City Council will vote whether to adopt the draft Transportation Choices Plan at its next council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The Transportation Choices Plan provides an outline for how the city will improve transportation infrastructure and services in Alameda over the next 15 years to achieve two main goals. 

First, the city wants to decrease single-occupant vehicle trips across the estuary from an estimated 14,400 in morning peak hours by 2030 to 11,900. Second, the city want to increase the share of walking, bicycling, bus and carpool trips within Alameda. The plan’s projects and programs are expected to increase non-drive alone trips by almost 14 percent from the 2030 baseline, an increase from 24,200 non-drive alone trips to 27,500 non-drive alone trips throughout a typical weekday.

On Nov. 7, 2017, the City Council reviewed the Draft Transportation Choices Plan after receiving input from the Planning Board on Sept. 25, the Transportation Commission on Sept. 27 and two years of community engagement and review. The City Council directed staff to return to a subsequent Council meeting for final approval of the draft plan with feedback from the three groups implemented into the new plan.

The program will include an Alameda shuttle exploration project, Harbor Bay and Main Street ferry terminal access and parking improvements, a transportation awareness campaign, bicycle share options and more within the first three years of implementation. These projects were all given high priority.
The three- to eight-year stage of the program will include citywide “safe routes to school” audits and improvements, a crosstown express bus service, a possible new Seaplane Lagoon ferry terminal service and more.

Some items were left out of the new transportation choices plan after review. The original plan included an Island Drive bus lane project. However, several Bay Farm Island homeowners associations opposed the project and it was cut from the revised plan. 

The total estimated cost for the Transportation Choices Plan is $395,000. The funding is coming from the General Fund for $195,000, Measure B for $100,000 and the Base Reuse Department for $100,000. To implement the more than 30 projects in the plan, partially funding would come from grants and funds in the city’s two-year budget and the Capital Improvement Program totaling $61 million. Staff will also look to receive additional funds from local agencies such as AC Transit, Water Emergency Transportation Authority, Caltrans and the Alameda Transportation Management Association.