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8.B. - Page 2 of 70 The 2011 Downtown Precise Plan recognizes the importance of the Redwood City Transit Center as a major community hub in the city and encourages the integration of the transit center into the downtown, EI Camino Real, surrounding neighborhoods and potentially adjacent districts via a modern streetcar system (Goal 1.2.1.1-1). Following the recommendation of the General and the Downtown Precise plans, staff initiated two studies in 2016 when the City received funding through the Priority Development Area (PDA) Planning Grant. The first study was to evaluate the feasibility of a streetcar system that connects the Redwood City core to employment centers and neighborhoods south of downtown and Woodside Road, around the Stanford University and Stanford Medical Center campuses. The second study was to develop recommendations to redesign the transit center. Two focused objectives were identified for these studies: • Test the feasibility of implementing a streetcar or urban circulator (shuttle) along Broadway in the core of Redwood City, and • Investigate ways of making the city's transit center more efficient and better connected. The City engaged CDM Smith to develop the two studies, helping with the analyses, planning and community outreach. In 2018, the City Council adopted RWCmoves, the Citywide Transportation Plan. The Plan's vision is to "Promote the best travel experience possible for everyone in Redwood City by creating and maintaining a safe, multimodal, and accessible transportation network." These two studies promote the RWCmoves vision by furthering the following goals: • Goal Provide seamless connections and improved street access to all areas within the City • Goal Reach over 50% of all trips being by non -driving modes by 2040 • Goal Invest in projects that support a resilient, equitable, and sustainable transportation system RWCmoves included over 100 specific projects and programs that were ranked according to the community's priorities established through surveys and outreach events. • Redwood City Transit Center: Implement Short to Medium Term Improvements was the top scoring Signature Project (score of 69) in the Plan and was listed as one of the top four signature projects (31 of 96 votes) in the draft plan survey • Broadway Street Streetcar Project: Phase 11 was the second-highest scoring Signature Project (score of 66), was listed as one of the top four signature projects (23 of 96 votes), but was also the mostly commonly cited project that should not be a signature project (19 of 40 votes) The studies were completed in summer 2019. They were presented to the Transportation Advisory Committee June 11, 2019 and to downtown interest groups that summer as well. Staff plan to utilize the findings and analyses in the upcoming extensive community outreach and planning efforts to develop a Sequoia Station Transit District Plan and to conduct the Central Redwood City visioning process recommended at the November 4, 2019 City Council meeting. In advance of that engagement effort, staff wanted to be sure that the City Council also had the opportunity to review the studies, prompting this Page 2 of 10 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore 545