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Home My WebLink About2019-08-08; Sustainable Mobility Plan Update; Gomez, PazTo the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Date ~CA ✓cc ✓ CM Zcff6 / DCM (3) L August 8, 2019 Council Memorandum To: From: Via: Re: Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Pubpi . Works Elaine Lu key, Chief Operations Officer Sustainable Mobility Plan Update . {cityof Carlsbad Memo ID# 2019090 This memorandum provides an update on the Sustainable Mobility Plan (SMP), which is anticipated for City Council consideration in January 2020. Background For just over a decade, the city has actively been developing and implementing a series of stand-alone policy documents, technical analyses and recommendations relating to improving mobility for all modes of travel, including pedestrians and bicyclists, within the city. The SMP is designed to help the city integrate and synthesize these multiple previous planning efforts. It is a key element in implementing the General Plan Mobility Element adopted in 2015, and will help meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals of the Climate Action Plan. The SMP will guide the city in expanding and improving the active transportation network to promote safe, healthy and convenient travel options for people of all ages and abilities. Discussion Community Vision Promoting walking, biking, public transportation and connectivity is a core value of the Carlsbad Community Vision, which was developed through an extensive community engagement process. These core values guided development of the General Plan update in 2015, which included a new Mobility Element. The Mobility Element represents a fundamental shift in how the city plans and designs the street system by exploring all potential solutions to enhance the mobility for all users of the street, including vehicles, pedestrians, bikes and transit. The city also adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2015, which outlines a comprehensive citywide strategy and actions to manage and reduce GHG emissions through 2035. Evolution of Mobility Efforts As the community's expectations for enhanced travel options have evolved over time, so have the city's strategies for addressing these needs. Previous planning efforts have typically involved an assessment of existing conditions, public engagement activities to help understand the community's needs, a technical analysis to uncover opportunities for improvements and recommended projects and/or programs for implementation. Each study has had a slightly different focus, as summarized below: Public Works Branch Faraday Center 1635 Faraday Ave I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-2730 Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Aug.8,2019 Page 2 • Carlsbad Bikeway Master Plan (2007): described a connected system of bike lanes, bike routes and bike paths and identified necessary support facilities and programs to improve safety for bicyclists • Pedestrian Master Plan (2008): provided a guide for future development and enhancement of pedestrian facilities citywide to encourage walking • Agenda Bill -Approve the City of Carlsbad Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way (2012): outlined a program that removes public barriers to travel for people with disabilities and assisted the city with ADA and Title 24 compliance • Livable Streets Assessment (2013): identified best practices and opportunities for the city to implement livable streets, which was identified as a City Council priority and strategic focus area • Carlsbad Active Transportation Strategy (2015): identified locations with optimal conditions for implementation of active transportation projects • Trails Master Plan (scheduled to be presented to City Council Aug. 27, 2019): identified opportunities for improvements to the trails system. Many of the identified improvements offer transportation options for cyclists and walkers • Agenda Bill -Accept the Carlsbad Coastal Mobility Readiness Plan (2016): envisioned a coastal transportation system and offered an implementation matrix of options to overcome barriers to coastal access and surrounding neighborhoods SMP Development As the city has worked on these efforts, public attitudes about mobility options have evolved along with the array of strategies available to address personal needs and to meet the city's mobility goals, such as transportation demand management, Uber/Lyft, bike share, shuttles and first-last mile solutions. These changes reinforce the need to develop an overall approach to mobility that is well coordinated, providing the right balance of structure and flexibility to adapt to a changing environment. The SMP differs from previous efforts in several ways. Specifically, the plan: • Takes an integrated approach to presenting an existing and future alternative transportation network • Adds a comprehensive demand analysis of where people live, work and visit and how they currently travel throughout the city • Goes beyond bicycle and pedestrian improvements and considers safe routes to schools and parks, neighborhood enhancements, transit system improvements and mobility hubs 2 Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Aug.8,2019 Page 3 • Combines all the prior work with current data and technical analysis into a concise blueprint • Reflects broad stakeholder engagement with the business and tourism communities, as well as digital and in-person public outreach efforts SMP milestones include: • City Council approved the application for a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Sustainable Communities Grant to develop the SMP (August 2016) • Caltrans approved the application and entered into a contract with the city (May 2017) • City Council approved a professional services agreement with Chen Ryan Mobility (May 2018) • Existing Conditions Assessment (June/July 2018) • Outreach Framework Plan (June 2018) • SMP Stakeholder Working Group Meeting #1 (August 2018) • Design Guidelines Development (November 2018) • Stakeholder Working Group Meeting #2 (December 2018) • Online survey data collection and in-person surveys at Farmers Market (December 2018) • Stakeholder Working Group Meeting #3 (January 2019) • Agreement with Chen Ryan Mobility extended (February 2019) • Interim draft report provided to Caltrans (March 2019) While the SMP was under development, the city continued to make progress on several initiatives related to mobility that were consistent with the framework of the SMP, including: • Development of a Trolley Feasibility Study by a consultant authorized by City Council (March 2017); estimated completion date September 2019 • Carlsbad Parking Management Plan developed in support of the Village and Barrio Master Plan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the parking system in the Village and beach areas (2018) • Village and Barrio Master Plan adopted by City Council (2018); waiting for final certification from California Coastal Commission • Citywide Transportation Demand Management Plan approved by City Council (February 2019) 3 Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Aug.8,2019 Page 4 • Adoption of Chapter 18.51 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish Transportation Demand Management Requirements as part of the development process (March 2019) • First-Last Mile Transportation Service Pilot Program approved by City Council in partnership with North County Transit District and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) (June 2019) These initiatives complement the SMP and further the city's mobility goals. Next steps City staff expect to present the draft SMP to City Council in January 2020, following completion of these next steps: • August 2019 -Staff will complete its review of the draft Planned Mobility Networks, Prioritization and Implementation sections of the SMP • September/October 2019 -Staff will complete an external review of the draft SMP, including review by the Stakeholder Working Group • November 2019 -Staff will make needed revisions based on the Stakeholder Working Group's feedback and, barring significant changes, present the draft plan to the Traffic Safety Commission • December 2019 -Staff will prepare resource analysis so that any additional resources needed for implementation are requested in the fiscal year 2020-21 budget development process Once a final plan has been adopted by the City Council and any needed resources added to the budget, staff will proceed with implementation of the strategies identified, resulting in a significant leap forward for the City of Carlsbad's mobility goals. cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Celia Brewer, City Attorney Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Debbie Fountain, Community & Economic Development Director Sean Haeri, Transportation Director Amanda Guy, Deputy City Attorney Christie Marcella, Economic Development Manager John Kim, Acting City Traffic Engineer 4