RECEIVE presentation on the Monterey-Salinas Transit Feasibility Study of Bus Operations on State Route 1 Shoulders and the Monterey Branch Line.

MST led this regional study, which had a consultant cost of $220,957. TAMC supported the study with $65,000 from Monterey Branch Line lease revenues. MST has programmed its share of SB-1 gas tax funding under the Local Partnership Program for FY 2018/19 to pay for the preliminary engineering and environmental documentation phase of work. 

Transit improvements in the State Route 1 corridor are included in the Measure X list of regional projects with $15 million of funding. Additionally, this is a project that could compete for SB-1 gas tax grant funds. 

The Transportation Agency purchased the Monterey Branch Line in 2003 for $9.3 million to preserve the right-of-way for future transit needs. In 2009, the Transportation Agency Board adopted light rail as the preferred use for the Branch Line. The cost of Phase 1 (light rail service with 15 min headways between Monterey and Marina) was estimated to cost $165 million. Phase 2 (extended service with 15 minute headways from Marina to Castroville) was estimated to cost an additional $40-50 million. The project was put on hold due to federal and local funding constraints. Per TAMC Board action, light rail remains the long-term plan for the use of the Monterey Branch Line.

Bus rapid transit was identified in TAMC's service alternatives analysis as another viable alternative use for the Branch Line, as it would improve regional transit service along the Monterey Peninsula and provide ridership data along the corridor that can help make the case for future light rail service. MST studied the feasibility of operating buses along the State Route 1 Shoulders and/or along the Monterey Branch Line right-of-way. The study furthers the efforts of AB 946 (Stone) that authorized MST to operate public transit buses on road shoulders in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties.

In January 2016, TAMC and the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments awarded the majority of the funding necessary to initiate the Monterey Bay Area Feasibility Study of Bus Operations on State Route 1 Shoulders and the Monterey Branch Line. In October 2016, MST hired CDM Smith to conduct the Feasibility Study to evaluate the possibility of operating buses on highway shoulders in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. The Study also evaluated the option of operating buses along the Monterey Branch Line. The Study analyzed the following alternatives:

1. Southbound Bus-On-Shoulder of Highway 1 between Del Monte Blvd in Marina and Del Monte Ave in Monterey.
2. Southbound Bus-on-Shoulder in the morning between Del Monte Blvd in Marina and Fremont Blvd in Sand City, plus a a single Monterey Branch Line busway from the Monterey Rd, California Ave, Fremont Blvd to Contra Costa St in Sand City. This alternative includes an underpass to avoid conflicts at Monterey Rd, California Ave, and Fremont Blvd.
3. Single lane bi-directional busway that would operate southbound in the morning, and northbound in the evening on the Monterey Branch Line right-of-way from Reservation Rd in Marina to Contra Costa St in Sand City, and then use Del Monte Blvd in Seaside and Monterey.
4. Bike/Pedestrian Trail Plus Monterey Branch Line would use the current Caltrans trail between Marina and Sand City, and then underpass the Monterey Rd, California Ave, Fremont Blvd intersection.
5. Northbound Bus-on-Shoulder between Casa Verde Ave in Monterey and Fremont Blvd in Sand City.
6. No-Build Alternative that represents current conditions.
7. Bus/Carpool Lanes between Marina and Monterey. This is a hypothetical alternative that is not currently included in any plans.

The Study included data collection, literature review, traffic analysis, transit route performance, concept feasibility and a cost-benefit assessment of the alternative operational scenarios. The Study also included an analysis of the next phase steps for implementation. Key findings of the Study include:

1. There is significant Highway 1 traffic congestion between 7:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. in the morning from Del Monte/Reservation in Marina to Del Monte in Monterey and between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the afternoon from Carpenter in Carmel to Fremont/California in Seaside/Sand City.
2. Traffic congestion delays MST bus travel time and degrades reliability. Without traffic congestion, bus travel time between Marina and Seaside/Sand City should only take 9 minutes. Actual bus travel time ranges from 11-30 minutes in the morning and from 12-27 minutes in the evening.
3. Traffic congestion will worsen with the ongoing redevelopment of the former Fort Ord.
4. Highway 1 shoulders lack the width and structural support for needed bus-on-shoulder operations without significant reconstruction.
5. A busway on the Monterey Branch Line shows promise in terms of transit performance,  yielding the greatest time savings benefits as well as an acceptable cost-to-benefit evaluation.

Project cost estimates were developed for the different options along the project corridor. A summary evaluation for Monterey County bus-on-shoulder or branch line alternatives was prepared showing a range of costs, the most promising along the Monterey Branch Line at $33.4 million. Funding for this project is identified in TAMC’s Measure X sales tax ($15 million) and as a part of the Highway 1 – Del Monte-Fremont-Monterey Branch Line Project identified in the Fort Ord Reuse Authority’s Capital Improvement Program ($14.56 million).

Monterey Bay Area: Feasibility Study of Bus on Shoulder Operations on State Route 1 and the Monterey Branch Line - Final Report