AgdaPkt 2013-01-28 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.3.B. - Page 4 previously described, Redwood City's contribution to the SCS includes several areas designated for growth in the adopted General Plan three of which are PDAs: the Downtown Precise Plan area; EI Camino Real corridor; and Veterans /Broadway corridor. To qualify for participation in the One Bay Area Grant program jurisdictions must also have a certified Housing Element and a General Plan Circulation Element that complies with Assembly Bill 1358, the California Complete Streets Act.4 Because Redwood City has both a certified Housing Element and a Complete Streets Program consistent with AB1358, staff has been able to apply for a $1 million One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) that would be use towards streetscape improvements to Middlefield Road (such as widened sidewalks, corner bulbouts, high visibility crosswalks, new bus stops and shelters, pedestrian scaled lighting, street trees, bicycle lanes and overall urban connectivity). Middlefield Road is a good candidate for the OBAG funds as it provides a direct connection for residential neighborhoods and businesses to Redwood City's downtown district, is a multi jurisdictional corridor that is heavily used by local Bay Area commuters, is part of the Countywide Bikeway Network that leads to downtown and is consistent with the San Mateo County Safe Routes to School Program5 since the improvements will serve students that walk, bicycle, and take transit to Hoover Elementary School. The City will know the outcomes of its OBAG grant application opportunity sometime in May of 2013. 4 AB 1358 places the planning, designing, and building of complete streets into the larger planning framework of the general plan by requiring jurisdictions to amend their circulation elements to plan for multimodal transportation networks. These networks should allow for all users to effectively travel by motor vehicle, foot, bicycle, and transit to reach key destinations within their community and the larger region. The Complete Streets Act states: "In order to fulfill the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, make the most efficient use of urban land and transportation infrastructure, and improve public health by encouraging physical activity, transportation planners must find innovative ways to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and to shift from short trips in the automobile to biking, walking and use of public transit." The State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) recommends that local jurisdictions view all transportation projects, new or retrofit, as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all travelers and recognize pedestrian, bicycle, and transit modes as integral elements of their transportation system. 5 The San Mateo County Office of Education's (COE's) Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) project has the goal of making San Mateo County a healthier, safer, more sustainable, environmentally sound community with better air quality, less congestion and more physically fit students and adults. The San Mateo City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) is funding the project. The COE will work collaboratively with schools and other agencies to provide resources in support of site-based programs that reduce traffic around schools, increase the numbers of students walking and biking to school, and develop greater understanding of healthy lifestyles. The project recognizes the important role of volunteers such as PTA members, Site Council leaders and others in SR2S and will support and promote their involvement in implementing activities that address local needs.