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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - October 4, 2006 E-09AGWWA ITEM f • I CITY OF LORI COUNCIL COMMUMCATION TM AGENDA TITLE: Receive and file recommended design guidelines for the Eastside Mobility and Acoess Plan MEETING DATE: October 4, 2606 PREPARED BY: Community Development Planning Manager, Peter Pirneiad RECOMIENDED ACTION: Receive and file recommended design guidelines for the Eastside Mobility and Access Pian. (A Grant funded project by CalTrans) BACKGI11110II0tD WFORMATION- In May 2004 the California Department of Transportation provided the City of Lodi a grant to fund the Eastside Mobility and Accessibility Plan (EMAP). The purpose of the EMAP project is to identify improvements to Lodi's Eastside, specifically focused on pedestrian/bicycle safety and connectivity, transit service and amenities, vehicular circulation and parking, streetscape elements and community identity. The EMAP project team identified a section of streets in the Eastside area that represent heavily traveled corridors for the local residents of the community. The area studied starts at the Lodi Transit Station on Sacramento and Pine Streets, and includes Sacramento south to Lodi Avenue; Lodi east to Central Avenue; and Central south to Tokay Street. Incorporating the community input and staff recommendations, the draft Plan describes a set of recommended improvements for Sacramento Street, Lodi Avenue and Central Avenue, and sets forth a series of design guidelines for the area defined by these local streets. These include streetscape amenities — such as street and pedestrian lighting, bus shelters, benches, fountains; and pedestrian safety improvements, including improved crosswalks, bulbouts, curb cuts and sidewalk treatments. On July 26, 2006, the draft plan was presented at the Planning Commission. The commissioners approved the draft with the following changes: 1. Recommend and prioritize the redesign of Maple Square. 2. Recommend streetscape improvements west of Stockton Street on Lodi Avenue. Exact improvements will be determined by future traffic analysis and technical studies. On Tuesday, August 29, 2006 the draft plan was presented at the Shirtsleeve City Council session and no changes were recommended. As discussed at the Planning Commission Meeting and City Council Shirtsleeve Session, this project was funded through an Environmental Justice Grant issued by the California Department of Transportation. Although by definition this project was strictly a consensus building exercise to lay the framework for future grants for public improvements, staff has begun identifying funding opportunities to implement some of the components of the guidelines. APPROVED: _ �'��L 2 Blair Kzlhnig, City Manager FISCAL IMPACT: The City was approved by the Dept of Transportation for a grant in the amount of $80,000 plus a Local Match/In-Kind of $14,000 for a total project budget of $94,000. The City's Local Match/In-Kind was met by calculating the fully burdened rate of all the staff that were involved in the project. The long term implementation and maintenance of these proposed improvements were not considered as part of this project. The purpose of this grant was to help build consensus among the key stake holders, in the neighborhood. The Next steps, when funding is available, would include preparing an engineering specific traffic study to determine the exact design and costs of improvements. Staff will continue to work with private property owners when street improvements are proposed along the corridors per the guidelines. Staff will also seek grant opportunities to fund these improvements whenever available. Said work would need to be scoped and managed as an entirely new project. FUNDING AVAILABLE: As part of the grant approval the City has been awarded an $80,000 Grant from Caltrans for consulting services provided by Moore lacofano, and Goltsman (MIG). Therefore, there was no funding necessary except for the $14,000 in kind which was provided by staff time associated with the project. It should also be noted that staff has been able to work with property owners and tenants such as Smart and Final to include improvements on private property that work in stride with these guidelines. As money has become available, staff has made improvements such as: 1) Smart And Final agreed to install onsite improvements consistent with the EMAP Program at their location at 215 Lodi Avenue. 2) Community Development Block Grants and Transit Grant Funding have been earmarked for transit improvements (bus shelters) consistent with the EMAP. 3) The improvements to the Rail Road Crossing at Lodi Avenue were paid for by the Rail Road and were consistent with EMAP improvements. Staff will continue to identify resources that minimize impacts to the City's General Fund. Paiste, Financia{ Services Manager Peter Pirnejad Communly Development Planning Manager Attachment: DRAFT EMAP Randy>dtch Community Development Director