Transportation & Economic Development Report to Town Council - February 2011

TRANSPORTATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Semi-Annual Report to the Town Council February 1, 2011

TRANSPORTATION

Program Overview The overarching goal of the Transportation Department is to ensure mobility for all modes of travel (automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians) in a manner that is consistent with the goal of maintaining an exceptional quality of life for Danville residents. Transportation activities fall into six broad categories. 

Regional Advocacy and Partnerships. Recognizing that Danville is a small community within a county of over 1 million people, this program area focuses on the efforts that leverage the Town’s regional partnerships to assure its fair share of state and federal transportation resources.

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Local Traffic Operations (Signals, Signage and Striping). This program area focuses on maintaining, and enhancing, the complex system of traffic signals, signage and striping that collectively manages traffic flow along Danville’s network of roadways. The Town owns, maintains and synchronizes 51 interconnected traffic signals along 144 miles of roadway, some of which carry upwards of 30,000 vehicles per day.

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Transportation Planning & Traffic Impact Analysis. This program area focuses on the complementary efforts of planning (evaluation and design) for transportation facility improvements and assessing the potential impact of development proposals on transportation facilities.

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Capital Improvements. This program area reflects the Town’s commitment towards continually improving the functionality and efficiency of the transportation network.

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Traffic Calming & Traffic Safety. Danville was one of the first communities in Contra Costa to adopt traffic calming - the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) - as a comprehensive approach to traffic safety. The goal is to move vehicles efficiently without compromising community character and livability.

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Downtown Parking Management. The growth of this program area is a reflection of the downtown’s growing vitality, despite the recent economic downturn. Utilizing a combination of parking enforcement and an online employee parking permit system, this program seeks to maintain prime on-street parking in the downtown core for business patrons, while directing employee parking to the lower demand periphery of the downtown.

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TRANSPORTATION

Regional Advocacy The Town actively participates, and often takes a leadership role, at regional transportation forums to ensure Danville’s interests are well represented. A highlight of recent regional efforts includes: Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC). Serving as the Chair of TVTC, Danville is leading this 7-member organization through three major initiatives:  Creation of a Joint Powers Agency (JPA) as a means toward self-sufficiency.  Implementation of the updated Tri-Valley Transportation Development (TVTD) Fee to ensure that regional transportation project funding commitments can be met.  Adoption of an updated Strategic Expenditure Plan to program future traffic impact fee revenues to critical regional projects, such as the I-680 Auxiliary Lanes Project (Segment 2).

Interstate 680, looking north

I-680 Auxiliary Lanes Project (Segment 2). As a member agency on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), Danville is actively working to usher this project, which would complete a missing segment of the auxiliary lanes system in the San Ramon Valley, towards “shovel readiness” by 2012. The preparation of the project’s detailed Plans, Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) package is underway.

TRAFFIX Student Transportation Program. Building upon the inaugural year’s successes, the Program experienced a 16% growth in sales system-wide. Most importantly, its ability to provide congestion relief has been demonstrated by a traffic analysis. In Danville, near the congested intersection of Green Valley and Diablo Roads, the measured drop in vehicle volume ranges up to 423 vehicles per intersection approach.

Waiting for the TRAFFIX bus in Danville

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TRANSPORTATION

Traffic Operations Danville’s Smart Corridors Just Got Smarter. Through steady investment over the course of a decade, the Town has connected – primarily via underground cable – all 51 traffic signals. This interconnect system coordinates or “synchronizes” these signals during peak commute periods.

As a part of a project funded by a federal grant, much of the Town’s signal detection system has gone wireless. The traditional induction loop detectors have been replaced by small in-ground sensors that provide data through a wireless link, minimizing the impact of roadway construction on signal operations. The Town is also now one of few cities with remote read-only access to Caltrans-controlled signals located at freeway on- and off-ramps, allowing for earlier detection of signal operation issues that affect Danville.

Wireless Detection System

Capital Improvements Sycamore Valley Road/San Ramon Valley Boulevard (SRVB) Improvements Project Gets the Green Light.

After receiving a long awaited encroachment permit from Caltrans, the Town is moving forward with the construction of these intersection improvements, designed to minimize the southbound to eastbound queue at SRVB and Sycamore Valley Road. Construction is anticipated to begin in April 2011.

New Bike Lockers Facilitate Commute Alternatives.

Funded by a grant through the Transportation For Clean Air (TFCA) program, 12 new bicycle lockers, encased in six galvanized steel units, were installed at the Sycamore Park & Ride Lot. These lockers facilitate connectivity between different modes of transportation at the Park & Ride lot.

New galvanized steel bike lockers

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TRANSPORTATION

Traffic Calming Adopted in 1996, and updated in 2003, the Town’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) is designed to address age-old neighborhood traffic issues using a community-based approach. Since inception, the NTMP has served about 70 neighborhoods throughout Danville, each involving an average 18-month, bottoms-up engagement process.

In 2010, the Town completed an NTMP project in the Del Amigo Road neighborhood (west of Calmar Vista Road), bringing a decade-long dialog on the subject of traffic calming to a conclusion. Looking ahead in 2011, neighborhoods that are currently in the NTMP process include: 

Bolero Drive (Greenbrook area)  Ocho Rios Drive (west Danville)  Dunhill Drive (Tassajara Ranch neighborhood)  Vista Drive (near Vista Grande Elementary School)

Neighborhood traffic calming measures

Traffic Enforcement Police enforcement is an essential element of a successful traffic calming program, particularly as a method of increasing community awareness of speeding problems. The longstanding partnership between the Transportation and Police Departments has been formalized into regularly scheduled strategy sessions wherein enforcement efforts are systematically coordinated with the NTMP process.

Consistent with its community policing philosophies, a Courtesy Warning Citation, which does not affect the driver’s permanent record, has been developed as an added tool for police personnel to utilize as a part of this joint effort to increase safety awareness.

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TRANSPORTATION

Street Smarts Promotes Traffic Safety Launched in 2004 as the Town’s traffic safety education campaign, the program has grown into a valley-wide program with three agency partners and operates three core programs at each grade level: 

Elementary School “Storybook” Poster Contest. Students from the entire San Ramon Valley submitted approximately 415 posters that illustrated pages of a storybook about bicycling safely, The Giant’s Party, written by local author Dana Mentink .

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Middle School “Be Reel” Video Contest. The fall 2010 video contest engaged 76 middle school participants to create videos that demonstrate how “Walking and Biking to School Together is the Cool Thing to Do.” Finalists from both the fall and upcoming spring contests will be screened at an awards ceremony in May 2011.

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High School “It Happens” Campaign. The “It Happens” campaign rotated to Dougherty Valley High School in 2010. Designed as a “hear it from your peers” campaign, it is a reality web-based program that captures teens, on video, recounting real life stories of heart pounding near-misses.

Safe Routes to School The Street Smarts Program received a $290,000 federal Safe Routes to School grant to expand its programming to promote walking and bicycling at the K-8 grade levels over a two-year time frame. The four major program areas that are underway throughout the valley include:

Street Smarts Program activities

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Traffic Safety Assemblies: Ten elementary school, and 3 middle school, assemblies have already been conducted since the fall of 2010.

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Bike Rodeos: Ten bike rodeos, with a full complement of activities and volunteers, have been held since the fall of 2010.

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Walk/Bike Challenge: A web site (WalknBikeChallenge.com) was created to encourage students to log in their walking and biking mileage.

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Traffic Safety Storytime: The Street Smarts Storybook, written by Dana Mentink and illustrated by local students, is read during the library time of an elementary school class.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Program Overview The overarching goal of the Town’s Economic Development program is to promote economic vitality for all Danville businesses and residents. The program consists of five key elements: 

Business Development. A foundational cornerstone of economic development practice, this program area consists of three categories of efforts that nurture business growth and investment: 

Business Retention and Expansion activities that focus on addressing the needs of existing businesses, encouraging them to stay (retention) and grow (expansion).

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Business Creation activities focus on supporting and nurturing business to diversify the local economic tax base. In this effort, Danville collaborates with partner agencies.

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Business Attraction activities are a supplement to other economic development efforts, and focus on identifying and bringing in companies from outside of the area. Danville’s role in this program area is limited to providing information and facilitating dialog among interested parties and/or the permitting process.

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Market Development. This program area consists of activities that seek to bring in new revenue to the community by leveraging local assets and attractions. Much of the Town’s efforts in this area is focused on promoting Danville as the regional shopping and dining destination of choice.

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Infrastructure Development. This program area involves the continual maintenance and improvement of public infrastructure as a means of facilitating business growth and investment.

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Workforce Development. This program area focuses on partnerships with regional workforce development programs and educational institutions whose mission is to prepare the local labor pool to meet the needs of new or evolving employment sections (such as clean tech).

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Organizational Development. This program area involves looking for forums and other on-going opportunities to exchange ideas, address issues and leverage collaborative efforts with the business community.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Business Development: Retail Incentives Program In 2010, the Town’s business development efforts involved the implementation of the Retail Retention & Promotion Incentives Program (“Retail Incentives Program”) which made available $400,000 in grant funding as a means of lending assistance to the retail community during a The retail façade grant severe economic downturn.

To date, the Town has awarded 45 retail marketing and promotion grants; 27 retail façade improvement and fee waiver grants; 5 cooperative advertising grants for retail center; and two retail marketing workshops, injecting approximately $370,000 into the local business community.

Downtown retail façade improvements

Business Development: Business Resource Guide The newly produced Business Resource Guide was created to address the needs of existing businesses that plan to grow, and new businesses that wish to locate in Danville. The resource booklet incorporates a pocket, allowing for a customized assembly of information and resources for new and existing businesses.

The Business Resource Guide is available at the Danville Town Offices and will also be available on the Town’s official web and commerce site (www.ShopDanvilleFirst.com).

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allowed us to inject new life into a 16 year old business. A much deserved thank you to the Town Council for their commitment to the business community *in this economy+.

- Chris and Jim Edlund

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Market Development Shop Danville First.

This tagline is an evolution of the “Shop Local First” campaign, outlined in the 2008 Economic Development Strategy to promote Danville as the regional shopping and dining destination of choice.

The subsequent “Blueprint for Action,” which detailed specific implementation measures, identified the creation of an allinclusive commerce web site that serves as the marketing hub that would feature all Danville retailers and businesses. The commerce site has a more easily recognizable name, from DanvilleInStyle.com to ShopDanvilleFirst.com To help merchants fully utilize the back-end of the web site, an online video tutorial — available on YouTube — has been created.

Promoting Regional Tourism: Danville Daycations.

Building off of the success of the Tai Chi Daycation at the Tao House, the new regional tourism effort expands to the promotion of self-guided day trip itineraries in Danville … with a theme for every member of the family, from “Ladies Day Out” and “Arts and Culture” to “Fun for the Holidays.”

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Market Development Promoting Walkability and Access to Free Surface Parking. At the request of merchants and visitors alike, an update of the Downtown Walking Map, a Public Parking Map, as well as an Employee Parking Map were developed to promote two of downtown Danville’s greatest assets: walkability and free surface parking.

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Contact Information Tai J. Williams, Director Transportation Services | Economic Development 925.314.3313 | Email: twilliams@danville.ca.gov

Regional Transportation Planning, Projects, and Funding TRAFFIX Student Transportation Program Economic Development

Nazanin Shakerin, Traffic Engineer 925.314.3390 | Email: nshakerin@danville.ca.gov

Traffic Signals and Devices (Radar Speed Signs) Neighborhood Traffic Management Traffic Study Analysis

Andy Dillard Traffic Engineering Associate 925.314.3384 | Email: adillard@danville.ca.gov

Traffic Signage and Striping; Radar Speed Surveys Downtown Parking Management Regional Transportation Committees

Nat Rojanasathira, Coordinator Transportation Services | Economic Development 925.314.3382 | nrojanasathira@danville.ca.gov

Street Smarts Program TRAFFIX Student Transportation Program Economic Development

Jill Bergman Economic Development Manager 925.314.3369 | jbergman@danville.ca.gov

Economic Development Special Events

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