Agenda Item # 10

BOARD MEMORANDUM

BACKGROUND:

The VTA Board of Directors adopted the Santa Clara Countywide Bicycle Plan in 2000. The Plan included bicycle projects that were evaluated and prioritized into three tiers by the VTA Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) using the VTA Board adopted Evaluation Criteria for bicycle projects. In addition, the VTA Board adopted a $33-million Bicycle Expenditure Program (BEP) to fund Tier 1 projects from 2001 through 2010. The 2000 BEP included funds from the 1996 Measure B sales tax, Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA), Transportation Development Act Article 3 (TDA Article 3), and federal Transportation Enhancements (TE) funds. 

In 2004, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established the Regional Bicycle/Pedestrian Program (RBPP) that provides federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds for regional bicycle and pedestrian projects over the 25-year period 2005-2030. The RBPP is split into a 25% regional program and a 75% county share program; the dedicated share for Santa Clara County is projected to be $37.5 million through 2030.

In response to the addition of RBPP funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects, the VTA Board, in December 2004, adopted a thirty-year, $99-million Bicycle Expenditure Plan for 2001-2030 to replace the $33 million BEP from 2001-2010. This includes the original $33 million BEP, the $37.5 million RBPP funds, and continues TDA Article 3 and TFCA set-asides from 2011 through 2030, which total approximately $24 million.  The VTA Board also consolidated the Tier 1 and Tier 2 project lists into a single project list, which was included in the countywide transportation plan, Valley Transportation Plan (VTP) 2030, adopted by the VTA Board in February 2005.

At its June 2005 meeting, the VTA Board approved further revisions to the BEP project list in response to requests by four Member Agencies.

DISCUSSION:

An update to the 2000 Countywide Bicycle Plan would include the administrative and technical changes resulting from the VTA Board actions, incorporate implemented projects, and reflect new needs and priorities of Member Agencies since many of them have prepared or updated their bicycle plans in the past five years. Chapters such as bicycle parking, bicycle promotion and bicycle education in the 2000 Bicycle Plan are also outdated.  The plan must also be updated to meet the requirements of several state and regional funding agencies, since local agencies occasionally use the Countywide Bicycle Plan as the adopted plan to apply for state’s Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA), TDA or TFCA funding.  All of these considerations underscore the need to update the current Countywide Bike Plan.

VTA staff, working with the BPAC, will complete the Countywide Bicycle Plan update. The current plan has eight chapters:

• Introduction/Policy Framework
• Current Conditions/Settings
• Planning and Coordination
• Cross County Bicycle Corridors 
• Bicycle Projects
• Funding and Implementation
• Bicycle Parking, Intermodal Access, and Support Facilities
• Bicycle Promotion and Education

All sections of the bicycle plan would have minor to moderate revisions. However, the focus of the plan update would be on cross-county corridors, project prioritization, bicycle parking, bicycle education and bicycle promotion.  Staff is also recommending the plan update include the addition of information on the following topics:

• History of Bicycle Expenditure Program
• Current Bicycle Expenditure Program and Policies and Projects
• Transit Station Access Projects
• Financially Unconstrained List of Projects
• Integration with bicycle projects in other Valley Transportation Plan 2030 Programs
• Countywide Bicycle Safety and Collision Analysis  

NEXT STEPS:

At the March 2006 BPAC meeting staff will be requesting your formal input on needed Countywide Bicycle Plan revisions and for suggestions on new policies, programs and projects. VTA staff will also solicit input from the VTA Technical Advisory Committee, and will contact local agencies for their current bike plans. Staff will form a task force consisting of four to five BPAC members to serve as the project study advisory committee for the Countywide Bicycle Plan Update. 

If BPAC members have suggestions in advance of the meeting on March 8, 2006, please send them to Michelle DeRobertis at michelle.derobertis@vta.org or (408) 321-5716 to be included in the committee discussion item.

The tentative schedule for the 2006 Update of the Santa Clara Countywide Bicycle Plan is as follows:

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