Exhibit CC 11-03-14 Item No. 5 Responses to 10/21/14 SR 85 Express lane CC 11/3/14
#5
Responses to Questions from October 21,2014 Cupertino Council Presentation on SR 85
Express Lanes Project
1. What exactly is the recommended Board action for Nov 6?
VTA Response: Please refer to Attachment A, VTA Board Memo on the
Implementation of Express Lanes on SR 85 and Attachment B,Noise Reduction Study on
SR 85 for information.
2.
What is the cost for the one lane conversion?
VTA Response: The total estimated cost is $65 million for the single-lane conversion of
existing carpool lanes on SR 85. In comparison, the total estimated cost for the full
project, which includes both single-lane conversions and the addition of a second express
lane between SR 87 and I-280, is $170 million.
3. What is the projected revenue, year by year, for next 20 years?
VTA Response: Based on the planning level estimates for the single-lane conversion, the
projected gross annual revenue generation level in 2020 is $8 million and the projected
gross cumulative revenue generation over a 30-year period is $400 million. The planning
level estimates show that tolls generated will be enough to cover the cost of operating the
express lanes within two years of operation.
As the project moves forward, the revenue analysis will be updated and refined. The
project will only be constructed if the revenue analysis indicates that the project could be
successfully financed based on the traffic and revenue projections. The direction on how
the net revenues will be spent will be based on a future expenditure plan approved by the
VTA Board of Directors.
The terms of toll collection and reinvestment are dictated by California Streets and
Highways Code Section 149.6. It should be noted that the purpose of the net toll
revenue, after payment of direct expenses (meaning operating and maintenance expenses
for the express lanes), is to fund transportation improvements in the SR 85 corridor.
The VTA-led SR 237 Express Lanes have been in operation since 2012. From inception
to June 2014, the SR 237 Express Lanes served over 1.3 million toll paying customers
(about 20% of the just over 6 million customers that have used the facility), and about
120,000 vehicle hours of travel time savings have been gained in the corridor while
generating about$2.5 million. For fiscal year 2014, the toll revenues generated have
exceeded projections while the total expenses incurred were close to projections.
Overall, the SR 237 Express Lanes resulted in positive annual net revenues over expenses
of just over$400,000 for fiscal year 2014.
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4. How long to meet max capacity?
VTA Response: Traffic operations analysis for highway projects require analysis of
peak(commute)period existing conditions (base year), opening year conditions, and
future design year conditions 20 years in the future. Work on the development of the SR
85 Express Lanes began in 2007; with 2007 as the base year, 2015 as the projected
opening year, and 2035 as the future design year. These are the only traffic conditions
that are available from the approved traffic operations analysis report.
For the proposed single-lane conversion, it is probable that the maximum capacity on the
express lanes may be reached during certain times of the day at which point the"HOV
Only"mode will be in effect on the express lanes.
The VTA-led SR 237 Express Lanes facility, which opened in 2012, has"HOV Only"
restriction during some afternoon peak period commute hours in the eastbound direction.
This is due to the downstream congestion on I-880 that occurs north of the Santa Clara
County limits. For Fiscal Year 2014,the facility was restricted to "HOV Only"use for a
total of about 240 hours. The 240 hours represents about six percent of the total express
lanes operating hours and has reduced the total toll vehicle usage by about two percent.
The morning commute operations hours and the westbound PM operations hours do not
typically have"HOV Only"mode operations.
5. Details on entry and exit points for Cupertino?
VTA Response: In the northbound direction, the proposed single express lane starts
north of S. De Anza Blvd(Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd) and ends north of Middlefield Rd. In
the southbound direction, it starts south of Middlefield Rd and ends south of Stevens
Creek Blvd.
Near Cupertino, in the northbound direction, there is a proposed entry/exit point north of
the S. De Anza Blvd(Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd)Interchange with a length of 2,200 feet
and north of the Homestead Rd Interchange with a length of 5,800 feet. In the
southbound direction,there is a proposed entry/exit point south of El Camino Real with a
length of 6,522 feet.
The following is a table showing the proposed express lanes entry/exit points with
distances to and from local on- and off-ramps near Cupertino:
Northbound SR 85
S. De Anza Blvd(Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd) On-Ramp to Express Lane 0.4 miles
Express Lane to Stevens Creek Blvd Off-Ramp 0.5 miles
Express Lane to northbound 1-280 Connector 0.8 miles
SB I-280 Connector to Express Lane 0.6 miles
Stevens Creek Blvd/NB I-280 Connector to Express Lane 0.3 miles
Southbound SR 85
Express Lane to Homestead Rd Off-Ramp 1.0 mile
Express Lane to northbound 1-280 Connector 1.3 miles
Express Lane to Stevens Creek Blvd Off-Ramp 2.2 miles
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The proposed express lane access restrictions (double-line striped buffer zone) will be
further refined during project design phase to obtain the optimum design.
It should be noted that the location of the access points are determined based on
geometric, safety, environmental, operational and policy requirements. In general, the
criteria for locating access points are:
• Design access points to serve, in order of priority, freeway-to-freeway
interchanges, expressways, major arterials and local streets.
• Maintain a safe distance between access points and ramp exit/entrance points to
avoid any undesirable movements between ramps and access points.
• Provide access points between off- and on-ramps where there would be less
congestion.
• Provide access points before or after a general purpose lane bottleneck location to
avoid weaving conflicts between express lanes and general purpose lanes traffic.
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Responses to Questions from 10/21/14 Council
Presentation on SR 85 Express Lanes Project
T� SANTA C L A R A Attachment
® Valley Transportation Authority
Date: October 16, 2014
Current Meeting: November 6, 2014
Board Meeting: November 6, 2014
BOARD MEMORANDUM
TO: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Board of Directors
THROUGH: General Manager,Nuria I. Fernandez
FROM: Director of Planning and Program Development, John Ristow
SUBJECT: Implementation of Express Lanes on SR 85
Policy-Related Action:Yes Government Code Section 84308 Applies:No
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDATION:
Support implementation of express lanes on SR 85 as a single-lane conversion.
BACKGROUND:
The Silicon Valley Express Lanes Program(hereafter referred to as Program) was undertaken to
provide long-term mobility benefits and to provide another potential funding stream for
transportation improvements. Specifically, the primary objectives of the Program are the
following:
1. Provide congestion relief through more effective use of existing roadways;
2. Provide commuters with a new mobility option; and
3. Provide a new funding source for transportation improvements including public transit.
The Program has been under development since 2004 when the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority(VTA)Board of Directors authorized the development of a feasibility
study of what was then referred to as high occupancy toll(HOT) lanes (now referred to as
Express Lanes). In 2004, VTA also received legislative authority, through Assembly Bill 2032
(AB 2032), to implement and operate express lanes in Santa Clara County. In December 2008,
the VTA Board of Directors approved the Program, concluding over 18 months of coordination,
3331 North First Street•San Jose,CA 95134-1927 Administration 408.321.5555•Customer Service 408.321.2300
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analysis and outreach on both technical and policy areas related to implementing express lanes.
This effort also included reaching out to the general public,key community and project
stakeholders to seek public opinion through focus groups, web survey, open houses,presentation
to business communities and environmental groups.
After more than two years of analysis and preparation, the environmental document for the SR
85 Express Lanes Project was released for public review and comment on December 30, 2013
with the formal public comment period ending,on February 28, 2014. VTA and Caltrans
conducted two public meetings on the project and were subsequently asked to provide
information at several city council meetings and other public forums. Six public agencies and
301 individuals commented on the project resulting in over 800 separate comments received.
The lead agency for both the state and federal environmental processes is the California
Department of Transportation(Caltrans). However,the implementing agency for the project,
established by AB 2032, is VTA. As a result,policy decisions on how and when to implement
express lanes in Santa Clara County is the responsibility of the VTA Board of Directors.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this memorandum is to outline a path forward for implementing express lanes on
SR 85. This path forward considers input received from all stakeholders during the ongoing
environmental documentation and preliminary engineering phase of work. This includes
comments from the public and local agencies as well as consultation with Caltrans.
Based on the input received, the path forward is to include completion of the environmental .
document with the proposed double-lane section for central portion of the corridor. However;
staff recommendation is for the VTA Board of Directors to approve an incremental approach to
implementation of express lanes on SR 85 to only include single-lane conversions of existing
carpool lanes. Providing the additional capacity that is needed for the corridor by adding a
second express lane, as identified in the environmental document,will not be considered until
VTA and Caltrans staffs confer with local cities and towns on such proposals.
ALTERNATIVES:
The VTA Board could decide to not approve implementation of express lanes on SR 85 as a
single-lane conversion. However, this would not address the cities' concern regarding the double
express lanes between SR 87 and I-280.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact at this time.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE DISCUSSION/RECOMENDATION
The Board Memorandum presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee(CAC),Technical .
Advisory Committee (TAC) and Policy Advisory Committee(PAC) included both this item and
the Noise Reduction Study on SR 85 under Memo#4737. Per General Counsel recommendation,
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these two items were split from the original Board Memorandum. The CAC unanimously
recommended this item to the VTA Board for approval. The TAC also recommended this item
to the VTA Board for approval but with one "no" vote. The PAC had a minimum quorum of
nine and had 2 abstentions during the vote. All other PAC members voted to move this item to
the VTA Board. PAC Chairperson Miller requested staff to provide a report to explain what
alternatives were studied and why light rail was not considered in the median.
CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM&PLANNING(CMPP)
DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION
The CMPP unanimously recommended this item to the VTA Board for its support.
Prepared by: Gene Gonzalo
Memo No. 4705
ATTACHMENTS:
• 85_EXP_Graphic (JPG)
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' Responses to Questions from 10/21/14 Council
Presentation on SR 85 Express Lanes Project
Attachment B
S A N T A f L A R A
® Valley Transportation Authority
Date: October 21, 2014
Current Meeting: November 6, 2014
Board Meeting: November 6,2014
BOARD MEMORANDUM
TO: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Board of Directors
THROUGH: General Manager,Nuria I. Fernandez
FROM: Director of Planning and Program Development, John Ristow
SUBJECT: Noise Reduction Study on SR 85
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
BACKGROUND:
The Silicon Valley Express Lanes Program(hereafter referred to as Program)was undertaken to
provide long-term mobility benefits and to provide another potential funding stream for
transportation improvements. Specifically,the primary objectives of the Program are the
following:
L Provide congestion relief through more effective use of existing roadways;
2. Provide commuters with a new mobility option; and
3. Provide a new funding source for transportation improvements including public transit.
The Program has been under development since 2004 when the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority(VTA)Board of Directors authorized the development of a feasibility
study of what was then referred to as high occupancy toll(HOT)lanes (now referred to as
Express Lanes). In 2004,VTA also received legislative authority,through Assembly Bill 2032
(AB 2032), to implement and operate express lanes in Santa Clara County. In December 2008,
the VTA Board of Directors approved the Program, concluding over 18 months of coordination,
analysis and outreach on both technical and policy areas related to implementing express lanes.
This effort also included reaching out to the general public,key community and project
stakeholders to seek public opinion through focus groups, web survey, open houses,presentation
to business communities and environmental groups.
After more-than two years of analysis and preparation,the environmental document for the SR
3331 North First Street•San Jose,CA 95134-1927•Administration 408.321.5555•Customer Service 408.321.2300
,r
85 Express Lanes Project was released for public review and comment on December 30, 2013
with the formal public comment period ending on February 28,2014. VTA and Caltrans
conducted two public meetings on the project and were subsequently asked to provide
information at several city council meetings and other public forums. Six public agencies and
301 individuals commented on the project resulting in over 800 separate comments received.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this memorandum is to inform the VTA Board of a proposed noise reduction
program for SR 85 that will use$285,000 from the $19 million allocated for design development
of express lanes by the VTA Board in 2013. Although the SR 85 environmental document did
not find any significant impacts from noise,noise concerns on SR 85 were submitted during the
project's public review period. VTA staff has met with staff from the cities and towns along the
corridor to discuss this matter and developed a plan to address these concerns.
Concurrent with the environmental phase of the SR 85 Express Lane corridor, a three-step noise
reduction program is proposed:
Step 1: Conduct a Noise Reduction Study working with local agency staff. The noise reduction
study will review existing noise conditions,to establish the ambient noise conditions
within the SR 85 corridor, and provide available types of noise reduction strategies that
could be implemented. Strategies could include sound wall modification, retrofit or/and
treatment; landscaping along the freeway; and quieter pavement modifications or
treatments. A potential list of test locations will be identified with at least two
recommended noise reduction strategies for each location to pilot test as part of the next
step of the program.
Step 2: Implement noise reduction treatments as pilot projects at specified test location(s)
identified in the Noise Reduction Study. Noise measurements before and after the
implementation of the noise reduction treatment will be performed.
Step 3: With revenue generated from the SR 85.express lanes, and based on results of the pilot
projects, a"corridor-wide"noise reduction project can be implemented.
If the Noise Reduction Program is not implemented, it will delay addressing the current
complaints regarding noise along the corridor.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE DISCUSSION/RECOMENDATION
The Board Memorandum presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee(CAC), Technical
Advisory Committee(TAC) and Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) included both this item and
the SR 85 Express Lanes Project- Implementation Recommendation under Memo#4705. Per
General Counsel recommendation, these two items were split from the original Board
Memorandum. The CAC unanimously recommended this item to the VTA Board for approval.
The TAC also recommended this item to the VTA Board for approval but with one "no" vote.
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The PAC had a minimum quorum of nine and had 2 abstentions during the vote. All other PAC
members voted to move this item to the VTA Board.
CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND PLANNING COMMITTEE (CMPP)
DISCUSSION
The CMPP Committee unanimously approved this item to move forward to the VTA Board.
Chairperson Pirzynski inquired why VTA was taking on this effort. The VTA, as the Congestion
Management Agency, is responsible for the noise abatement program along state highways since
SB45 took effect in 1997.
Prepared By: Gene Gonzalo
Memo No. 4737
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