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AB-2824 Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 04/30/2020 09:00 PM
AB2824:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 04, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2824

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

February 20, 2020

An act to add Section 66513.5 to the Government Code, relating to transportation.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2824, as amended, Bonta. San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge: public transit: greenhouse gases. Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program.
Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates various transit districts located in the San Francisco Bay area, with specified powers and duties relative to providing public transit services.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation pertaining to the issue of high carbon emissions and inefficient public transit across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in order to create a more environmentally sustainable, equitable, and efficient approach to transportation. require the commission, Department of Transportation, and certain transit entities to jointly identify, plan, and deliver a comprehensive set of operational, transit, and infrastructure investments for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge corridor, which would be known collectively as the Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program. The bill would require the commission, department, and certain transit operators, on or before January 1, 2022, to jointly submit to the Legislature a comprehensive plan to improve bus and very high occupancy vehicle speed and travel time reliability along the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge corridor. The bill would authorize the commission and department, on and after January 1, 2024, if a specified travel speed reliability performance target for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge corridor has not been met for a consecutive 6-month period, to, as a year-long pilot program, designate a lane on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge exclusively for use by buses and very high occupancy vehicles during specified time periods, and would require the commission, department, and certain transit operators to jointly submit to the Legislature a report on the pilot program’s efficiency. The bill would require the department to obtain federal approval or waivers, as necessary, to implement these provisions.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge corridor.
By imposing new requirements on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 66513.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

66513.5.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Bay bridge” means the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
(2) “Bay bridge corridor” means the corridor between the Salesforce Transit Center and each of the following locations:
(A) The State Route 24 and Interstate Highway 580 interchange.
(B) The Powell Street on-ramp to Interstate Highway 580.
(C) The intersection of Frontage Road and West Grand Avenue in the City of Oakland.
(D) The Interstate Highway 880 and Interstate Highway 980 interchange.
(3) “Phase 1 plan” means the plan described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(4) “Transit operators” means those entities that provide regional express bus service in the bay bridge corridor, including the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, Western Contra Costa Transit Authority, Solano Transportation Authority, Fairfield and Suisun Transit, and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).
(5) “Travel speed reliability performance target” means a monthly target for buses and very high occupancy vehicles during the morning and evening weekday peak commute times to average at least 45 miles per hour in both directions along the bay bridge corridor. The monthly target is met if such average is below 45 miles per hour no more than two days per calendar month. The entities described in subdivision (b) may adjust this target to account for a bay bridge corridor segment that has a speed limit lower than 45 miles per hour.
(6) “Very high occupancy vehicle” means a motor vehicle carrying seven or more people, including the driver.
(b) The commission, Department of Transportation, Bay Area Toll Authority, City of Oakland’s Department of Transportation, transit operators, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Alameda County Transportation Commission, and Contra Costa Transportation Authority shall jointly identify, plan, and deliver a comprehensive set of operational, transit, and infrastructure investments for the bay bridge corridor, which shall be known collectively as the Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program.
(c) The Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program shall include two phases.
(d) (1) Phase 1 shall address the most congested parts of the bay bridge corridor in order to most significantly improve bus and very high occupancy vehicle movement along the bay bridge corridor.
(2) (A) On or before January 1, 2022, the commission, Department of Transportation, and transit operators shall jointly submit to the Legislature a comprehensive phase 1 plan to improve bus and very high occupancy vehicle speed and travel time reliability along the bay bridge corridor.
(B) The requirement for submitting a plan imposed under this paragraph is inoperative on January 1, 2026, pursuant to Section 10231.5.
(3) The phase 1 plan shall include all of the following elements:
(A) A detailed set of transit, operational, and infrastructure investments to be implemented on or before January 1, 2024, to improve bus and very high occupancy vehicle travel time reliability and speeds along the bay bridge corridor, which shall include a timeline and funding strategy for each investment.
(B) An implementation plan for a bus and very high occupancy vehicle lane on the bay bridge and projected travel time reliability benefits of the lane under at least the following three implementation scenarios:
(i) The lane is implemented in combination with the investments described in subparagraph (A).
(ii) The lane is implemented after the investments described in subparagraph (A) are made and assumes that those investments yield ridership and service growth for buses and very high occupancy vehicles.
(iii) The lane is implemented after the investments described in subparagraph (A) are made and assumes both that those investments yield ridership and service growth for buses and very high occupancy vehicles and that a toll structure designed to incentivize bus and very high occupancy vehicle use is implemented.
(C) A metering light strategy that prioritizes bus and very high occupancy vehicle travel times and travel time reliability during the morning weekday peak commute time in the bay bridge’s westbound direction.
(D) A fare and toll pricing strategy to manage the queues at the bay bridge toll plaza, manage a bus and very high occupancy vehicle-only lane, meet the travel speed reliability performance target, and attract additional bus and very high occupancy vehicle users.
(E) A very high occupancy vehicle lane enforcement strategy that enumerates resources, authorities, regulatory reforms, infrastructure, standards, and technology necessary to minimize the lane violation rate.
(e) Phase 2 shall design, and establish a process for delivering, a lane on the bay bridge designated exclusively for bus and very high occupancy vehicle use.
(f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the travel speed reliability performance target be met on or before January 1, 2024.
(2) The commission and Department of Transportation shall jointly and annually submit to the Legislature a report on travel speed reliability performance target attainment and strategies deployed in furtherance of that target.
(3) On and after January 1, 2024, if the travel speed reliability performance target has not been met for a consecutive six-month period, the commission and Department of Transportation may, as a year-long pilot program, designate from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., inclusive, and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., inclusive, a lane on the bay bridge exclusively for use by buses and very high occupancy vehicles. Upon the conclusion of the pilot program, the commission, Department of Transportation, and transit operators shall jointly submit to the Legislature a report on the pilot program’s efficiency. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Legislature, upon receiving the report, consider permanently designating a lane in each direction on the bay bridge, and along the bay bridge corridor, exclusively for buses and very high occupancy vehicles.
(g) The Department of Transportation shall obtain federal approval or waivers, as necessary, to implement this section.
(h) A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique transportation and congestion issues along the bay bridge corridor, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 66513.5 of the Government Code.

SEC. 3.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation pertaining to the issue of high carbon emissions and inefficient public transit across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in order to create a more environmentally sustainable, equitable, and efficient approach to transportation, including, but not limited to, public transportation buses.