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Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 14468 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14468) City Council Staff Report Meeting Date: 8/8/2022 Report Type: Consent Calendar City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Approval of the Rail Committee Charter and Workplan for 2022-23 From: City Manager Lead Department: Transportation Department Recommendations Rail Committee and Staff recommend that the City Council approve the Rail Committee Charter including its Guiding Principles and the Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23. Executive Summary The Rail Committee and Staff worked to develop the Rail Committee Charter including the Rail Committee Guiding Principles and the Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23. The Workplan includes the delegation of additional items within the Rail Committee scope associated with rail crossings as follows: • Policy Items: Review grade separation selection criteria for any revisions • Bicycle and Pedestrian Items: Advance the planning and selection of new east-west bike/ped rail crossings, including consideration of whether the City should move forward on specific crossings before the upcoming Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan is finished. • Funding Items: Seek/Obtain funding for Palo Alto rail crossing projects and new east- west bike/ped rail crossings The Rail Committee and staff recommend the City Council approval of the Rail Committee Charter and its Workplan. Background and Discussion With the re-initiation of the Rail Committee in April 2022, one of the tasks was to review the guiding principles and the committee workplan. Rail Committee Charter & Guiding Principles The rail committee charter and guiding principles provide for the framework and guidance to the Rail committee in performing, reviewing, conducting, and directing staff for work related to rail related infrastructure projects. The proposed update to the Committee charter in Attachment A would reflect anticipated work of the Committee in 2022 and 2023, and primarily includes the following: City of Palo Alto Page 2 • Reviewing the mobility including bicycle and pedestrian across the Caltrain corridor; • Advocating for funding for Palo Alto grade separations; • Monitoring activities of the California High Speed Rail Authority and Caltrain; • Monitoring other relevant activities in the rail corridor such as San Francisquito Bridge along the Caltrain Corridor; • Recommending specific comments/actions to the full Council The Rail Committee and staff discussed the Rail Committee Charter that includes the guiding principles at its June 15, 2022, meeting. The 2014 Rail Committee charter including the guiding principles was updated to reflect the current workplan related to the upcoming rail-related projects. The Charter was further worked upon by the Rail Committee Ad-hoc members as directed by the committee. The updated draft of the Rail Committee Charter is included in Attachment A. Rail Committee Workplan The Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23 was developed in coordination with the rail committee with input from the community and members of the Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP). The committee worked to refine the workplan at its May and June meetings. The workplan for 2022-23 was finalized by the committee on June 15, 2022. The detailed Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23 is included in this report as Attachment B. The Rail Committee Workplan includes various elements related to the rail corridor. These items were previously in the rail charter and includes activities related to grade separations and other items relevant to rail corridor, such as advocating for funding and monitoring activities for California High Speed Rail and Caltrain. With the re-initiation of the rail committee, the review the work associated with additional studies directed by the council involving geotechnical study, review of construction technologies, refinement of the partial underpass/underpass alternatives of the grade separation, and outreach to key stakeholders would fall within the scope of Rail Committee. Additionally, Council directed rail committee to include the following elements: 1. Review of the guiding principles and criteria 2. Pursue with Caltrain the reduction in areas in Palo Alto being considered for four tracks 3. Facilitate and engagement with Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) and Stanford on all grade crossings 4. Engage with Caltrain through the Local Policy Makers Group (LPMG) and staff to design alternatives and construction methods preferable to Palo Alto. However, the workplan prepared by the Rail Committee will need the delegation of the following items to the Rail Committee's purview by the City Council: Policy Items • Review grade separation selection criteria for any revisions City of Palo Alto Page 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Items • Advance the planning and selection of new east-west bike/ped rail crossings, including consideration of whether the City should move forward on specific crossings before the upcoming Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan is finished. Funding Items • Seek/Obtain funding for Palo Alto rail crossing projects • Seek/Obtain funding for new east-west bike/ped rail crossings The Rail Committee approved its Charter and Workplan for 2022-23 with the consensus approval of the committee. Therefore, Rail Committee and Staff recommend that the City Council approve the Rail Committee Charter including its guiding principles and Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23 Resource Impact The work involved in performing actions included in the Rail Committee Workplan for 2022-23 is generally associated with the grade separation projects. However, there may be some elements in the Workplan that involve other approved Capital Improvement Projects. Any project(s) resulting from the discussions at the Rail Committee will require City Council approval and direction. There is no financial impact at this time. Stakeholder Engagement The Rail Committee meetings are open to the public and therefore provide the community with opportunities to provide comments to the rail committee and the City. In 2022, these meetings were held on April 20, May 18, and June 15. Environmental Review The recommendation in this report does not constitute a project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act and is therefore not subject to environmental review. Attachments: • ATTACHMENT A - Rail Committee Charter and Guiding Principles • ATTACHMENT B - Rail Committee Proposed 2022-23 Workplan Rail Committee Charter Proposed Draft August 9, 2022 Preamble The City of Palo Alto supports transportation and urban design solutions for the Caltrain corridor that are compatible with community values and that complement the goals and policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The Caltrain corridor has long been a physical constraint to east‐west movement in Palo Alto, and the current grade crossings create traffic congestion and pose safety and noise challenges that will get worse as the frequency of train service increases. As a result, the City actively participates in planning for the rail corridor, and supports changes that improve and do not exacerbate impacts to the Palo Alto community. Purpose of the Committee: The formation and purpose of the Rail Committee has changed over the years. In 2008, California voters pass Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable High‐Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, authorizing issuance of $9.95 billion of general obligation bonds to partially fund a statewide high‐speed rail system. In 2009, the City Council created an ad hoc High Speed Rail Sub‐ Committee (which later became a standing committee and was renamed the High Speed Rail Committee) to swiftly be able to respond to the California High Speed Rail project planned for the Caltrain line. The Council also adopted a set of Guiding Principles which allowed the Committee to take a variety of actions in the name of the City without action of the full Council. The Committee subsequently updated its Guiding Principles in 2010 and 2011 to address project changes. In 2012, Caltrain approved their Electrification Project and in 2013, the High Speed Rail Authority and Caltrain signed a Memorandum of Understanding for operations along the Caltrain corridor. As such, in 2013 the Committee was re‐named the Rail Committee to reflect the focus of issues related to Caltrain and High Speed Rail’s agreement to operate a “blended system” on the Caltrain corridor. In 2015, the Rail Committee was re‐established with the goal of advancing the City’s objectives regarding grade separations. In 2016, Santa Clara County Voters Passed Measure B which includes $700 million for grade separations along the Caltrain Corridor. Work on grade separations continued in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Caltrain began work on it’s business plan while the City Council voted to further advance grade separation work through a series of community meetings and the formation of a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) and then an Expanded Community Advisory Panel (XCAP) which provided their final report to the City Council in 2021. The City Council’s Rail Committee was re‐established in 20222015 to further analyze and advance grade separated crossings for all modes of travel (bicycles, motor vehicles, transit, and pedestrians). While the Committee in the past has focused on High Speed Rail, Caltrain grade separations and electrification will be the essential focus of the Committee for 2017‐2018. A detailed timeline of the City’s work on the Rail Corridor from 2008‐2021 is available at: https://connectingpaloalto.com/timeline/ Guiding Principles 1. Palo Alto seeks to improve east‐west connectivity, traffic circulation, pedestrian and bicycle movements, safety, and the noise environment along the Caltrain corridor. 2. Palo Alto strongly supports Caltrain and the improved commuter rail service that will come as a result of modernization (including electrification). 3. Palo Alto will continue to work with Caltrain to ensure that all potential impacts of modernization are addressed and adopted mitigation measures are implemented. 4. Palo Alto supports Caltrain as the lead agency for all system improvements in the Caltrain corridor. 5. Palo Alto has long had concerns about the potential impacts of High Speed Rail and believes that the project should be terminated. If the project proceeds, CHSRA should provide funding for affected cities to analyze potential impacts and needed infrastructure. 6. Palo Alto believes that CAHSRA must coordinate with Caltrain as the lead agency and should fund the study and construction of any potential passing tracks and, if needed, grade separations or modifications to grade separations and should not commence service until they are complete. 7. Palo Alto will advocate strenuously for its fair share of County Measure B funding for grade separations and actively seek additional funding from Caltrain, CAHSRA, Santa Clara County, VTA, MTC, State, Federal, and other external funding sources. 8. Palo Alto supports the use of the Context Sensitive Solutions process for High Speed Rail and grade separations and will structure a CSS process to engage the community in selection of a preferred grade separation alternative for the corridor. 9. Palo Alto seeks modernization of freight operations onin the corridor and will seek flexibility from the UPRR to pursue desired improvements in the Caltrain corridor. 10. Palo Alto will work cooperatively with neighboring communities with respect to HSR and Caltrain issues of mutual concern, including grade separations, through efforts such as the Caltrain Local Policy Maker Working Group (LPMG). Attachment B DRAFT RAIL COMMITTEE 2022-23 WORKPLAN Focus Issue Planned Rail Committee Activities Anticipated Timeframe A. Advance the planning and design of preferred rail crossing alternatives • Review grade separation selection criteria for any revisions • Receive progress reports and review consultant engineering studies as work proceeds • Monitor and engage with Caltrain on San Francisquito Bridge rehabilitation • Consider the Comprehensive Plan, the Bicycle and Pedestrain Transproation Plan, the 2012/2013 Rail Plan, and the SCAP plan in the review of grade separation election criteira. • Additional studies will take up to a year, dependent on start date and other criteria (such as any holds for 4 tracks info etc.) B. Seek/Obtain funding for Palo Alto rail crossing projects • Support for new funding opportunities and grants • Monitor and engage with Caltrain, VTA, MTC, CAHSR, and other State/Federal funding/legislation • City has advocated for funding opportunities and applied for grants • This is an ongoing task C. Seek changes to rail design criteria/technical standards in order to reduce costs and uncertainty to Palo Alto crossing projects • Advocate Caltrain review and revision of design criteria/technical standards through LPMG • Monitor and engage on HSR final EIR/EIS • Letters to Caltrain sent regarding 4-tracks and key design standards • LPMG receiving regular updates on Caltrain grade separation study D. Advance the planning and selection of new east-west bike/ped rail crossings • Receive updates and provide feedback on new crossings as Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update proceeds • Rail Commmittee to work in parallell with BPTP update process for planning and prioritizing these new east-west bike/ped crossings. • BPTP project is scheduled with procurement for Request for Proposals in Summer, project to continue into 2023 E. Seek/Obtain funding for new east-west bike/ped rail crossings • Engage VTA for use and prioritization of Measure B Grade Separation funds for bike/ped crossings • Letter sent to VTA requesting Measure B fund eligibility – awaiting VTA full response • Staff reviewing Embarcadero/Alma near-term options & prior CIP project end of life consideration of Embarcadero-Alma project. • Major funding applications will follow BPTP location selection Focus Issue Planned Rail Committee Activities Anticipated Timeframe F. Explore establishment of quiet zones at Palo Alto Avenue and elsewhere as applicable • Receive updates and provide feedback on quiet zone study for Palo Alto Avenue • TBD, pending Menlo Park’s bids/contract award G. Engage Palo Alto community in all rail planning activities • Receive presentations from outside agencies • Receive information from additional community engagement including (PAUSD, Stanford, PABAC, CSTSC, community design experts) • Following additional meetings, which are scheduled to occur in Summer/Fall H. Engage with regional and state agencies • Participate and provide updates: o Caltrain Local Policy Makers Group (LPMG) Delegated to Rail Committee o VTA Board • Ongoing