- . THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO MEMORANDUM DATE: May 8, 2019 T0: Honorable Council President Georgette Gomez, Council District 9 Honorable Councilmember Chris Ward, Council District 3 Kris McFadden, Director, Transportation Storm Water Department via Johnnie Perkins, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Infrastructure/ Public Works SUBJECT: Pilot Program for Bus-Only Lane on El Cajon Boulevard On January 24, 2019 Council President Gomez and Council Member Ward requested that TranSportation Engineering Operations (TEO) work with MTS to ?study the feasibility ofa bus? only lane, in each direction, maximizing signal prioritization operations, and prepare cost estimates and work plans for restriping and additional signage? (Attachment 1). TEO staff, working with our partners at MTS, have prepared the following preliminary response and evaluation for your consideration. Background and current MTS Operations Mid?City Rapid is a limited stop transit service between San Diego State University and Downtown San Diego along College Avenue, El Cajon and Park boulevards. The service launched as Rapid 215 on October 12, 2014. The route is linear, with multiple transfer and connection opportunities linking major employment and educational nodes. Route 1 serves La Mesa to Fashion Valley along El Cajon Boulevard. The Rapid 215 is the fifth?most traveled bus service MTS operates. However, if averaged together Rapid 215 and Route 1, El Cajon Boulevard becomes the second-busiest corridor by ridership, behind only Routes 7 and 10 along University Avenue (which will be getting partial dedicated bus lanes as part of the University Avenue Mobility Plan). El Cajon Boulevard bus routes carried 10,484 passengers per average weekday. Federal and State Regulations The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has determined that the use of red colored pavement for public transit systems is currently experimental. Use of such treatment may be used only with FHWA granting experimentation approval under the provisions of Section 1A.10 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Agencies that desire to Page 2 . - Honorable Council President Georgette Gomez, Council District 9 and Honorable Councilmember Chris Ward, Council District 3 May 8, 2019 experiment with colored pavement should only do so when an engineering study can determine that increased travel speeds will be expected by the public bus vehicle, reduced overall service time through the corridor will be expected by the public bus vehicle, and the implementation of the colored pavement to a converted general purpose traveled way will not adversely affect the traffic flow in the remaining generalwpurpose lanes. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency conducted a ?Red Transit Lanes? trial under California Traffic Control Devices Committee Experiment 12~18 and PHWA Experiment (E). MTS is currently working with Caltrans District 11 and the CA Traffic Control Devices Committee to experiment with red bus only markings on the transit only lanes on in Mid~City. Remniel?njects and n'mates Bus~0nly lanes have been implemented on City streets. There are several completed examples downtown with single solid white line striping, BUS stencils (4th Avenue from Broadway to Street, 11th Avenue from Broadway to A Street) and queue jump transit only signals (northbound First Street at Ash Street, eastbound Broadway at Third Avenue, southbound Fourth Avenue at Street). As requested, TEO has prepared three potential projects for evaluation and. consideration (Attachment 2): Full BUS Lone This project would deliver the most substantial improvement to bus service by providing a dedicated transit only lane-along the corridor from Park Boulevard to Fairmount Ave. However, this option would require a new CEQA analysis, as it could not rely on the previous which specifically did not analyse a continuous transit lane. Preliminary cost estimates put the full red lane treatment from Park Boulevard to Fairmount Avenue with additional queue jump signals at $4.5 million. This Option could remain a possible Phase II project, while funding is identified, new CEQA is prepared, and preliminary engineering for traffic signal modifications and other considerations occur. Queue Bypass Lanes This option would provide intermittent marked lanes for transit buses to advance to the front of select intersections experiencing the most congestion (and thus delay). The 2008 did anticipate queue bypass lanes with red thermoplastic and BUS ONLY stencils at select intersections. Working closely with MTS Operations three intersections (30th ST, I??Bos ramps, and Fairmount Ave) and segments have been identified for such lanes and could be implemented with signage, striping and no traffic signal modifications. A preliminary cost estimate for three queue bypass lanes with red thermoplastic is $50,000. A current CEQA memo of findings and exemptions can be prepared to cover this work if selected. However, as red paint in travel lanes is currently not approved this option would require an experimentation request and additional time to process through FHWA and BUS Line Pilot Project This option proposes, as a pilot project, to install a solid 8" white line to identify the #3 lane as BUS ONLY from Park Boulevard to Fairmount Avenue. As a temporary pilot project, MTS could evaluate if this temporary treatment provides Operational benefits, such as travel time reliability, on the corridor. This option, by not using red paint, is immediately MUTCD Page 3 Honorable Council President Georgette Gomez, Council District 9 and Honorable Councilmember Chris Ward, Council District 3 May 8, 2019 compliant and feasible, but may suffer from low driver compliance, and would require additional enforcement during the pilot period. A preliminary cost estimates for this option is $97,000. Municipal Code San Diego Municipal Code ?22.3105 states that ?City forces shall not be used on a public works project if the cost of using City forces exceeds $100,000 unless the City Council has approved use of City forces on the project. Therefore, direction to implement the full bus only red lane option would need Council approval to develop a new project and allocate resources. However, the queue bypass lanes at select locations or bus only lane lines could be implemented under the municipal code threshold. Summary and Recommendation TEO finds that operational modifications are possible to provide enhancements to bus service on El Cajon Boulevard within the existing right?of?way and with treatments intended to improve travel time reliability, visibility, and efficiency of transit operations. TEO and MTS staff are available for further discussion with the Council Offices based upon review of this feasibility memorandum. Sincerely, Kris McFadden Director, Transportation 8: Storm Water Department Attachments: 1. Memorandum dated January 21,, 2019 from Council President Gomez and Councilmember Chris Ward 2. Bus Lane Concepts cc: Aimee Faucett, Chief of Staff, Office of the Mayor Kris Michell, Chief Operating Officer Andrea Tevlin, Independent Budget Analyst Stacey LoMedico, Assistant Chief Operating Officer Ronald H. Villa, Assistant Chief Operating Officer Jessica Lawrence, Director of Council Affairs, Office of the Mayor John Ly, Director of Community Engagement, Office of the Mayor Lee Friedman, Infrastructure Policy Manager, Office of the Mayor Adrian Granda, Public Policy Manager, Office of the Mayor Eric Young, Community Representative, Office of the Mayor Sharon Cooney, Chief of Staff, Metropolitan Transit System James Nagelvoort, Director and City Engineer, Public Works Department Gene Matter, Assistant Director, Transportation 8; Storm Water Department Duncan Hughes, Deputy Director, Transportation 8.: Storm Water Department Kristy Reeser, Deputy Director, Transportation 8: Storm Water Department Everett Hauser, Program Manager, Transportation 8: Storm Water Department ATTACHMENT 1 CITY OF SAN DIEGO COUNCIL PRESIDENT GEORGETTE GOMEZ COUNCILMEMBER CHRISTOPHER WARD MEMORANDUM DATE: January 24, 2019 T0: Mayor Kevin Faulconer ?1 40? FROM: Council President Georgette Go ez and Co cilmember Chris Ward SUBJECT: Pilot Program for Bus~0nly Lane on El Cajon Boulevard Improving our transit routes and increasing ridership is essential to meet our Climate Action Plan goals. In 2009, the San Diego region?s first urban Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) began operating along El Cajon Boulevard, connecting Downtown to San Diego State University (SDSU). Originally designed to operate in dedicated bus lanes with signal prioritization, those plans did not move forward, leaving buses to run alongside vehicular traffic with limited signal prioritization. The corridor is home to Rapid 215 and Route 1, which together carry 10,000 people per day. Bus-only lanes are a key component of a high?quality BRT network, improving bus travel speeds and reliability by reducing delay caused by other traffic. Our offices support creating a pilot program for bus?only lanes on El Cajon Boulevard from Park Boulevard to Fairmount Avenue, spanning approximately 2.7 miles. This is a first step in improving the efficiency of the BRT routes and eventually extending the bus?only lanes to SDSU. The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association strongly support this effort. The aim is to create a pilot program to study ridership, reliability, and trip speed data along this corridor. MTS has agreed to conduct a study to evaluate the efficacy of this pilot program and is looking for collaboration from the City on design and funding. Our offices request that Transportation Engineering Operations staff work with MTS to study the feasibility of a bus?only lane in each direction, maximize signal prioritization Operations, and prepare cost estimates and work plans for restriping and additional signage for this pilot program. We look forward to collaborating with your office in making this pilot program a success. CC: Jessica Lawrence, Director of Council Affairs, Office of the Mayor Lee Friedman, Infrastructure Policy Manager, Office of the Mayor Adrian Granda, Public Policy Manager, Office of the Mayor Sharon Cooney, Chief of Staff, Metropolitan Transit System Robyn Wapner, Senior Legislative Analyst, San Diego Association of Governments ATTACHMENT 2 ms 01 mu am SLNEHSADHCIWI NULLOEISEELNI EINV II I I NDILVLS GHLWIEIHU ELLFIOH I 31.008 508 Old? pIdeH BUIJSIXH WW Umm . ?Pixirtir -?w?t/files/me 2015.pdf 2:92:12?; . . ?var Wan? - W?b?s aw-_o-vt? ?0 ?v I - - Partial Red Lane Ireatment Costss Metro Express SDSI. :0 Don "mm Bus Rapid Transit Showcase ?ayed 30th Street Station 21] 911 BJjeh_ 1:22", (-3- .1 :a 1ectid 317 8786.pdf . I A All Gamers shall leceive: I 1. IDA campfiam pedau-ian ramps amp with 11'2? bewled lip at 1 ABA compliant audible pedesman crossing system with mum-down crossing LED. 3. 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