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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-06-15; City Council; 15266; Transportation Alternatives Palomar Airport RoadCl I Y OF CARLSBAD -AGENDA rJlLL 4B# riJd6 TITLE- -’ TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES IN THE IIITG. 6/l 5199 PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD CORRIDOR RECOMMENDED ACTION: Accept staff report. ITEM EXPLANATION: The City Council of the City of Carlsbad has established a strategic goal to “Integrate a comprehensive, efficient transportation system which moves people, goods and services”. This goal is to better integrate all aspects of Carlsbad’s approach to transportation and circulation management. Four components of an Integrated Transportation Program have been established with staff resources being supplemented through services provided by O’Rourke Engineering, a local transportation consultant. One of the four components of the Integrated Transportation Program is a focus on Industrial Corridor Transportation Management. For this program, the industrial corridor is defined as generally those businesses adjacent to or in close proximity to Palomar Airport Road and that are located in the industrial area of the City of Carlsbad. The other three components of the program are: 1. Regional Transportation Priorities 2. Transit Planning Objectives and Issues 3. Tourist Transportation Needs To successfully address the issue of Industrial Corridor Transportation Management, staff has teamed with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and businesses in the industrial corridor. Bi-weekly meetings are held with this committee to develop solutions for peak-hour management of traffic flow on Palomar Airport Road. A variety of strategies are being discussed with action plans to be developed. Strategies are being formulated by the committee in the context of what is called the Palomar Corridor Transportation Pilot Program. Luz Gonzales of Glacier Water, a local Carlsbad company, is the Chairperson of the committee. One aspect of traffic management to help reduce congestion is to establish alternatives to the single occupant vehicle. Pilot program committee members are working with or helping to facilitate involvement of three resources that can positively impact the industrial corridor traffic management. The three resources are: 1. NCTD - New Route 344 2. PAL Shuttle 3. Ridelink North County Transit District (NCTD) implemented, as of May 30, 1999, a new transit route along Palomar Airport Road and San Marcos Boulevard. Designated as Route 344, it will provide service to transit markets in Carlsbad such as LEGOLAND, business locations in the industrial parks along and near Palomar Airport Road and also serve the Poinsettia Station. Service will be provided seven days a week with connections to other NCTD transit routes and the Coaster. The route is considered experimental and will be evaluated after one year. h Page 2 of Agenda Bill No. Is, 26 6 A private enterprise, Palomar Aviara Transportation, Inc., operates the PAL shuttle and trolley. This transportation service provides a means for employees in the industrial corridor to travel between the Poinsettia Station and their workplace destination in the industrial corridor. One of the routes also originates at the Oceanside Transit Center and then travels to the Poinsettia Station before transporting passengers to business destinations in the industrial corridor and LEGOLAND. Three lines are operating at different times of the day, seven days a week. Ridelink is an agency managed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). It provides services to match commuters with ridesharing (carpooling) partners and oversees a successful vanpool program. Additionally, it administers the guaranteed ride home program for carpool or vanpool participants. Consulting to business representatives on Federal and California tax benefits by implementing rideshare programs is also offered, including discussing the cost savings and subsidies that are available to employers if a vanpool program is implemented. Each of these transportation options offer ways to help mitigate delays and peak hour congestion on Palomar Airport Road and surrounding streets. Although each are somewhat different and unique from the other, in ways they also complement one another. Competition for the same alternative transportation passenger is not necessarily required. For the Palomar Corridor Transportation Pilot Program to be successful, information to current and prospective users (employees) must be made available regarding service availability, costs and/or other options (carpool vs. vanpool). Other vital elements to assure success would be implementation of marketing programs, convenient ways to purchase passes made available, amenities such as benches or shelters, employee incentives, and providing flexibility in work shifts for employees to ride/utilize alternative transportation are just a few of the elements of a successful program. Strategies to help improve mobility for the commuter, by making available alternative transportation options, are being further developed by participants of the Palomar Corridor Transportation Pilot Program. FISCAL IMPACT: Administrative costs for staff to participate on the Palomar Corridor Transportation Pilot Program committee. EXHIBITS: None.