PURPOSE:

 

Staff requests that the City Council adopt the proposed resolution authorizing the acceptance of a Caltrans Bicycle Transportation Account Grant in the amount of $274,500, with a local match requirement of $30,500, for the construction of the Hollywood Way Class II Bikeway and Grade Separation Modification.  Staff further requests that Council authorize staff to request a drawdown from Article 3 Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds to fund the local match portion of the project.

 

BACKGROUND:

 

In December 2003, City Council adopted the City of Burbank Bicycle Master Plan to develop and enhance the City�s non-motorized transportation system.  The plan identified  a number of Top Priority Projects for further study and funding opportunities that, when completed, would form a network of routes connecting existing regional bikeways, population and employment centers, recreational facilities, and school sites.  In March 2004, Caltrans reviewed the Master Plan and found it in compliance with Streets and Highways Code requirements and thus eligible for funding opportunities through the Caltrans Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA).  This funding source allocates $7.2 Million annually for bicycle projects throughout the state that are part of a Caltrans-approved Master Plan.  In February 2005 staff submitted Project #14 from the Master Plan, which calls for implementation of Class II bicycle lanes along Hollywood Way between Pacific Avenue and San Fernando Blvd including modification of the Hollywood Way railroad underpass at Empire Avenue to accommodate bicycle lanes.  The project would provide a more bicycle-friendly link between the Golden State area and Magnolia Park and Media District neighborhoods to the south by bridging the railroad tracks that currently act as a barrier to bicycle travel.  The project would also provide better bicycle access to the Bob Hope Airport and the proposed Empire Area Transit Center (EATC) proposed for the Bob Hope Airport Metrolink/Amtrak station.

 

ANALYSIS:

 

Project Description

 

Staff proposes to implement the Hollywood Way Bikeway as a class II route between Pacific Avenue and San Fernando Boulevard.  The project would add a striped bicycle lane on Hollywood Way and would include modifications to the median and sidewalk of the Hollywood Way underpass at Empire Avenue to provide bicycle lanes while reducing travel lanes widths from 14-foot to standard 12-foot travel lanes.  Burbank has a number of railroad lines that act as barriers to bicycle travel, as the roadways that cross them are narrow and constrained for bicycles.  This project would provide a connection across this barrier by providing a dedicated bicycle lane through the underpass.  The project would connect the Golden State area and the Bob Hope Airport to the Magnolia Park and Media District neighborhoods to the south.  The project would also connect the future San Fernando Bikeway proposed by the City of Los Angeles to Burbank�s bicycle network. Connection to this future facility would be accomplished by routing the bicycle lanes up to San Fernando Boulevard via the existing access ramps at the Hollywood Way / San Fernando Blvd. underpass.  Through implementation of this project and residential Class III routes currently under construction, bicyclists would have an attractive north-south corridor between the Golden State area and the Media District.

 

Besides improving the Hollywood Way / Empire Avenue railroad underpass, the limits of this project were chosen to utilize the wider street width of Hollywood Way north of Pacific Avenue.  The standard cross section of Hollywood Way throughout the city is 68 feet, however, north of Pacific Avenue this right-of-way expands to 76 feet.  This wider right-of-way allows for bicycle lanes to be striped adjacent to existing travel lanes without sacrificing the on-street parking between Pacific Avenue and Vanowen Street.  North of Thornton Avenue, Hollywood Way expands to 80 feet.  Installation of the bike lanes between Thornton and San Fernando Boulevard would require removal and shifting of existing lane markings to accommodate the new bicycle lanes.  Minor parking removal will also be required along the east side of Hollywood Way north of Winona Avenue to accommodate the bicycle lanes.

 

Hollywood Way north of Thornton Avenue is currently striped for three travel lanes in the southbound direction and two travel lanes in the northbound direction.  There are future plans to install a third northbound lane when traffic conditions warrant to improve vehicle flow and operation of the Hollywood Way / Thornton Avenue intersection.  These plans are supported by the traffic analysis for the Land Use and Mobility Element update, which shows that the third northbound lane will be required at the year 2020 (assuming a straight-line projection of Council-approved land use forecasts).  Without bike lanes, this would be accomplished within the existing 80-foot right-of-way by restriping the existing wide northbound lane to add a third curb lane and removing a limited amount of street parking north of Winona Avenue.  However, with installation of the bike lanes, adding this third northbound lane would require a street widening of 2 feet on each side of Hollywood Way (for a total of 84 feet) to accommodate 6 travel lanes, two bike lanes, and a center-turn-lane.  It is expected that due to the need for additional travel lanes not expected for 15 years that this widening would be coordinated with a future reconstruction/repaving of Hollywood Way.

 

Local and Regional Connectivity

 

The Hollywood Way Bikeway further implements the overall bicycle network outlined in the Bicycle Master Plan, which carries the objective of encouraging more bicycle travel for commute and utilitarian trips by implementing a citywide bicycle network that is continuous, closes gaps in the network, bridges barriers to bicycle travel, and serves important destinations.  To this end, the Hollywood Way bikeway increases connectivity between the emerging office and retail developments in the Golden State Area and the rest of the city.  It also provides an important north-south bicycle corridor when combined with the north-south residential Class III routes south of Pacific Avenue, and serves to link the Golden State area with the Media District and Magnolia Park.  Finally, the Hollywood Way bikeway would serve important regional facilities including the San Fernando Bikeway and federally funded Empire Area Transit Center (EATC), a project to expand the existing Airport Metrolink/Amtrak station to include bus and rail passenger facilities and bicycle amenities.

 

Transportation Commission

 

Staff presented the proposed project to the Transportation Commission at their February 27, 2006, where they �.

 

Environmental Process

 

Because this project proposes only minor alterations of existing city streets, this project was determined to be categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c).

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

 

The estimated project cost of the Hollywood Way Class II Bikeway and Grade Separation Modification including design, modification of curbing and median in the Hollywood Way underpass, striping of bicycle lanes, and sandblasting and striping of travel lanes in selected locations is $305,000.  Of this amount, $274,500 of this cost is funded through the Caltrans BTA grant.  This grant would be fronted through Transportation Impact Fee (Fund 127) revenues and reimbursed through the grant.  If approved, these funds would be moved from the unappropriated fund 127.ND000.30004.0000.000000 to the project account 127.CD33A.70002.0000.16694. 

 

The 10% local match of $30,500 is recommended to be  funded through the Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 Funds. These funds are administered by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and are distributed to local agencies based on population.  Funds from this source may be used for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.  Staff recommends waiting to appropriate the $30,500 until the 2006-07 budget adoption due to TDA fund regulations which  require that all funds �drawn down� be spent in the same fiscal year.  If the City of Burbank were to draw down the funds immediately, and the funds were not spent by June 30, 2006, the City would either have to return the funds to be reallocated at a future time, or would be penalized by being required to pay interest on funds rolled over to the next fiscal year.  In the past, City Council has authorized these funds to be used towards construction of the Chandler Bikeway, a Safe Routes to School grant, and the prior Beachwood Enhanced Class III Bikeway BTA grant.  At this time, staff requests approval to drawdown the $30,500 from the City�s 2005 allocation of $53,166 to fund the local match portion of this project. If approved the TDA funds ($30,500) would be appropriated in the 2006-07 budget process from account 370.PW000.48010.1018.000000 and deposited into 370.PW21A.70002.0000.16694. 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

The Hollywood Way Class II Bikeway and Grade Separation Modification would further expand the City of Burbank�s developing bicycle network and provide additional connectivity between major destinations to further the overall goal of the Bicycle Master Plan to expand bicycling for the purposes of commuter and utilitarian trips.  The project would provide a bicycle-friendly connection across the UP/ SCRRA Metrolink Coast Line, a major barrier to bicycle travel, and connect the Golden State area and the Media District, Magnolia Park, and other areas south of Vanowen Street.  The project would connect the regional San Fernando Class I Bikeway, portions of which are currently in design or under construction by the City of Los Angeles, to the City of Burbank�s bicycle network.  The project would also enhance the bicycle connection to the Bob Hope Airport Metrolink/Amtrak station, where bicycle amenities are planned as part of the EATC project currently in initial design.  The project would not impact parking or existing parking south of Empire Avenue, and would require minor parking removal north of Winona Avenue.  Installation of bike lanes would preclude the addition of a third northbound lane on Hollywood Way north of Thornton Avenue without additional street widening, however, long-range forecasts show this improvement is not needed until 2020.

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

Staff recommends that Council adopt the proposed resolution authorizing acceptance of the Caltrans BTA Grant Funds, directing staff to enter into a Bicycle Transportation Account Project Agreement between the City and Caltrans to construct the proposed project, authorizing the Community Development Director submit a claim form to MTA requesting a drawdown of $30,500 for the FY 2004-2005 Transportation Development Act Article 3 Bicycle and Pedestrian Funds, and amending the Fiscal Year 2005/2006 Budget.

 

Exhibits

 

Exhibit A:  Project Map

 

Exhibit B:  Caltrans �Local Agreement � State Agreement� for the Hollywood Way Class II Bikeway and Grade Separation Modification Bicycle Transportation Account Project