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Agenda Item # 6

BOARD MEMORANDUM

RECOMMENDATION:

Recommend approval of the 2004 Monitoring and Conformance Report and Conformance Findings.

BACKGROUND:

State legislation requires urbanized counties to implement Congestion Management Programs (CMP).   Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is the designated Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for Santa Clara County.   One of the CMP requirements is to determine annually whether member agencies are conforming to the adopted CMP standards.  Nonconformance places member agencies at risk of losing local gas tax subventions included as part of the 1990 Proposition 111.

DISCUSSION:

As part of the 2004 Monitoring Program, member agencies must comply with the following requirements:

• Monitor level of service (LOS) on principal arterials and expressways using intersection LOS.
• Monitor LOS on freeways in Santa Clara County based on density.
• Monitor LOS on rural highways in Santa Clara County based on traffic volumes.
• Prepare and submit land use monitoring data to the CMP on all land-use projects approved from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
• Prepare transportation impact analyses (TIAs) for projects that generate 100 or more peak hour trips and submit the TIA at least 15 calendar days before the project is up for approval or is “recommended for approval.”

Roadways and intersections are evaluated by “level of service,” a measure of driving conditions and vehicle delay.   Levels range from A (best) to F (poorest).   Each member agencies must maintain the CMP traffic LOS standard—LOS E— on CMP system facilities.  Roadways and intersections that operate at LOS F are considered to be non-conformant.  However, if a roadway or intersection was operating at LOS F in 1991, the baseline year, it is considered exempt from CMP conformance when found to be operating at LOS F in subsequent monitoring periods.

The 2004 Monitoring and Conformance Report presents the results of the monitoring program.   A brief discussion of the results is presented below.

Intersections.   A total of 7 CMP intersections were found to be operating at LOS F in 2004.  Of these intersections, six 6 were at LOS F in the baseline year (1991) and are exempt from conformance.  The intersection of Central Expressway and De La Cruz Boulevard (within County of Santa Clara jurisdiction; located in Santa Clara) was the only intersection on the CMP network that fell short of the CMP LOS standard.  This intersection has not been in conformance since 1996.

Freeways.   Operations on approximately 42 AM and 34 PM peak directional miles of the County's freeway system have deteriorated from LOS E or better in the baseline year (1991) to LOS F in 2004.  In 2002, this number was 29 AM and 44 PM peak directional miles.  The total directional miles of freeway at LOS F, including those already at LOS F in the baseline year, stands at about 112.  In 2002 this number was 116 directional miles.  The peak occurred in 2000 when about 162 directional miles, over half the monitored freeway system, were found to operate at LOS F conditions.

Reviewing the total directional miles of freeway at LOS F by facility reveals that SR 87 has the highest percentage of facility at LOS F at 56 percent (about 7 miles of the nearly 13 miles monitored).   SR 237, I-280, SR 85 and I-880 have over 40 percent at LOS F operations.   SR 17, I-680 and US 101 had the lowest percentage at LOS F at below 30 percent.  The percentages for SR 17 and US 101 are influenced by the less urbanized nature of long stretches of these facilities.

Eleven freeway carpool lane segments totaling about 8 directional miles were determined to operate at LOS F.   These findings are 2 percent lower than those recorded in year 2002 monitoring program.   As reported in monitoring reports from previous years, the conclusion is that these LOS F conditions in carpool lanes are not due to lack of capacity.  Rather, the LOS F carpool lane segments are at the beginning or end of a carpool lane or near a major interchange where there is heavy weaving traffic between the carpool lane and the adjacent mixed-flow lanes.  Such situations could benefit from direct carpool lane connectors between freeways or a direct carpool lane to off-ramp connector.

Rural Highways.   All twelve rural highways were determined to conform to CMP LOS standards in 2004. 

Land Use Submittals.  All Member Agencies have complied with the CMP land use submission requirements.    VTA compiled the submitted data for residential units and jobs approved in the monitoring period.  A total of 5,300 and 5,000 residential units were approved countywide in year 2003 and 2004 respectively.  As for total number of jobs, 4,300 and 21,000 jobs were approved countywide in year 2003 and 2004 respectively. In 2001, residential unit and job approvals totaled 7,900 and 55,200 respectively.

Until the Countywide Deficiency Plan is adopted, the Member Agency whose jurisdiction has a non-conforming intersection, freeway segment or rural highway, should implement or require a new development’s project sponsor to implement the “Immediate Implementation Action List” in the “Requirements for Local Deficiency Plans” of the Technical Standards and Procedures of the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program.

ALTERNATIVES:

There are no alternatives.   As the designated CMA, VTA must adopt conformance findings.

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