may not necessarily be the most appropriate design elsewhere inthe corridor.

EXEC U TIVE

SUM M ARY

Oaklandreceived a

grantfrom

the

Alameda

County Transportation

Commission

in 2013 to study

completestreet improvements to the Telegraph Avenue corridor (20 ^

Street

to 57

Street)

to

make thestreetsafer and more comfortable foral lmodes oftravel. The resulting Telegraph

Item:

PublicWorks Committee

December 2, 2014


2/21

Henry

L .Gardner, Interim

Ci ty

Administrator

Subject. Telegraph

Avenue

CompleteStreetsPlan

Date November 7, 2014 Page 2

AvenueComplete StreetPlanused extensive community outreach as

w ell

as technical analysis to

identifysite-specificandcorridor-wideimprovements.

ThePlanrecommends phased implementation due tofundingconstraints and the need for further

community

outreach to achieve consensus in some

parts

of

the

corridor.

The Phase 1

recommendations include thefollowingnear-term action items:

Remove travel lane on TelegraphAvenuein each direction between19 Street and41*'

Street toallow

for

theinstallationof

bicycle

and pedestrian safety improvements.

Re-designate TelegraphAvenuefromBroadwayto40 Street as a M i n o r Arterial

(currently PrincipalArterial )aspartofthe next scheduledstreetre-classification,to

betterreflect its character as a neighborhood-servingcommercialstreet.

Install parking-protected

bicycle

lanes (also

known

as

cycle

tracks ) between20 'Street

and 29' Street, using low-cost and interim materials (e.g., paint,striping,colored

pavement,flexposts).

Install buffered

bicycle

lanes between29 Street and41*'Street, using low-cost and

interimmaterials (e.g., paint, striping,coloredpavement,flexposts).

Install pedestrian improvements (e.g., median refuge islands, ladder

crosswalks,

curb

extensions) using low-cost, interim materials.

Reconfigureon-streetparking,parking meters, andloadingzones as needed to implement

the proposed design, include potential designationo ftime-of-dayloadingzones.U pto

approximately

13%

oftheon-streetparking

spaces

(40 out of 300)w i llbe removed. '

Relocate and consolidate bus

stops

to far-side locations at 24 ' Street, 27' Street, 30

Street, 34 ' Street, M acArthur Boulevardand40 Street to improveefficiency ofbus

transit operations.

Construct permanent transit boarding islands at transit

stops

at 24 ' Street, 27 ' Street, 30 '

Street, 34 ' Street,MacArthur

Boulevard

and 40 ' Street asfundingisavailable.Boarding

islanddesign should be

flexible

to accommodate either protected bike lanes or buffered

bike

lanes.

Prohibiton-streetparking between 55 ' Street andA ileenStreet underSR24to connect

existingTelegraphAvenuebicyclelanes to 55 ' Street and ShattuckAvenuebicycle

routes.

Evaluate the effectiveness of Phase improvements toallowthe Cityto seekfundingfor

future capital improvements on Telegraph

Avenue

from20' Street to 57 ' Street (e.g.,

curb relocations, storm water managementtreatments).

Item:

Public

WorksCommittee

December 2, 2014


3/21

Henry L .Gardner, Interim Ci tyAdministrator

Subject: Telegraph Avenue CompleteStreetsPlan

Date: November 7,2014 Page 3

Seek

funding

for more focused design studies and community outreach on how

best

to

reconfigure thestreetbetween

41*' Street

and 55th

Street

to become a completestreet,

including

reconfiguration

of

the Telegraph Avenue/Shattuck Avenue intersection.

AttachmentAsummarizes the recommendations along the study corridor. Attachment B shows

the existing configuration of Telegraph

Avenue, -while

Attachment C illustrates a

buffered

bike

lane (proposed

from29 ^ Street

to

41*'Street)

and Attachment D illustrates a parking-protected

bike

lane or

cycle

track (proposed

from

20 '

Street

to 29' Street).

The Oakland

Bicycle

and Pedestrian

AdvisoryCommission

unanimously adoptedthese

recommendations at its October 16, 2014 meeting.

Staff

recommends a measured approach to

these

changes

to

allow

for evaluation. Subsequent project

phaseswi l lprimarily

focus on using

the results

of

the Phase

1

evaluation to

seek

capital

funding

to implement

permanent

improvements (e.g., curb re-alignment,

traffic

signal

upgrades)

throughout the entirety

of

the

study corridor (20 '

Street

to 57 ' Street).

BACKGROUND/LE GISLAT IVE

HISTORY

Telegraph Avenue

serves

an important transportation

function

for

all

modes, and includes

several neighborhood commercial districts. The

Land

Use and Transportation Element

of

the

Oakland

General Plan

( L U T E )states

the importance of Telegraph Avenue

within

Oakland:

Telegraph Avenue is a designated

K ey Corridor

envisioned

for

pedestrian-focused

commercial

activity,

and connects two Transit-Oriented

Districts

(19'

StreetB A R T

and

MacArthurB A R T )

as

w ell

as several Neighborhood

A ctivity

Centers (e.g., Temescal,

Pi l l Hill) .

The Oakland Pedestrian Master

Plan,

part

ofthe L U T E ,identifies TelegraphAvenueas a

City

Route , the highest designation

in

the

Plan.

The Pedestrian Master

Plan

was

adopted in 2002.

The Oakland

Bicycle

Master

Plan,

partof

the

L U T E ,

includes Telegraph Avenue

within

the ProposedBikewayNetwork as a designated primary bikeway andpriorityproject.

The plan wasoriginallyadopted in 1999, comprehensively updated in 2007, and

reaffirmed byCity Councilin 2012.

The project

w i ll

improve pedestrian access, add

bicycle

facilities,and

enhance

the quality

of

the

existing

commercial districts, and is

thus

consistent

with

the General Plan designations and

policy.

The project

would

also implement the

City's

Complete

Streetspolicy

direction as

codified

in

the

OaklandM unicipal

Code Chapter,12.02 (Complete

Streets

Design Standards) and elaborated in

CityCouncil

Resolution 84204

C . M . S

(Complete

StreetsP olicy for

the

City

of

Oakland):

Item:

Public

Works Committee

December 2, 2014


4/21

Henry L .Gardner, Interim C i t yAdministrator

Subject. TelegraphAvenueComplete

StreetsPlan

Date: November 7, 2014 ; Page 4

The City of Oakland will plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain ap propriate

facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users of all abilities, children, the elderly,

and

people with disabilitiesas aroutine comp onent o f new construction, reconstruction,

retrofit, and maintenance prefects...

Com plete Streets infrastructure sufficient to enable reasonably safe travel along and

across the right of way for each category of users will be incorporated into all planning,

funding, design, approval,andimplemen tation processes for any con struction,

reconstruction, retrofit, m aintenance, operations, alteration, qr repair o f streets...

The City of Oa kland will incorporate Com plete Streets infrastructure into existing streets

to improve the safetyandconvenience of all

users

with

tl^e

particular goal of creatinga

connected network offacilities accomm odating each category of users...

The City's BicycleMasterPlan P olicy 3Crequires City Councilapproval

of

projectsthatremove

travellanesfo rtheinstallation

of

bikeways.The proposed project

w i ll

reduce the number of

through travel lanes on TelegraphAvenuein each direction

from

two to one

from

19 ' Street to

41*'Street. The centerleft-turnlane

w i ll

be retained, and right-turn lanes

wi l l

be added at select

locations. ,

A N A L Y S I S

Purpose and Need

Inits currentstate.TelegraphAvenuehas safety challenges fora llusers.Issuesinclude speeding,

alack of space for bicyclists,inadequately-sized bus stops, difficultpedestrian crossings, and

associatedpublicsafety concerns.B icyclistvolumes have tripledinthepast15 years to over

1,200

daily

cyclists

and the resurgence

of

new businesses

in

both Temescal and

Koreatown-

Northgate ( K O N O )has resulted in more pedestrians walkingalong and across Telegraph

Avenue.

A t

thesametime,

traffic

volumes have declined by over 15 percent

in

the

past

decade.

Excess

vehicle capacity isknownto contribute to speeding on the

corridor.

A CTransit serves

Telegraph

Avenue

24-hours a day through the 1, IR and 800(A U-N ighter) lines.Buses arrive

every 5-7 minutes in each direction during peak periods.

The Telegraph

Avenue

Complete Street Planrecommendations reflect the increasingly

multimodalcharacter ofthe

street

w iththe goals to: improve the safety andaccessibilityofall

modes; make the

street

more comfortable and enjoyablefor walking, bicyclingand transit users;

and balance theneedsand convenience ofal lusers. The project considers notonlythrough-travel

but also access to the businesses, residences,restaurants,and gatheringspaces

that

make

Telegraph

Avenue

a

great

destination.

Description of Recommended Project

The projectaddressesexistingoperational and safety challenges throughtreatmentsthatimprove

clarityand increase separation between various types ofroadway users. Table 1summarizes each

Item:

Public

WorksCommittee

December 2, 2014


5/21

Henry L .Gardner, Interim C i t yAdministrator


Date. November 7, 2014 Page 5

proposed projectelement,and

describes

how it

directly

addressesone or

more

existingissues.

Notethat

several

of the proposedelementsarenecessarytooffsetthe

impact

of the

lane

reductionon bustransitdelayandmaintain

adequate

busoperationson thecorridor.

i

Table

1.

Telegraph

Avenue

Phase

1

Project

Elements

(19

Street

- 41*'

Street

Project Element

Description

OperationalandSafety

Impacts

Reduce through

travellanes

Reduce through travel lanes

fromtwo lanes to one lane

per direction

Improve pedestrian crossing safety

Motor

vehicle speeding encouraged by

excess roadway capacity-

Motor

vehicle weaving encouraged by

excess roadway capacity

Potential to increase transit delay

Dedicated bicycle

facilities

Provide

pontinuous bicycle

facilities

(i.e., buffered bike

lanes or protected lane)

Eliminate existingshared-lane

Encourage

cyclists

to ride outside door

zone

Right-turnlanes

A ddright-turn lanes at high-

volume intersections

Improvetrafficflowand reduce bus transit

delay

Reduce right-hook collisionsbetween

turning vehicles and cyclists

Providefrequent

crosswalks

Provide

consistent and

frequent crosswalk spacing

(300-400

feet)

Encouragepedestriansto cross at marked

crosswalks

Reduce pedestrian out-of-direction travel

Pedestrian crossing

enhancements

A ddcrossing islands and/or

bulbouts where feasible

Reduce pedestrian crossing distance

Increase

visibility

ofpedestrians

Relocated

bus

stops

Relocate bus

stops

to match

pedestrian crossing locations

Provide

safe

crossing opportunities atall

bus

stops

Reduce bus transit delay with optimized

stoplocations

Bus

boarding

islands

Install transit boarding

islands, with

separate

bicycle

facilities

Eliminate bus-bike weaving at bus

stops

Reduce bus transit delay

Allowarticulatedbusesto easily enter/exit

stops

compared to curbside

stops

Phase

1

Implementation

Phase1implementation

w i l l

primarily use low-cost

materials

to

realize

short-termoperational

andsafetybenefits.These

materials

may includeroadway

striping,

coloredand/or textured

pavementtreatments,and/or

flex-post

delineators.

No

curb realignment

or

permanent

construction

w i lloccur

as

part

ofPhase to allowmaximumflexibility forfutureimprovements

of

Telegraph

Avenuein the futureasfundingbecomesavailableand as Public

Worksmeasures

the successofthesechanges.

Item:

PublicWorksCommittee

December2, 2014


6/21



Date- November 7, 2014 Page 6

In

addition to the interim constructionmethodsdescribed above,

permanent

transit boarding

islands should be constructed at the earliest opportunity. There is no acceptable interim design

solutionfor

boarding islands due to the need for wheelchair loading/unloading. However,

boarding islands are an important component ofimprovingcorridor safetyforboth transit and

bicyclists.

No

funding

has been

identified

as available

for

the construction

of

boarding islands.

Phase1Evaluation

Phase

1 wi l l

be evaluated

for

two related purposes.

First,

the operations

of

the parking protected

bike

lane and

buffered

bike lane

wil l

be evaluated in order to recommend

permanent

design

changes

on Telegraph Avenue

from

19'

Street

to

41^'Street.

Second, Phase

1 wi l l inform

the

discussion offeasibleand desirable design options

for

the section of Telegraph Avenue

from 41^'

Street

to 55 '

Street,

while recognizingthatwhat works

well

south of

41^'Street

may not

necessarily be the most appropriate design elsewhere

in

the corridor.

Evaluationw i ll

include

observations of operations and safety for

all

modes (e.g., pedestrian,bicycle,public transit and

automobile), as

well

as inputfromthe community (e.g., surveys, meetings

with

neighborhood

associations and business groups).

Future

permanent

improvements

following

evaluation andidentificationof funding could include

pedestrian bulb-outs, raised crossing islands, raised bike lanes, and/or stormwater

management

infrastructure.

Assessment

of

Recommended Phase

1

Project

Traffic Analysis

Motor

vehicle,

pedestrian and

bicycle

volumes were collected at key intersections

in

the corridor

in

October 2013, and supplemented withpreviously reported data. It isCityof

Oaklandpolicy

thatTelegraph Avenue should perform at

L evel

of Service

(LOS)

E or

better.L O Smeasures

motorist delay and

designates

the

level

of

service

of

afacility

with a letter, A to

F,

with A

representing the most free

flowing

operating conditions;

L OS

A is not necessarily the ideal

condition

as it can indicatethatan intersection is overbuilt and higher

speeds

often result. It also

focuses on

individual

intersections

rather

than the corridor as a whole.

Peak hour

L O S

at signalized intersection were evaluated using the 2010

Highway

Capacity

Manual

( H C M )

methodology. Under existing conditions, motorists currently experience

low

to

moderate

delay throughout the corridor.

A l l

signalized intersections perform at

L OS

C or

better

during the

A M

and

P M

peak hour,withthe exceptions

of

Telegraph Avenue and

51 stStreet,

and

Telegraph Avenue and 52 ''

Street,

whichoperateat

L OS

D in the

P M

peak hour.

L O S

was also analyzed to reflect the proposed lane reduction between

19 Street

and

41^'Street.

A l lsignalized intersections continue tooperateat

L OS

C orbetterwiththe proposed project,

suggestingthatTelegraph Avenue

would

operate

w ell

below capacity with proposed changes.

Item:


December 2, 2014


7/21

Henry L .

Gardner, Interim

Ci ty

Administrator

Subject: Telegraph Avenue Complete

Streets

Plan


Notethat

L OS

only

measures

how

well

afacilityoperates

from

the standpoint of automobile

drivers, and

does

not generally reflect the perspective

ofbicyclists,

pedestrians,and/or transit

riders. As such, a

decrease

in

L OS

is often appropriate in order to achieveothergoals, including

improvedroadway safety.

On-Street Parking

The proposed project for the removaloftravellanesand the installation of

bicycle

laneson

Telegraph Avenue

from

19 '

Street

to 41

Street

retains

on-street

parking on both sides of

Telegraph Avenue for the

entire

corridor as

partof

the

typical

cross-section. However,somenet

loss in the total number

of

parking

spaces

directly on Telegraph Avenue is expected for

three

primary,

reasons:

Removal

adjacent

to intersections and high-volume driveways topreservesight lines

between

bicyclists

and turning motorists.

Addition

ofright-turn

lanes

at key intersections (expected to include GrandAvenue,27 '

Street,

MacArthurBoulevardand 40 ' Street).

Relocating and extending bus

stops

to allow

safe

and efficient transit operations (many

current bus

stops

are too

short

to

effectively

accommodate articulated

buses).

Withfew exceptions, the parkingspacesthatwould be removed aremetered spaces.In total,

City

staff conservatively

estimates

up to 40 total parking

spaces

could be removed

from

19 '

Street

to

4 l Street,or

just under

1space

per blockface.Opportunities to relocate parking

meters

to side

streetsor unused curb

space

along Telegraph (e.g., closed driveways)

wi l l

be closely explored as

partof

project implementation, and

wi l l likelyreduce

the actual loss of

metered

and

unmetered

parkingspaces.

N o substantialbusinessimpacts

from

the parking reduction are expected for tworeasonsas

existing parking on Telegraph Avenue between 19'

Street

and 41

Street

is not

fully

utilized.A

recent

survey on parking

utilization

during the weekend

p.m.

peakperiod showed a corridor

average

parking

utilization

of

48percent

(i.e., 52

percentofmeteredspaces

were unoccupied),

with

little variation along the corridor as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Summary ofParkingU tilizat ion(Weekday, 4:30 p.m.)

Location

Total Metered

Spaces

Occupied Spaces Meter Ut i l i z a t ion

20' Street

- 27'

Street

86

41

47.7%

27'

Street

- 34'

Street

84 42 50.0%

34'

Street

- 40'

Street

59 27 45.8%

Total 229 110

48.0

Similarly,an analysis

of

parking

meter

revenue

datafrom

August and September 2014 showthat

the

average meter

on the corridor is occupied by a paying customer fewer than 2.5hoursper day.

Item:

Public

Works Committee

December 2, 2014


8/21

Henry L .

Gardner, Interim

Ci ty

Administrator-

Subject' Telegraph Avenue CompleteStreetsPlan

Date- November 7, 2014 Page 8

withnoindividualblock averaging more than

5

hours per day.' Thus, sufficient parking is

expected to remain for existing customers evenwiththe reduction, and revenue impacts to the

City

would

beminimal.In addition, the proposed

changes

are evenly distributed along the

corridor so

that

no single

area

w i llbe overly burdened.

Finally,

the recommendations include removal of

on-street

parking under

SR24 from

55'

Street

to

A ileenStreet

to connect the existing

bicycle

lanes north of

AileenStreet

to the 55'

Street

and

Shattuck Avenue

bicycle

routes. The existing parking under SR24 is unmetered and not heavily

used.

Field

observations showthatthe supply

of

parking on 56 '

Street

between Telegraph

Avenue and Carberry Avenue is sufficient to accommodate the displaced demand

within

the

immediate

vicinity.

On-Street Loading

and

Deliveries.

Many

delivery trucks along Telegraph Avenue currently double-park in the travel lane, while

several

of

the existing loading zones are under-used.

A spart

of implementation,

staffw i ll

work

closely

with

localbusinesses

to

identify

appropriate locations for loading zones,

including

the

potential use

of

time-of-day loading zones to

allow

deliveries early

in

the day but provide

parking later in the day and on weekends when demand is higher.

Ensuringthatdeliveries on Telegraph Avenue can occur without double-parking is particularly

important ifthestreetis reduced to only one through lane. If double-parking continues to occur

after implementation

of

the parking protected bike lane, it

wil lblock

the sole remaining travel

lanewithpotentially significant affects on transit and traffic operations.

Pedestrian Safetv

The proposed project

w i ll

provide substantial pedestrian safety benefits in several ways. Most

importantly, the reduction

of

travel lanes

from

2 to

1

in each direction

w i ll

eliminate what is

knownas the multiplethreatcrash

risk .

This risk occurs when a motorist in the outside lane

stops

for a crossing pedestrian and -

in

the process - visually

screens

the pedestrian

from

the

view

of motorists in the left lane (and vice versa). This situation is a contributing factor to many

pedestrian/vehicle

crashes

at uncontrolled intersections.

Specific

crossing improvements

wi l l

accompany the lane reduction. The

average

distance

between marked crosswalks

wil l

be reduced

from

over 400

feet

to approximately 300

feet,

and

longgaps

between crosswalks

wil l

be eliminated.

Also,high-visibility

ladder style crosswalks,

refuge islands, and curb bulbouts (using low-cost interim materials)

wi l l

be implemented as

appropriate.

'

Analysis

datesreflect mstallation ofnew

smart-meters

in summer of 2014

Item:

Public

Works Committee

December 2, 2014


9/21

Henry

L .Gardner, Interim

Ci ty

Administrator

Subject: Telegraph

Avenue

CompleteStreetsPlan

Date: November 7,2014, Page 9

Transit

Operations

The project recommendations incorporate several transit operating improvements intended to

offset potential delays

from

the lane reduction. Stop relocation

from

near-side (i.e., before a

trafficsignal) to far-side (i.e., after atrafficsignal)

w i ll

benefit bus operations by removingbuses

from

conflictswithright-turningtrafficand byallowingbetteruse ofexistingtransit signal

priority

equipment (i.e., technology to improvetrafficsignal

timingfor

buses).

The recommendations also includeprovisionoftransit boarding islands at far-side stops. The

islandswouldeliminate the current situation wherebusesaccessing the curb must weave

with

through-cyclists,

by

allowing

cycliststopassbetween the island and the

sidewalk.

The islands

wouldprovide

sufficient

space forbusesto exit the travel way whenpickinguppassengersso

that

buseswouldnotblocktrafficwhile dwellingat transit stops.

In

addition,

the pedestrian safety benefitsofthe projectwi l limprove the safety of both B A R T

and

A C

Transit

passengers

before and after their transit trips.

B A R Thas submitted a comment letter strongly supporting the proposed improvements fortheir

benefits to transit access.

A C

Transitstafftodatehave expressedthatthe proposed lane

reduction

could

negatively impact bus operations unless accompanied by a bus-only lane,

.although

A C

Transit

does

support the proposed bus stop relocations.

BicvcleFacilities

Telegraph Avenue is one

of

the busiest

bicycle

routesinOaklanddue to the direct and flat

connection it provides to many destinations. The proposed project

w i ll

implement a combination

of

buffered bike lanes and parking-protected bike lanes (i.e., bike lane located between parked

cars and the curb) to improve

cyclist

safety and

comfort.

Parking-protected bike lanes (also

knownas

cycle

tracks and depicted

in

Attachment

D )

are proposed

from

approximately 20 '

Street to

29 ^

Street to occur inconjunctionwiththe scheduled re-paving of

16 '

Street to 27 '

Street.Bufferedbike lanes are proposedfromapproximately29 ' Street to41^'Street through

striping

changes. Thesefacilitieswi l l

allow

cycliststo ride safely awayfromcar doors, and will

no longer requirecycliststosharea lane

with

through vehicles.

The parking-protected bike lanes wil lbe Oakland's first suchfacility,serving as a demonstration

projectfortheinstallationofmoreprotected bike lanes on otherstreetsand on othersegmentsof

TelegraphAvenue.Parking-protected bike lanes have beensuccessfullyimplemented

in

many

cities,

including

SanFrancisco;Seattle;L ongBeach;A ustin,Texas; andMissoula,Montana.

Phase

2

Options

TelegraphAvenuenorth of41^'Street is more constrained due to highertrafficvolumes

(particularly

at51^'Street and ClaremontAvenue)and much higher demand foron-street

parking,yet the desire for saferbicycle facilitiesand pedestrian safety improvements remains.

Giventheseunique constraints,staffrecommends additional

focused

technical study and close

Item:


December 2, 2014


10/21

Henry

L .Gardner, Interim

Ci ty

Administrator

Subject- Telegraph Avenue CompleteStreetsPlan

Date: November 7, 2014

Page 10

workwith

the community to

identify,

based on lessons learned

from

Phase I and additional input,

on

how a continuous bikeway could be designed and developed so the entire corridor could

ultimately become a

fully

completestreet.

Staffw i llseekfundingwith

the goal

of

conducting

this study in Temescal in

parallelwith

the Phase

implementation.

Table

3 summarizes several potential options for accommodating continuous

bicycle

facilities

in

Temescalthatshould be studied in further

detail.

Each

of

theseoptions could be implemented in

allor a portion

of

the

41 'Street

to 55 '

Street segments,

as appropriate.

Table 3.

SummaryofPotential TemescalDesign

Options

DesignOption

Summary Operational and Safety

Impacts

Remove travel lane in

both directions

Eliminateone travel lane in either

direction,consistent with

recommendations for 19'

Street

to 4 r'

Street

M ay

increase congestion,

particularly

near

51

Street

and

Claremont Avenue

M ay

negatively impact transit

travel times

Remove

travel

lanein

one

direction

Eliminateone traveLlane in one

direction

only

(likely

southbound).to

maintain capacity in most congested

direction.

Unknown impacts to

traffic

operations

M ay

result in geometrically

difficulttransitions

Removeparking

Eliminateon-streetparking on one or

both sidesofTelegraph Avenue

M ay

negatively impact nearby

businesses

unless replacement

parking can beidentified

nearby

Remove

centerturn

lane

Eliminatethe center-turn lane at some or

al l

intersections (similar to Telegraph

Avenue

between 57'

Street

and 66'

Street)

Reduces opportunities for

pedestrian crossing islands

M ay

require left-turn

restrictions

Combined

bus/bike

lane

Eliminateone travel lane in either

direction,andcreatea shared lane for

the exclusive use ofbusesand

bicyclists.

Enforcement may be

challenging

Requiresbusesand bicyclists

tosharelane

In addition to

identifying

a design for continuous bikeways, the intersection of Telegraph

Avenue/Shattuck Avenue/45 '

Street

requires further analysis. The general recommendation to

close Shattuck Avenue between

45 Street

and 46 *

Street

to increase safety and

legibility

for all

users

has strong support. However, several detailed questions remain:

Howwould

the resulting

space

be

used?

Is this an appropriate location for a pedestrian

plaza? What

elementswould

a plaza

include,

and who would maintain them? What are

the potential re-use/re-development opportunities

of

the former Kasper's hot dog

building?

Item:


December 2, 2014


11/21


Subject- Telegraph Avenue Complete

StreetsPlan

Date: November 7, 2014 Page 11

Howwouldwebestto accommodate motorvehiclemovements between Shattuck

Avenueand Telegraph Avenue?

How

can

bicycle

movements

from

northbound TelegraphAvenueonto northbound

Shattuck

Avenue

be safely accommodated?

PUBLIC

OUTREACH/INTEREST

The TelegraphAvenueCompleteStreetsPlanused an extensive outreach processincluding

surveys, stakeholder interviews, andpublicmeetings tocreatea designthataddressesthe

identifiedproblems and balances allcommunityneeds.

Staff

sought input atthreekey points

withinthe project development process: concept development; evaluation of alternatives; and

draft recommendations. Inaddition,materials were distributed

v ia

the project webpage

(www.oaklandnet.com/TelegraphAvenue) and anemaildistributionlist withover 800 recipients.

Staff

also participated in over 40 stakeholder meetingswithlocaladvocates, neighborhood

associations, business districts, transit operators, and

others

as

part

o f

project development.

Staff

used an online survey and interviewswithkey constituents (e.g., business groups, advocacy

organizations) to

inform

the development of design alternativesthataddressed communityneeds

and concerns. The survey was completed by over 1,100 participants, the

majority

ofwhomwere

residents alongcorridor.Resultsofthe survey and stakeholder interviews revealed strong

supportfor

bicycle

and pedestrian improvements on TelegraphAvenue,even among current

drivers.

TheOaklandPublic

Works,

TransportationPlanningandFunding

D ivision

heldpublicopen

hocuses inApri land

M ay

of 2014 tosolicitinput on several design alternativesforthe corridor.

These design alternatives identifiedoptions to improve

bicycle

and pedestrian safety,

including

potential removal

of

travel

lanes, reduction of

on-street

parking

and other changes to the

street.

The open

houses

were advertised throughfliers,directmailingsand other means, and were

attended by over 200 people (with an additional 45 people

providing

comments

via

an online

form).

Over 90 percent of

attendees

supported removal

oftravel

lanes between 19 ' Street and

41 'Street, and a

majorityof

respondentsexpressed interest

in

parking-protectedbike,lanes.

Based

on,earlierpublicfeedback asw ellas technical considerations,

staff

developed a detailed

set ofD R A F TRecommendationsforTelegraphAvenue, whichwere presented atpublic

hearings in September 2014. Thepublichearings were advertised through

fliers,

direct mailings

and other means, and were attended by over 150 people (with an additional 110providing

comments viaon onlineform).The response to the D R A F TRecommendations

fell

intothree

primary

categories:

Support for removal oftravellanes between 19 ' Street and41*'Street - Over 90

percent support

from

meetingattendeesand

respondents

to the online comment

form

(see

Table4). The mail-back

form

to afliermailed toaddresseswithin400 feeto fthe corridor

1 showed 64 percent support

for

the removaloftravellanes.

Item:

Public

Works

Committee

December 2, 2014


12/21


Subject. TelegraphAvenueComplete

StreetsPlan


Table 4.

Support

for

Removal

of Travel Lane (19'

Street

- 4l

Street)

Source

Support

Do NOT

Total

Support

Open

Houses 212

6

218

Mail-back Form 37 21 59

Interestin demonstrating parking-protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue - Over

50 percent of

respondents

(118 out of 218) urged the Cityto revise the recommendations

to include a demonstration ofparking-protected bike lanes on Telegraph

Avenue,

with

fewer than 10 percent opposed to parking-protected bike lanes (16 out of218).The

remainder expressed desirefor bicycle facilitiesgenerally but no preference on the

specifictype of

facility.

N o

consensus for design recommendations between

41*'

Street and 55th Street -

Respondents preferred continuous

bicycle facilitiesrather

than shared-lane markings ,

but were split between

those

favoringremovaloftravellanes

(with

potential transit travel

time impacts) and

those

favoring

on-street

parkingremoval

(with

potential business

impacts), as shown in Table 5. The Phase

Recommendations reflect each

ofthese

feedback components by recommending a near-term focus on the area south of41*'

Street,

with

the results of the Phase implementation used to evaluate future

recommendations between41*'Street and 55th Street.

Table 5. Design

Preferences

for 41*'Streetto 55 'Street*

Shared-Lane Bikelanes, remove Bikelanes, remove

Total

Markings

travel

lane

on-street

parking

22 32

38

92

*Most

respondents

did

not indicate

a

specificdesign preference

Informational

reports were also provided to theOakland AccessComplianceandAdvisory

Committee and

B icycle

and PedestrianAdvisoryCommittee (twoinformationalreports each).

Project recommendations were unanimously adopted by the

Bicycle

and Pedestrian

Advisory

Commission

at their October 2014 meeting, and

form

the basis

for

the Phase 1

Recommendations included inthis report.

COORDINATION

ThePublicWorksDepartment is responsibleforplanning,designing,funding,implementing,

and maintainingstreetcapital projects.W ithinPublic

Works,

the Bureau ofEngineeringand

Constructionhas led project development todate,and has coordinatedwiththe Bureau of

Infrastructure and Operations and Bureau of

Facilities

and Environment as needed. The Finance

Department was consulted regarding potential parking meter relocation andremoval.The

Item:


December 2, 2014


13/21



Streets

Plan

Date: November 7, 2014 Page 13

PlanningandB uildingDepartment was consulted for the filing

of

the environmentaldocuments

describedunder

C E Q A

below. In addition, theOffice

of

the CityAttorney and the City's

Controller's Bureau reviewed thisreportand resolution.

COSTSUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS

The Telegraph AvenuePhase 1Recommendations wil lbe constructed in conjunction with the

paving of Telegraph Avenueasspartofacitywidepaving projectthatis funded by the Alameda

CountyVehicleRegistration Fee (2215);Streetsand Structures Organization (92242);

Street

Construction Account (57411); Project

N o.

(C458810).

FISCAL/POLICY ALIGNM ENT

The Telegraph Avenue recommendations for

bicycle facilities

align with the policies

of

the

Bicycle

MasterPlan,which identifies Telegraph Avenue bikelanes(Class II) as a priority

project.

Bicycle

Master Plan

P olicy

IB calls for the implementation of bikeway projects in

conjunction with paving projects. This coordination is an efficient use

ofpublic

funds and an

effective

means

for implementing proposed bikeways. By coordinating the reconfiguration of

travellaneswith roadway resurfacing, the Telegraph AvenuePhase

1

Recommendations

implement this

policy

direction.

A s

discussed above, the project has the potential to remove up to 40 parking

meters,

which could

reduce

parking

meter

revenue. The

average

parking

meter

on Telegraph Avenue

within

the

project corridor

generates

approximately $1,200 annually, with

revenues

varying

widely

block

by blockfromapproximately $300 to $3,000 permeter.' Were 100percentofrevenuefrom

removedmeterslost, the net impact could be up to $50,000 annually. However, given the

relatively low occupancy along the corridor as described above, actual

revenue

loss is anticipated

to be considerably lower as the majorityofmotorists wil lhavethe option to park in a nearby

metered space.

SUSTAINABLE

OPPORTUNITIES

Economic:B icycle

and pedestrian safety improvement promote non-motorized transportation,

which

are the most cost-effective forms

of

transportation. In addition, pedestrian and bicycle

trips tend to belocaland

thus

are more

likely

to contribute tolocaleconomic activity.

Environmental:Walkingandbicyclingare the most energy efficient form oftransportation and

createno emissions. The development of safer and more comfortable pedestrian and bicycle

facilitiesin Oakland is a key

strategy

in the City's efforts to

reduce

greenhouse

gas emissions.

Well-designed

bicycle

and pedestrian infrastructurepromotes

safe

physicalactivity and good

health.

^

Based on analysis of August and September 2014

data

following

installation of

new

smart-meter

heads

Item:


December 2, 2014


14/21

Henry

L .

Gardner, Interim CityAdministrator


Streets

Plan

Date. November 7, 2014 Page 14

Social

Equity:Walking

and

bicycling

are inexpensive and broadly accessible forms of

transportation. Pedestrian and

bicycle facilities

provide added freedom and

independence

for

youth and

parents

(who are otherwise shuttling their children) as

w ell

as for

some

people who

cannot

drive and

those

who

have

chosen not to drive.

C E O A

These actions are exempt

from

C E Q A

pursuant

toPublicResources Code Section 21080.20.5

(restriping ofstreetsand highways for

bicycle

lanesin an urbanized

area

thatis consistent with a

bicycle

transportation plan) and C E Q AGuidelines Sections 15183

(projects

consistent with

general plan and zoning), 15301 (existing

facilities),

15304 (minor alterations), and 15061(b) (3)

(no significant effect on the environment).

Forquestionsregarding thisreport, pleasecontact Jamie Parks, Complete

Street

Program

Manager at 510.238.6613.

Respectfully submitted.

irookeA . Levin

Director,

OaklandPublicWorks

Reviewedby:

Michael

J. Neary,

P .E

, Assistant Director

Bureau of Engineering and Construction

Iris Starr,

A I C P , Division

Manager

Transportation Planning and Funding

D ivision

Prepared by:

Jamie Parks, Complete

Streets

Program Manager

Transportation Planning and Funding

D ivision

Attachments:

A . Existingand Proposed BicycleFacilities

B .

Illustrative depiction of existing Telegraph Avenue conditions

C . Illustrative depiction of Telegraph Avenue buffered bikelanes

D . Illustrative depiction of Telegraph Avenue parking-protected bikelanes

Item:

Public

Works Committee

December 2, 2014


15/21

AttachmentA:Summary of Existing and Proposed Bicycle Facilities


16/21

Attachment

B.Telegraph Avenue Existing Conditions Illustrative)


17/21

Attachment

D.

Telegraph Avenue Parking-Protected Bike Lane

Illustrative)


18/21

Approvj

2iMNoyQ/ IQj:;s5 D CITY COUNCIL

RESOLUTION

NO. C.M.S

IntroducedbyCouncilmember

City

Attorne

RESOLUTION

AUTHORIZING

THER E M O V A L OFT R A V E L LANES

AND

THE INSTALLATION OF BICYCLE LANES ON TELEGRAPH

AVE NUE F ROM 19

STREET

TO 41 ^ STREET

MAKING

ASSOCIATED TRAFFIC

SAFETY

AND

OPERATIONAL

IMPROVEMENTS

AND COMMITTING TO FUTURE STUDY OF A

CONTINUOUS BIKEWAY

FOR THE

AREA FROM

41 STREETTO

57

STREET

W H E R E A S ,

the

City

of

Oakland'sBicycle

Master

Plan

was adopted by

City

C ouncilon

December 7, 2007 aspartofthe LandU se and Transportation Elementofthe City ' sGeneral

Planand reaffirmed byCity

Council

on December 4, 2012; and

W H E R E A S ,

the

City

of

Oakland'sBicycle

Master

Plan

calls

for

the implementation of

a

cityvsdde

network

ofbikeways

to connect

downtown,

transit stations, commercial districts,

neighborhoods, and the waterfront; and

W H E R E A S ,the

Bicycle

Master

Plan

identifiesTelegraph

Avenue

fi-om

19* Street to 57th

Street as abikeway;and

W H E R E A S ,the CompleteStreetsP olicy forthe CityofOaklandwas adopted byCity Council

onFebruary 5, 2013 and the Policycallsforthe incorporationofpedestrian,bicycle, and transit

improvements in

addition

tothoseforautomobiles, instreetreconstruction and maintenance

projects; and

W H E R E A S , Action IB . oftheBicycleMasterPlanstates, Includebicyclesafety and access

improvements in roadway

resurfacing,

realignment, and reconstruction projects ; and

W H E R E A S ,Telegraph

Avenue

fi-om

16* Street to 27* Street

w i l l

be resurfaced and has been

designed to includeusefiilbikeway connections and pedestrian safety improvements; and

W H E R E A S ,the installationof

bicycle

lanes on TelegraphAvenuew i llnecessarily require the

reductioninthe number oftravel lanesfi omfour (4) through lanes to two (2) through lanesfrom

19* Street to 41 Street; and


19/21

W H E R E A S ,installationof

bicycle

lanes, transit, and pedestrian safety improvements on

Telegraph

Avenueis consistentwiththe

City's

GeneralPlan,

Bicycle

MasterPlan,and Complete

StreetsP olicy;and

W H E R E A S ,

City

Councilhas directedstafftopreparereports fortheir approval

specifically

when

bicycle

projects require the reduction

o ftravel

lanes on a roadway; and

W H E R E A S ,in accordancewithGovernment Code section 6061, on August28 ,2014, the

City

published

notice

o f

publichearings on September

11 ,

2014 and September 13, 2014, to consider

the proposed restriping

oftravel

lanes to remove a travel lane andinstallbike lanes on Telegraph

Avenue(19* Street to

41^'

Street);

that

notice was published

in

theOaklandTribune, a

newspaper of generalcirculation

in

the area affected by the proposed projects; and

W H E R E A S ,as required byPublicResources Code section 21080.20.5, on September 11, 2014

and September 13, 2014, the

City

held duly noticedpublichearings tohearand respond to public

comments on the projects; the hearings were held at BeebeMemorialCathedral (3900

Telegraph) and

Gogi

Time

Banquet

Room

(2600 Telegraph

Avenue),which

are in close

proximityto

areasaffected

by the projects; and

W H E R E A S ,after adulynoticedpublicmeeting on December 2, 2014, thePublicWorks

Committee voted to recommend the proposal to the

City

Council;and

W H E R E A S ,on December 9, 2014, the

City

Councilconsidered the proposed restripingoftravel

lanes to remove travel lanes and

install bicycle

lanes on TelegraphAvenue;and

W H E R E A S ,the

City

has prepared an

assessment

oftrafficand safety impactsofthe project,

whichincludesmeasures

in

the projects to mitigate potential vehicular

traffic

impacts and

bicycle

and pedestrian safety impacts, and concludes

that

the projects

w i ll

have

negligible

impacts ontrafficoperations and

w i l l

not result

in

adecreasein safety for any travel mode; and

W H E R E A S ,each as a

separate

and independent basis,

these

actions are exemptfrom

C E Q A

pursuant toPublicResources Code Section 21080.20.5 (restriping of

streets

and highways for

bicyclelanes in an urbanized area

that

is consistentwithabicycletransportation plan) and

C E Q A

GuidelinesSections 15183 (projects consistentwithgeneral plan andzoning),15301

(existing

facilities),

15304 (minor alterations), and 15061(b)(3) (nosignificanteffect on the

environment); now, therefore be it

R E S O L V E D : That the

City

Councilauthorizes theinstallationof

bicycle

lanes on Telegraph

Avenue

by reducing the number

oftravel

lanes

from

four (4) through lanes to two (2) through

lanesfrom19* Street to 41'' Street; and be it

F U R T H E R

R E S O L V E D :

That the

City

Administratorauthorizesinstallationof parking-

.protected

bicycle

lanes (also known as cycletracks ) between

20*

Street and 29* Street (exact

limits

to be determined on the basis ofdesign considerations); and be it


20/21

F U R T H E R R E S O L V E D : That the

City

Administratorauthorizesinstallationo fbuffered

bicycle

lanes between 29* Street and41^'Street (exact

limits

to be determined on the basis of

design considerations); and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes re-designation of Telegraph

AvenuefromBroadway

to 40* Street as a

Minor Arterial

(currently

Principal

Arterial )

as

part

of the next scheduledstreetre-classificationeffort, to reflect its character as a neighborhood-

serving commercialstreet;and be it

F U R T H E R R E S O L V E D :

That the City

Administrator

authorizes installation

of

pedestrian

improvements (e.g., median refuge islands, ladder crosswalks, curb extensions) inconjunction

with

bicycle facilities

on Telegraph

Avenue;

and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes

reconfiguration

on-street

parking,parking meters, and loading zones as needed to implement design, include potential

designation

o f

time-of-day loading zones; and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes to relocate and consolidate

busstopsto far-side locations at 24* Street, 27* Street, 30* Street, 34* Street,

MacArthur

Boulevardand

4 0*

Street to improveefficiencyof bus transit operations; and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes construction of permanent

transit boarding islands at transitstopsat2 4* Street, 27* Street, 30* Street, 34* Street,

MacArthurBoulevardand 40* Street asfundingisavailable;and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes to prohibiton-streetparking

between 55* Street andAileenStreet under

SR24

on one or both sides to connect existing

Telegraph

Avenuebicycle

lanes to 55* Street and Shattuck

Avenuebicycle

routes; and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes to evaluate the'effectiveness

ofPhase 1improvements to

allow

the

City

to seekfundingfor future capital improvements on

TelegraphAvenue

from

20* Street to 57* Street; and be it


City

Administratorauthorizes a commitment to future study

of acontinuous bikewayforthe area

from

41^'Street to 57* Street,

including

the

reconfiguration

ofthe Telegraph Avenue/ShattuckAvenueintersection, and also to seekfundingto support

technical

design assistance and a focused community outreach program on thismatter;and be it


21/21

F U R T H E R R E S O L V E D : Thatthe CityAdministrator ordesigneeshallfile aNotice of

Determination/Notice

of Exemption with the clerkofthe County of Alameda and theOfficeof

Planning andResearch.

IN COUNCIL,

OAKLAND

CALIFORNIA,

PASSEDBY THE FOLLOWINGVOTE:

A Y E S

B R O O K S , G A L L O , G IB S O N M C E L H A N E Y , K A L B , K A P L A N , R E ID , S C H A A F

and

P R E S I D E N T

K E R N I G H A N

N O E S

A B S E N T

A B S T E N T I O N

A T T E S T

LaTonda S immons

City Clerk and Clerkofthe C ouncil

ofthe CityofO akland, C alifornia

telegraph avenue, city report

Documents