In 2018, MST completed the Monterey Bay Area Feasibility Study of Bus Operations on State Route 1 Shoulders and the Monterey Branch Line. The study analyzed seven alternatives and concluded that implementing a one-way bus rapid transit corridor on a segment of the Monterey Branch Line would provide the best cost to benefit. At the August 6, 2018 Rail Policy Committee meeting, MST staff presented an overview of the feasibility study, including next steps.
In Fall 2019, MST hired Kimley-Horn for the environmental review and preliminary design phase of work, and the project officially kicked-off on November 21, 2019. The following outlines the project's progress regarding stakeholder coordination, data collection and funding.
Stakeholder Coordination
MST and TAMC staff continue to meet with key stakeholders. The project team has generally received good input and positive feedback from engaged stakeholders.
The project team has received some questions and concerns from State Parks regarding the proposed stop at 8th Street. The team is actively working to better educate and engage State Parks to address their concerns, and work with them on their future infrastructure plans for the area. The team is also investigating alternatives to an 8th Street stop.
The project team is planning to institute a virtual public outreach program. As part of the outreach, the project team is developing video simulations. The first of these simulations will be ready within the next two months.
Data Collection
Included below are brief updates regarding data collection for the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit project:
- Environmental: Plant surveys are complete and environmental analysis is forthcoming.
- Engineering: The aerial topography and surveying data collection is complete, as is utility investigation. The project team is working to modify the proposed alignment to reflect these results. The project's traffic analysis is currently underway.
- Project Design: Major infrastructure alignment and intersection designs are in progress. Some areas, particularly at the 8th Street overpass, have encountered mixed reactions from stakeholders. Other areas, including Del Monte Boulevard at Palm Avenue and Fremont Street and Highway 1 interchange are progressing with no known issues.
Funding
MST is actively coordinating with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to apply for a Capital Investment Grant, a discretionary grant program to support transit capital investments including busway/bus rapid transit. The project has been accepted into the Project Development phase of FTA’s Capital Investments Grants program. Per the requirements of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the following activities must be completed during project development:
- Select a locally preferred alternative;
- Have the locally preferred alternative adopted into the fiscally constrained long range transportation plan;
- Complete the environmental review process; and
- Complete the activities required to develop sufficient information for evaluation and rating under the Capital Investment Grant criteria.
MST and TAMC jointly submitted a grant application for $25 million to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program on January 15, 2020. The application scored competitively but was ultimately not awarded funding this cycle due to the project being in early stages of development. The project team anticipates reapplying next cycle.