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17. Tri-school area traffic report ~ PUBUC WORKS DEPARTMENT CUPERTINO Summary AGENDA ITEM /1 AGENDA DATE October 2. 2007 SUBJECT AND ISSUE Interim report on alternative considerations regarding the evaluation of Traffic Issues in the tri- school area, including Monta Vista High; Kennedy Middle, and Lincoln Elementary Schools. BACKGROUND L, During Budget discussions on June 4, June 5, and June 19, 2007, the City Council discussed traffic issueS regarding commute' congestion hi the tri-school area (Monta Vista Ill~ Kennedy Middle, and Lincoln Elementary , Schools). A number of issues were raised, including, among other things, the possibility of some kind of commute transportation system that would be aimed at reducing traffic congestion during the school pickup and dropoffhours. The Co~cil considered a budget proposal by the City' Manager to fund a red light l1mning program at $250,000 a year over a three-year p~od. The Council instead approved a budget ' amount of $300,000 for FY 07-08 for UJispecified traffic safety around schools. The consensuS of the Council, while not approving any specific direction, was for staff to engage consultant(s) . as necessary and to report back to Council with recommendations for the Mid- Year Budget discussions and adjustments as may be necessarY and appropriate. ' In order to address the issues in an orderly and expeditious way, this interim report has been prepared for the Council's consideration in advance of the mid-year budget discussions. StafIhas conducted some preHminRry research with the assistance of the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD), conducting a survey of parents relating to this topic. This interim report is presented to Council ahead of the Mid-Year Budget discussions in an effort to narrow the focus on what area and alternatives the study should include 'and to assist the Council in developing more specific direction based on alternative considerations. Staff also approached the Fremont Union Illgh School District (FUHSD) to conduct a similar survey of 'interest among the Illgh School parents, but the district did not proceed with,that effort. Staff has reviewed the current situation with respect to traffic in the tri-school area and has evaluated several suggested courses of action for consideration and discussion by the Council. '--' 1 17 -1 . DISCUSSION J Tri":school Traffic Congestion Issues As noted on several occasions, most recently by Council on February 20,2007, there have been many' activities related to the traffi.c safety around the school and many meetings between the school district" City and Sheriff's representatives, as well as neighborhood area residents and parents. These meetings have been going on for some time, resulting in many of the efforts and achievements described m Attachment "A." In summary, the City and the Shemrs Office have devoted a great deal of time, effort and money addressing congestion in the tri-school area. These efforts have been and continue to be focused on the main problems in the area. These include: 1. Traffic congestion converging at McClellan and Bubb Roads during drop-offs at Monta Vista High School, Kennedy Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School. 2. Congestion spilling over the entire area including the side streets off of Bubb and McClellan Roads. McClellan Road also backs up as far east as SteI1ing Road when De Anza studen~ are present 3. The problem is further compounded by traffic congestion on Rainbow Drive between Stelling and Bubb Roads for drop-offs at Regnart Elementary School. It is important to recognize some fundamental facts over which the City of Cupertino has ,very little control. These are: ---./ . Parents and high school student drivers' continuing practice of driving kids to school one student at a time. . School District(s) inability to provide busing services to elementary and high school deStinations. . Continuing perception by many that the tri-school traffi.c problem is the City's ,sole responsibility. In other words, during the morning and afternoon student weekday commutes, the primary tra:ffic problem stems from the fact that over 4,500 students need to arrive at three schools within an 80- minute window. Almost half of those students need to arrive within a 35-minute window. All this notwithstanding, the fact remains that this condition, while severely concentrated in a short window of time remains a very localized congestion condition and is short-lived, Le., occurring over a 25-35 minute period in the morning pre-school, hour. While many people perceive otherwise, the inescapable fact is that, in the overall scheme of thhigs, this condition, while frustrating for drivers and residents in the area during this morning peak peri~ is a minor congestion condition when considering the entire 1raffi.c and roadway system as a whole. ....J 17 -2 2 INFRASTRUCTURE CONSIDERATIONS 'L- Over the past few years it has been suggested from various sources that modifying the traffic and roadway infrastructure facilities would be a legitimate option for easing the congestion hi the tri. school area. These have ranged from traffic sigruu modifications (which have been made to then extent practicable) to closmg cross streets into residential areas or even extreme proposals such as widening McClellan and Boob Roads, which would require millions in property acquisitions. If the City were to consider ' extreme measures to ease the congestion tinder its present conditions, it would be an enormous undertaking and extremely expensive. More importantly, in the end it would be addressing a congestion probl~ even if it endured for 45 minutes a day, ,five days a week during the school year that is only 2% of the annual traffic hours on this roadway system. Therefore, the only other possibilitY is to either change the driving habits of parents and teens or consider alternatives and more efficient modes of transportation. Since, neither the school districts, including many dedicated people working in parent-teacher groups nor the City or Sheriff's Office have 'had much success with efforts to crumge driving habits, the only option rem~ining is alternative transportation, including some localized effort at mass transifin the area. Before proceeding with the discussion on mass transit options, it should be noted that, except during inclement weather, many middle and high school students do walk or ride bicycles to school. If they did not, the problem would be even worse. L TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS From the foregoing discussion, it seems clear that the primary objective of a 1ransportation service would be to carry a sufficient nmnber of the commuting students to have a measurable, or at least observable, impact on reducing traffic congestion during the school commute hours. It should be noted that Busing and Shuttles are not necessarily the same thing: · Buses usually run on a prescribed route with established stops and well defined schedules. . Shuttles generally run a continuous loop from an origin to a destination and return with stops in between but without a specific schedule except an approximate waiting time, as "every fifteen minutes". Measmes for Success of a Busini (or Shuttle) Program In considering the establishment of any busing program, a coherent statement of goals and measurements for success should be established. As mentioned above, among the things to be considered would be: L · Measurable reduction in congestion · Significant ridership (may: also be an indicator ofoongestion reduction) · Long term funding source( s) 17 -3 3 Tran~rtation Demand / Route Desirro Survey At staff's request, the Cupertino Union School District ran a transportation survey directed at the parents of LiDcoln Elementary and Kennedy Middle schools to help determine the level and nature of interest in a shuttle. A same or a similar survey was to be conducted at ~onta Vista ffigb. School, but the high school opted not to nm the survey. .J Among the CUSD's survey results are the following: . 95% of parents would be interested in using a free bus service. to transport their children to school. . 72% of parents, however, would not allow their students to use the shuttle if it were available for use by the general public. . Even if the service were not available to the general public" 54% of parents would have, their stUdents use the shuttle only if a stop were less tJ:um two blocks away from home. . Fewer than 35% would have their students use it if the stop were 2 to 4 blocks or further away. The survey also yielded location information on the respondents to make it possible to plot preliminary' routes. This location information indicates that a' significant portion of the respondents are not sufficiently close to McClellan Road 'and Bubb Road that, according to the survey, they would not have their students use bus service that had stops only along those streets. CUSD officials told staff that the previous District-operated ~hool bus routes did indeed go into the neighborhoods, with the stops having to be closely tailored to the locations of the students who took thebuses, i.e., within a few blocks as the survey confirmed. ..-.-/ Summaries of the experiences in busing program..s operated by the City of Palo Alto and CUSD are described below. Detailed narratives of these experiences may be found in Attachment B'. Palo Alto E1q)erience with Public Shuttle - Summary (petails in Attachment B) The City of Palo Alto funds and operates free shuttles that are open to the general public, but which serve the significant purpose of transporting students to and from school. Because the shuttles are open to the public, the requirements of operating a school bus are avoided. The 'shuttles serve the two high schools and three middle schools. Palo Alto's general experiences include: . The shuttle drivers aren't used to deHling with school children . Middle school children tend to be destmctive to the shuttles . ffigh school ridership is generally limited to :freshman and sophomores . Staff resource time approaches 8 hours per week . The shuttles are often very crowded at commute times and students frequently have trouble getting aboard ~ 17 -4 4 Cupertino Union School Dis1rict School Busing Program - SnmmaryOJetails in Attachment B) L.- The Cupertino Union School District eliminSltl'-d its school busing program approximately 13 years ago. ,The program was eliminated because of its cost impact, and the :tiscalneeds of other, school programs that the District considered a higher priority. Smprisingly, there was no general opposition or complaint raised by the parents of the District's students over the scaling back of ~pro~. ' In the District's experience, parents of students are not willing to pay the cost of busing directly, nQr is the District in a position at this time to contribute to funding a busing program. A public bus shuttle program such as that run by the City of Palo Alto in cooperation with Caltrain would not be acceptable to the District. 1bis echoes the results of the survey: the parents are . overwhelmingly opposed to a sc~ool shuttle being available for general public use. Bus Transoortation Consultant. Tri.school School Bus Proposal Staff asked Laidlaw Transit, Inc., the largest contract provider of educational busing service in . North America, to provide a bus transportation proposal for the 1ri-school area. In order for the program to have a reasonable chance of success, the parameters that staff set were based on the type of school bus service that the Dis1rict had provided prior to scaling back, and the experienced input of Laidlaw. L A goal of carrying 20% of the Lincoln and Kennedy students and 100.10 of the Monta Vista High School students, about 660 of the three-school population of 4,550 students was set. To run morning and afternoon school day coinmute bus service would take 10 to 13 62-passenger buses, and would have an annual cost of between $780,000 and $1,100,000. The carrier would want a minimum 3-year contract. Although staff does not yet have a' detailed roUte proposal, Laidlaw indicated that the routes wouid be tailored in a fashion similar to what the District provided prior to the scaling back of its, busing program and would be a student only service. De Anza to Foothill McClellan,Road Shuttle Proposal- Pilot Program Staff requested proposals from several bus transportation companies on providing a public bus shuttle operation that would offer, weekday service to stops along McClellan Road between Foothill and De Anza boulevards. The service would operate two 18-22 passenger buses running continuous weekday loops along this route between the hours of 7:00 to 9:00 am and 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Initially, this service would be offered during the month of November 2007. The proposals submitted indicated that such a service would have an average monthly cost of $10,000. If Council decided to take this option, a 1raffic consultant would be needed to measure the relative success of the program in achieving the program goals, i.e. congestion relief along with other expenses. ~ 5 17 -5 The estimated costs for operation of a pilot shuttle program in November 2007 would be: J Total Pilot Project Cost Estimate $ 10,000 2,000 7,000 5~OOO S 24,000 . Operation ren~ of2 shuttle buses' . Route Planning . Traffic and congestion studies . Advertising and miscellaneous start-up costs FUNDING AND FISCAL POLICY CONSIDERATIONS Fiscal Impact Implementation of the McClellan Shuttle Pilot program for one month is estimated to cost $24,000 and funding is available in the Traffic Safety Project Account in the adopted 2007-2008 Operating Budget, Account # 110-8603-7014. However, this program in any form. could have a significant long term fiscal impact If the De Anza to Foothill McClellan Road Shuttle Proposal is adopted, the annual cost to the City General Fund is estimated to be appro~ly $130,000. If a program such as that' designed by Laidlaw and similar to what the Cupertino Unipn School , District provided before the scaling back of its program proves necessary to achieve measurable reduction in traffic congestion, the annual cost to the City General Fund is estimated to be --J between $780,000 and $1,100,000. ' If the shuttle program achieves a measurable, or, at least observable, reduction in tra.:ffic congestion dming the school commute so that it becomes desirable to continue the pro~ somces of long term funding would need to be identified. This is' especially important if the conclusion is that an acceptable reduction of traffic congestion can only be achieved with a program similar to that formerly run by the District and recommended by Laidlaw. Based on the survey results from CSUD, it appears that such a conclusion is very likely. Fiscal Policy Considerations During discussion of this issue, Council had mentioned methods of ongoing funding of the program, such as' a parcel tax. Although the Palo Alto Unified School District apparently contributes an unspecified amount to help operate Palo Alto's shuttle, the Cupertino Union School District has indicated that it is not in a position to fund a busing program beyond what it already provides with its scaled back program. ' Finally, it should be noted that the City contributes nearly $700,000 annually in school playfield maintenance to the CUSD in exchange for use of the fields for intramural sports. It should be further noted that the City contributes over $100,000 annually for 'crossing guards at CUSD schools; which the City is under no obligation or mandate to provide. ' ' J 6 17 -:6 ~ ~ ~ As a policy matter, staff believes that it would not be a good precedent to further extend the City's general fund support fQr activities and. services which should be provided by the school district. The main contributing causes to the traffic issues in the tri-school area are the location of the schools themselves, the lack of school district funding, md the driving behavior of the parents dropping the children at school, and the City has no control over any of these causal factors. STAFF RECOMMENDATION For .seve~ reasons noted throughout this report, Staff does not recommend that the Council proceed with any ldnd of a busing or shuttle program at City expense to serve the tri-school area. Should the Council wish to proceed with a: transportation system option for the tri-school area, staffwould suggest implementing the De Anza-Foothill McClellan Road shuttle service for a one month period during the month of November, 2007 with an estimated cost of $24,000. Submitted by: '7!;(lJ!: U aLltf Director of Public Works Approved for submission: ~~ ~avid W. Knapp . o City Manager 17 -7 7 A'ITACIIMENT A J TRI-SCHOOL TRAFFIC SAFETY ACfIVITIES 1. The Monta Vista High S~ool, Kennedy Middle School, and Lincoln Elementary School Safe Routes to School (SR2S) project that . - Designed'and constructed a drop-off area in the high. school's parking, area adjacent to McClellan Road and a special accessible sidewalk ramp along the westerly commute to the 1ri~schools destination -Established a sChool safety zone along the McClelliin Road frontage ofMonta Vista High School and Lincoln Elementary School that included a warning beacon to the west and enhanced crosswalks with pedestrian-activated in- .pavement lights - Installed other access improvements; 2. Preferential parking zones and the student parking program in the adjacent Monta Vista neighborhood, and provision of seasonal parking privileges for Monta Vista High School . students at B1ackbetry Farm near the high school; J 3. Installation of road bumps along Byrne Avenue to help calm the traffic along the street, much of which is generated by the tri-school commutes; . 4. In concert with the school administration, adjustment of the Lincoln Elementary School drop-off area and connecting McClellan crosswalk, and provision of a crossing guard; 5. Periodic upgrading of signing and striping in the McClellan Road and Hyannisport, Presidio, and Ft. Baker Drives school areas; , . . 6. Periodic deployment of the radar wagon; 7. traffic enforcement around the schools, including speed, traffic controlled intersection, lane, and crosswalk encroachment violations; . . 8. Safe Moves Comprehensive Traffic Safety Program; 9. Altrans program to explore commute alternatives; 10. Sheriff's deputy traffic instruction in the schools; 11. Hyannisport, Presidio, and Ft. Baker Drives parking restrictions; --../ 12. Sheriff's Office Kennedy traffic circulation plan; 17 -8 8 L ATTACHMENTB CITY OF PALO ALTO I CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICf BUSING Cupertino Union School District School Busing Experience Approximately 13 years ago, the Cupertino Union School District eliminAted its school busing program, except for that mandated by law for special needs students and that provided for occasional field trips. The busing program was elimin::lted because of its cost impact on the District's general fund, and the fiscal needs of other school programs that the District considered of higher priority. According to District officials, there was no general hue arid cry raised by the parents of the District's students over the scaling back of the busing program. Had there been, they say, they would have had to consider responding to the budgetary necessities in it. different way. A p~lic bus shuttle program such as that run by the City of Palo Alto in cooperation with Caltrain would not be acceptable to the District. This echoes the results of the survey: the parents are overwhelmingly opposed to a shuttle being available for genera) pub6c use. A school bus is required to operate in specific ways, with driver, equipment, and other certifications and specifications set by state law that do not apply to other forms of public bus transportation Palo Alto Experience with Public Shuttlebuses ~ The City of Palo Alto operates two free shuttles that are oPen to the public, but which serve the objective of transporting students to and from school. . A consultant was hired by Palo Alto during the development stage to assist City staff in the significant decision-making, since staff does riot have expertise in transit or school bus planning. Because the shuttles are open to the public, the requirements of operating a school bus are avoided. Palo Alto contracts the shuttle seIvice through Caltrain, whose downtown station stop is served by the shuttles, and who contracts with Parking C~mpany of America ~ operate the program. 17 - 9 . 9 The crosstown shuttle runs along and around Middlefield Road between Axastradero Road and University Avenue from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. It bas stops at Gunn High School, Terman and JLS Middle Schools in the morning and afternoon and at Jordan Middle School throughout the day. The Embarcadero shuttle runs along Embarcadero Road and serves' Palo Alto High School and Jordan Middle School. ~ Palo Alto's experiences with the shuttles include: . The shuttle drivers aren't used to dealing with school children . Middle school children tend to be destructive to the shuttles . High school ridership is genera.ny limited to freshmen and sophomores . . Staff resource time approaches 8 hours per week . The shuttle buses are often very crowded at commute times, and students frequently have difficulty getting aboaro. According to. Palo Alto City sta.ft the annual cost of running the Palo Alto shuttle system is $370,000. This does not take into account City reso~s and staff used. The shuttles ~ approximately 60 of the 1680 students at Gunn High School. The effect of the shuttle on traffic congestion appears to be minimal, since as of last year, traffic on Arastradero between EI Camino Real and Gunn lIigh School continues to experience stop-and-go traffic for a lS~minute period prior to the begjnning of the school day. According to Palo Alto's website, shuttle service is made possible in part by contributions from the Palo Alto Unified School District, and the City of Palo Alto invites corporate sponsorships to help support and expand the Palo Alto Shuttle. . .....J . J 17 -10 10. '- i .' ", .Y.H. IBll/O/~'Oi~ 17 . ma,lC 8okeJrY)(ln tl.i '" ~ tition to Cnpertino City Conneil ~__ __.. _-Meeting of October 2, 2007 We, the undersigned residents of West-Side Cupertino are in favor of Item number 17 on the City Council agenda. This proposal to "provide, on a trial basis, two shuttle buses on McClellan Road between De Anza Boulevard and Foothill Boulevard for the month of November 2007" would alleviate traffic congestion on McClellan Road at the tri-schools of Monta Vista High, Kennedy Middle and Lincoln Elementary schools and improve safety conditions for students on their way to and from school. It would reduce auto exhaust emissions in the school area, free up parking in the neighborhoods and save parents the time and expense of bring children to and from the schools. k' CtIJuJ MSV 7- ~ , Address /~,!z ~~/~~ ~~;~ 10 q. i'iJ- S Gt!r1/ e. ~/1"'e: It;; \068t.. S"~\ c. 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