Regional Transportation Planning Solutions
Bridging Boundaries
The City realizes that regional traffic issues often must
be addressed with regional solutions and cooperation with our neighbors. San
Ramon is an active participant in regional transportation planning efforts.
The following are brief summaries of the regional transportation planning
programs that the City of San Ramon currently participates in:
Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC)
The Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC) includes the
Cities of San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, the Town of Danville,
and Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Founded in 1991, the TVTC completed
the Tri-Valley Transportation Plan/Action Plan for Routes of Regional
Significance in 1995. The Plan establishes shared traffic service objectives
and presents a list of eleven (11) high-priority transportation improvement
projects to ease regional traffic congestion.
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I-580/I-680 Interchange "Direct Connector" Ramps
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Alcosta Boulevard/I-680 Interchange Improvements
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I-680 Auxiliary Lanes from Bollinger Canyon Road to
Diablo Road
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State Route 84 I-580 to I-680 Expressway
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West Dublin BART Station
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I-580 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes
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I-680 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes (Sunol)
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I-580 Foothill Road Interchange
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Crow Canyon Road Improvements (Alameda County)
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Vasco Road Safety Improvements
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Express Bus Service Livermore Amador Valley Transit
Authority (LAVTA)
The Tri-Valley Transportation Development Fee on new
developments will fund the improvements. This fee, which was adopted by the
seven TVTC jurisdictions in 1998, and amended in May 2003, applies to all
developments in the Tri-Valley. A fee of $1,711 per new residential dwelling
unit and $3.07 per square foot of commercial building space is applied and
collected by all of the TVTC jurisdictions. This regional fee is estimated
to generate approximately $70 million over the term of the program.
Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee - Southern Contra
Costa Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (SCCJEPA)
Contra Costa County’s approval of the Dougherty Valley
Specific Plan in 1991 triggered a legal response from several area Cities
and non-governmental organizations. Through extensive negotiations and
mutual efforts, the legal challenge of the County’s approval was resolved
through a comprehensive Settlement Agreement between the City of San Ramon
and Town of Danville and Contra Costa County. This legal Settlement
Agreement was to spawn two powerful regional transportation planning forums;
the Dougherty Valley Oversight Committee (DVOC) and the Southern Contra
Costa Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (SCCJEPA) regional fee program.
San Ramon, Danville, and Contra Costa County adopted the
SCCJEPA in 1995. It establishes a list of transportation projects aimed at
providing sufficient traffic capacity to accommodate traffic from the
Dougherty Valley development as well as from other projects in San Ramon and
Danville. The SCCJEPA also establishes a common fee to be applied to all
developments in the three jurisdictions, with the revenues earmarked for
specific roadway improvements in each jurisdiction. Over the term of the
SCCJEPA, the fee program will generate approximately $35 million, with $30
million of the total being directed to San Ramon.
Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) - Southwest
Area Transportation Planning Committee (SWAT)
With the passage of Measure C in 1998, Contra Costa
voters approved a ˝ cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements in
Contra Costa County. In addition to the sales tax, Measure C includes a
far-reaching Growth Management Program (GMP) component, which requires that
local jurisdictions consider regional transportation conditions when
planning for developments. The Measure C GMP requires that important public
services be maintained, and that traffic level-of-service standards are met
as a condition of receiving Measure C funds. Compliance with these Growth
Management standards is evaluated bi-annually by the Contra Costa
Transportation Authority (CCTA). San Ramon has met its CCTA Growth
Management requirements every year since the program’s inception. The City’s
annual "return-to-source" funds from this program are about $550,000 which
is used for roadway maintenance and improvements.
Measure C also established four regional
transportation-planning committees to provide a forum for regional
transportation issues. San Ramon is in the Southwest Area Transportation
Committee (SWAT), along with the Towns of Danville and Moraga, the Cities of
Lafayette, Orinda, and Contra Costa County. SWAT is comprised of elected
officials, appointed by each respective agency and staff members from each
jurisdiction.
The current Measure C expires in 2009. In 2003, the CCTA
embarked on a major effort to renew the ˝ cent sales tax. In November 2004,
the voters of Contra Costa County approved the extension of Measure C. Now
known as Measure J, the renewal, which goes into effect July 2009, will
extend the sales tax for an additional 25 years and generate $2 billion
dollars for transportation projects and programs.
For more information on the
City’s Regional Transportation Planning efforts, contact Lisa Bobadilla,
Transportation Manager at (925) 973-2651, or email:
lbobadilla@sanramon.ca.gov
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