HomeMy WebLinkAbout16 - NB-3 - SR-55 Access Study Update - 7/19/2011CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: JULY 19, 2011 ITEM NUMBER:
SUBJECT: SR -55 ACCESS STUDY UPDATE
DATE: JULY 7, 2011
FROM: PUBLIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT - TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DIVISION
PRESENTATION PETER NAGHAVI, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES
BY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: RAJA SETHURAMAN, TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
MANAGER - (714) 754-5032
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Receive and file report on the SR -55 Access Study.
BACKGROUND:
The Costa Mesa Freeway (SR -55) currently terminates at 19th Street and continues south
through Downtown Costa Mesa as Newport Boulevard. This major arterial, under the
jurisdiction of the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), carries over
100,000 vehicles per day at the SR -55 Freeway terminus at 19th Street. The result is severe
congestion at several intersections within the downtown area, and the conditions are
exacerbated during summer months due to beach traffic. Other related impacts include
pedestrian accessibility issues, business access, and cut -through traffic within the adjacent east
side residential streets.
The Caltrans Route Concept Report currently designates the SR -55 Freeway to extend south to
Industrial Way in an easterly alignment with significant impacts to homes and businesses in
Costa Mesa. In order to determine other alternatives to the extension of the SR -55 Freeway,
OCTA, in cooperation with the City of Costa Mesa and participation by Caltrans and other
agencies, initiated the SR -55 Access Study in May 2007. Based on the findings by the
consultant team, and input from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Policy Advisory
Committee (PAC), and the public, seven project alternatives were developed. These
alternatives are described and depicted in Attachment 1.
At the October 7, 2008, regular City Council meeting, all alternatives in Attachment 1 were
considered, and the following four alternatives were recommended for further study:
• Alternative 1 — No Build/Baseline
• Alternative 3 — Transportation System Management
• Alternative 5 — Vertical Terminal Enhancement
• Alternative 7 — Cut and Cover Under Newport Boulevard
OCTA Board of Directors also approved a similar recommendation on October 27, 2008.
Attachment 2 includes the SR -55 Access Study Executive Summary.
In July 2009, the Cities of Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Huntington Beach, sent a joint
letter to OCTA requesting that the next phase of the study be initiated under the leadership of
OCTA using the cooperative study process involving all parties. OCTA concurred with the
Cities' request and, in conjunction with the City of Costa Mesa and Caltrans, staff developed a
scope of work for the next phase of the study.
On March 16, 2010, the Costa Mesa City Council approved a Cooperative Agreement with
OCTA for funding and project management responsibilities. In addition, the City Council also
approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that included OCTA, Caltrans, and the
Cities of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach, identifying more specific agency
roles and responsibilities for completing the study.
Funding for this phase of the SR -55 Access Study is primarily from the federal Regional Surface
Transportation Program (RSTP) in the amount of $1,000,000 and OCTA's Growth Management
Area (GMA) grant of $125,000.
ANALYSIS:
The next phase of the SR -55 Access Study currently underway is the preparation of a Project
Study Report/Project Development Support (PSR/PDS). A consultant team led by TRC
Companies, Inc., was selected to prepare the PSR/PDS document. This document will be used
to further analyze and refine the project alternatives, estimate project scope, schedule, and
costs. While the PSR/PDS will be managed by OCTA, the extensive public outreach and
business impact analysis is being led by the City of Costa Mesa.
Since the initiation of the project, the study team has been focused on two critical activities. The
first is the initial planning and data collection activities required for completion of the PSR/PDS
document to meet Caltrans' requirements. The other activity is to develop a comprehensive
public involvement program, identifying key stakeholders and business representatives, as well
as initiating data collection efforts through a comprehensive business survey.
The initial phase of the public involvement program is scheduled to begin this summer and
extend through early fall. The primary goals of the initial phase are to re -introduce the project to
the public and gather early feedback from stakeholder working groups. Major components of
this phase of the public involvement program effort include the following:
• An initial business survey with key businesses in the area will be conducted. The goal of
this survey is to gather information with respect to current business operations,
transportation needs, and obtain an understanding of potential construction impacts to their
operations.
• A Stakeholder Working Group meeting will be conducted with business and resident
representatives to introduce the project and gather input on potential issues early in the
project development process.
• A Public Open House will be conducted to re -introduce the project and inform the public of
various ways to stay involved with the project and obtain information.
• A Business Working Group meeting will be conducted to further discuss business-related
concerns from a larger audience of businesses. This meeting will discuss the results from
the business survey and gather additional information.
Subsequent phases of the public involvement process will involve the above groups and will
solicit input and comments as project alternatives become more refined. At the initiation of each
subsequent phase of the public involvement process, staff will update the City Council of the
project and present findings, as well as preview upcoming activities.
The funding for PSR/PDS is primarily from the federal Regional Surface Transportation Program
(RSTP) grant and OCTA's Growth Management Area (GMA) program. A total of $1,000,000
will be available from the RSTP grant and $125,000 is programmed with GMA funds.
Approximately $25,000 of the City's share will be allocated from funds budgeted for the SR -55
Downgrade Study.
E
This PSR/PDS phase of the SR -55 Access Study is anticipated to be completed in mid 2013.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:
This report is to provide an update on the PSR/PDS phase of the SR -55 Access Study initiated
approximately six months ago. There are no alternatives with this item.
FISCAL REVIEW:
There is no fiscal impact with this update report.
LEGAL REVIEW:
There is no legal review with this update report
CONCLUSION:
In October 2008, OCTA and the City of Costa Mesa completed the SR -55 Access Study that
recommended four alternatives for further consideration in the next phase of the study. This
phase is called Project Study Report/Project Development Support (PSR/PDS), and it further
analyzes the alternatives as well as develops cost estimates and a schedule for future activities.
OCTA is the lead in the PSR/PDS stage with support from Caltrans, Costa Mesa, and other
agencies.
A consultant team lead by TRC was selected for the SR -55 PSR/PDS phase. The public
involvement program is underway and the study team, along with input from all agencies, is
identifying key stakeholders and business representatives, as well as initiating data collection
efforts through the comprehensive business survey. Staff will provide periodic updates to City
Council at the conclusion of various milestones during this major study on the SR -55 and
Downtown Costa Mesa.
RAJA SETHURAMAN PETER NAGHAVI, Director
Transportation Services Manager Department of Public Services
ATTACHMENTS: 1 - SR -55 Access Study - Alternatives 1 through 7
2- SR -55 Access Studv — Executive Summary
DISTRIBUTION: Chief Executive Officer
Interim Assistant Chief Executive Officer
City Attorney
City Clerk
Interim Development Services Director
Director of Public Services
7-19-11 SR -55 Access Study Report 7/5/11 9:00 a.m.
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LSA ASSOCIATES, INC.
SEPTEMBER 2008
INITIAL SCREENING REPORT
SR -55 ACCESS STUDY
SR -55 ACCESS STUDY INITIAL SCREENING REPORT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The State Route 55 (SR -55) Access Study Initial Screening Report is a cooperative effort among the
Cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans),
and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to identify potential alternatives to address
mobility and congestion issues within the project area of SR-55/Newport Boulevard. The objective of
this process is to identify between two and four circulation alternatives that provide improved
mobility, reduced congestion, and limited environmental/community impacts within the corridor and
around the general region.
The focus of this report is the SR-55/Newport Boulevard corridor between 19th Street and Industrial
Way. SR -55 carries more than 100,000 average daily trips (ADT) at 19th Street. SR -55 south of
19th Street and north of 17th Street carries more than 87,000 ADT. South of 17th Street to
Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Boulevard carries approximately 55,000 ADT. Analysis of
circulation effects (i.e., intersection operations and level of service [LOS]) also extends to a broader
study area that includes Victoria Street/22nd Street to the north, Dover Drive to the east, Pacific Coast
Highway to the south, and the Santa Ana River to the west.
Traffic forecasting was conducted by OCTA staff within the overall study area and along the corridor
using the latest version of the Orange County Traffic Analysis Model (OCTAM).
A Purpose and Need statement was created to provide a comprehensive and specific description of
why a project should be pursued and the issues to be addressed in that pursuit. The Purpose and Need
for the report is based on initial community input from stakeholders in the Cities of Costa Mesa and
Newport Beach (including residents and business owners), additional technical recommendations
from the engineering staffs at the City of Costa Mesa, City of Newport Beach, Caltrans, and OCTA,
and policy insights from city council members and members of the Orange County Board of
Supervisors.
Based on the stated goals and objectives of the Purpose and Need statement and input from
stakeholders, evaluation criteria were developed to identify the potential benefits and impacts of
alternative strategies for the SR -55 project. The set of generalized goals are as follows:
1. System Linkage. The alternative provides a vehicular linkage to the regional and local
transportation system.
2. Capacity and Transportation Demand. The alternative results in study area and Newport
Boulevard -corridor arterial, intersection and freeway operations that meet municipal/agency
standards or are no worse than baseline operations.
3. Legislation/Compatibility with Plans. The alternative provides a solution that is compatible
with the Caltrans State Route Concept Report, County Master Plan of Arterial Highways, and
Costa Mesa and Newport Beach General Plans.
PAOCT0701\exec_summary.doc «09/19/08»
LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. INITIAL SCREENING REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2008 SR -55 ACCESS STUDY
4. Social Demands/Economic Development. The alternative will not create significant
neighborhood and business impacts and will reduce these issues as they currently exist. The
alternative will have economic, social and aesthetic benefits to the area.
5. Modal Interrelationships. The alternative does not preclude current or planned fixed -route
OCTA bus service or future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service within the Newport Boulevard
corridor.
6. Project Enhancements/Safety/Roadway Deficiencies. The alternative meets all applicable
Caltrans, County, and municipal design standards to address vehicular and pedestrian safety.
7. Implementation. The alternative does not exhibit major impediments to secure necessary agency
approvals or funding, or require unanticipated right-of-way (ROW) to implement.
A public outreach program was implemented to share information, increase awareness, and gather
input from key stakeholders and local community members. The project team communicated with
the public through open houses, workshops, online surveys, direct mailers and e-mail announcements.
The public feedback generated from the outreach program was combined with technical analysis to
develop the following seven transportation alternatives to address the Purpose and Need of the SR -55
Access Study.
• Alternative 1— No Build/Baseline: Implements the City of Costa Mesa's planned improvements
along the Newport Boulevard corridor while maintaining the existing SR-55/Newport Boulevard
arterial configuration.
• Alternative 2 — Current Freeway Plan: A depressed six -lane freeway section in an easterly
alignment per the existing freeway agreement.
• Alternative 3 — Transportation System Management (TSM): Includes an additional
southbound lane to maintain four northbound and southbound lanes on Newport Boulevard as a
conventional highway from 19th Street to 17th Street.
• Alternative 4 — Improved Conventional Highway (Newport Boulevard Only): Intended to
demonstrate the extent of improvements should a conventional highway solution be pursued.
• Alternative 5 — Vertical Terminal Enhancement: Provides an incremental approach of
improving the corridor's traffic flow by first addressing the terminals (i.e., 19th Street,
17th Street and Superior Avenue) in order to improve congestion within the corridor.
• Alternative 6 — Freeway Elevated over Newport Boulevard: Construction of an overhead
viaduct above Newport Boulevard from 19th Street to Industrial Way.
• Alternative 7 — Cut/Cover Freeway along Newport Boulevard: Construction of an entirely
new structure below Newport Boulevard providing a four -lane controlled access freeway under
Newport Boulevard from 19th Street to Industrial Way and an interchange at 19th Street.
Alternative 4 was removed from further consideration as it is simply a demonstration of the
conventional capital needs to satisfy future travel demand. The seven alternatives were then subject to
further input from the public and were refined accordingly. Each alternative was then screened to rule
out those concepts and strategies that would not advance the project Purpose and Need, and to
identify those concepts and strategies that achieve the greatest concurrence with the Purpose and
Need, and warrant more detailed engineering and environmental analysis.
PAOCT0701\exec_summary.doc «09/19/08» 2
LSA ASSOCIATES, INC.
SEPTEMBER 2008
INITIAL SCREENING REPORT
SR -55 ACCESS STUDY
Based on the full or significant achievement of the evaluation criteria and Purpose and Need, the
following alternatives are recommended for further analysis and consideration in subsequent, more
detailed studies:
Alternative 1 — No Build/Baseline Condition
Alternative 5 — Vertical Terminal Enhancement
Alternative 7 — Cut/Cover Freeway along Newport Boulevard
These alternatives may be considered as individual improvement projects or in combination with
elements of other alternatives to maximize congestion relief while minimizing community intrusion
and impacts. The TSM alternative has not been screened out. Instead, it is recommended that the
affected agencies consider the strategies and components of the TSM alternative to provide
short-range congestion relief.
PAOCT0701\exec_summary.doc «09/19/08»