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Staff Report - Final Town Wide AutomobileTrip Reduction PREPARED BY: YING SMITH Transportation and Mobility Manager Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Parks and Public Works Director 110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832 www.losgatosca.gov TOWN OF LOS GATOS COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: 10/17/2017 ITEM NO: 3 DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2017 TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION FOR A TOWN-WIDE AUTOMOBILE TRIP REDUCTION INITIATIVE THROUGH THE CALTRANS’ SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM. RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Town Manager to submit a grant application for a Town -wide Automobile Trip Reduction Initiative through the Caltrans’ Sustainable Communities Grant program. BACKGROUND: The Town has made measurable progress on supporting and promoting active modes of transportation. Following adoption of the Town’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP) in March 2017, the Town has focused on implementing the highest priority bicycle and pedestrian projects. The BPMP identifies one of the goals as Education and Encouragement and includes several Town-wide programs and action items in that category. In parallel, community partners, such as the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Safe Routes to School Coalition, have done significant work increasing the number of students biking and walking to school and reducing traffic around schools. In September, Caltrans released the FY 2017-18 Grant Application Guides and a call for applications for new grant funding from Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Within SB1 funding, approximately $12 million annually is available through a competitive program for Sustainable Communities Grants to encourage local and regional planning efforts that further the State’s multi-modal transportation goals. PAGE 2 OF 3 SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION FOR A TOWN WIDE AUTOMOBILE TRIP REDUCTION INITIATIVE THROUGH THE CALTRANS’ SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM. OCTOBER 5, 2017 S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\10-17-17\Auto Trip Reduction\Staff Report - Final Town Wide AutomobileTrip Reduction.docx 10/12/2017 10:20 AM YCS DISCUSSION: Building on the strength and success of the existing efforts, staff is proposing a new initiat ive to further advance the Town’s effort to promote active modes of transportation and reduce single occupancy vehicle trips. While infrastructure improvements address the “supply” side of active transportation, this initiative will attempt to address the “demand” side or education and encouragement. Two components, as described below, would work hand-in-hand to increase awareness of multi-modal opportunities while providing for measurable outcomes. Public Will Building: Public will building is a communication approach to sustainable social change. It builds public support by integrating grassroots outreach methods with traditional mass media tools in a process that connects an issue to the existing, closely held values of individuals and groups. Within this part of the program, a campaign would begin to communicate with and educate those who live, work, and play in Los Gatos on the benefits of active transportation choices to encourage a change in mind set and behavior. The effort would promote these choices as the preferred way to get around Town. This would be a multi-phase effort to influence the way people think and act when it comes to transportation choices. Come Out and Try: This portion of the program would provide the opportunity for people to experiment with different active transportation choices. The goal is to get people out to try biking, walking, or other alternatives for a few days or at specific events. These targeted activities would provide for measuring the effectiveness of the will building efforts. Sample strategies may include: • Temporary separated bike lanes (pop up bike lanes) and bike parking corrals • Open street events on select days for biking and walking • Online tool for residents and workers to “track the ir commute footprint,” a “cap and trade” game, etc. • Reward for businesses and schools for their accomplishments • Car free/light days at events and employment sites • Enhanced Safe Routes to School strategies: education, community engagement, incentives, car free/light days at schools, etc. • Bike valets at events in Town Staff presented the initiative to the Transportation and Parking Commission at its September 14 meeting and to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission at its October 5 meeting. The Commissions were supportive of the initiative and provided valuable feedback to refine the initiative and to guide implementation. Comments focused heavily on addressing people’s PAGE 3 OF 3 SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION FOR A TOWN WIDE AUTOMOBILE TRIP REDUCTION INITIATIVE THROUGH THE CALTRANS’ SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM. OCTOBER 5, 2017 S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2017\10-17-17\Auto Trip Reduction\Staff Report - Final Town Wide AutomobileTrip Reduction.docx 10/12/2017 10:20 AM YCS DISCUSSION (cont’d): safety concerns associated with walking and biking. Commissioners commented that this effort can help get more people bike and walk, reduce congestion, and make the streets safer and that it could provide positive messaging for the successes Los Gatos has achieved. CONCLUSION: The Caltrans’ Sustainable Communities Grant program is the first available grant opportunity to support this type of proposal. The Town’s proposal is unique because many trip reduction programs focus on the employment centers. Instead, this one would target all destinations: work, home, and school. The initiative goes further than the conventional education and encouragement efforts by applying the public will building approach. Therefore, staff believes it is competitive in this and potentially other future grant programs. The lessons learned from the initiative are likely to have wide reaching implications and can serve as an example for other communities to follow. Staff is proposing submitting a grant application in partnership with the Safe Routes to School Coalition. Grant applications are due October 20, 2017 with award recommendations anticipated in December 2017. The earliest possible start date is April 2018 with an estimated two-year project timeframe. COORDINATION: This project has been coordinated with the Los Gatos -Monte Sereno Safe Routes to School Coalition and Caltrans Regional Planning staff. FISCAL IMPACT: The total project estimate is $460,000. Staff is targeting a 16% local match, or $74,000, which would be provided in the form of Town staff time and in-kind contribution from the Safe Routes to School Coalition. If the Town’s application is awarded, the Town would receive approximately $386,000 in State funds. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.