Regional Transit Expansion Program

Resolution 3434: Regional Transit Expansion Program
2008 Draft Strategic Plan

Resolution 3434, the Regional Transit Expansion Program, identifies specific bus, rail and ferry projects as priority for transit expansion. On June 11, 2008, MTC released the Draft 2008 Strategic Plan. Recommendations include the programming of $209 million to speed project delivery on three Resolution 3434 projects.

The Draft 2008 Strategic Plan will be considered at the Programming and Allocations Committee meeting on July 9th, 2008.

The purpose of the Strategic Plan is to provide a framework for successful program and project delivery by initially addressing: 1) escalating project costs; 2) near-term funding requests; and 3) the development of the financially constrained element of the Transportation 2035 Plan.

The Draft Strategic Plan recommends the following: 1) place projects into four categories to address specific program and project challenges; 2) continue to monitor project progress and milestones; 3) provide advocacy support; 4) take specific programming actions to deliver otherwise ready-to-go projects; and 5) endorse one additional regional Small Starts project. Detailed information on the Draft 2008 Strategic Plan is available below.

Background

As part of the 2001 update to the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), MTC developed an associated Regional Transit Expansion Program. Adopted as Resolution No. 3434, the new program is a successor to MTC Resolution No. 1876 adopted in 1988, a multiyear rail expansion program that has delivered new BART service to Dublin and Bay Point in the East Bay, the Tasman light-rail extension in Silicon Valley, and the BART extension to the San Francisco International Airport. Resolution 3434, as adopted, includes 19 rail and bus transit expansion projects totaling roughly $10.5 billion.

In April 2001, MTC adopted criteria for identifying and prioritizing bus and rail transit projects for inclusion in the Regional Transit Expansion Program (Resolution No. 3357). MTC's preliminary evaluation of candidate projects submitted is contained in a report — Regional Transit Expansion Policy: Initial Assessment — published in conjunction with the release of the Draft 2001 RTP, in August 2001. An additional detailed criteria evaluation was published on October 12, 2001.

On November 9, 2001, the Commission's Planning and Operations Committee released for public comment an updated criteria evaluation and a recommended program of rail and transit projects. Resolution No. 3434, detailing a list of priority projects and funding agreements, was adopted on December 19, 2001.

In tandem with the development of Transportation 2030, the Commission considered an update to Resolution 3434 to adjust project costs, scopes and funding plans to reflect changes since its adoption in 2001. This update is provided below. In addition, MTC has developed a Transit-Oriented Development companion policy for the expansion program.

The resolution was most recently revised on April 26, 2006. The primary changes in April 2006 include: 1) the addition of one project — expanded ferry service provided by the Bay Area Water Transit Authority; 2) the inclusion of additional revenue sources; 3) changes to project costs and scopes; and 4) selection of the AC Transit Berkeley/Oakland/San Leandro Bus Rapid Transit project as the region's federal Small Starts program candidate, with an opportunity for the Commission to consider another regional candidate once the FTA regulations are finalized.

While there are some changes to the regional funding picture and to individual project funding plans and scopes, the regional vision for an expanded transit network remains largely unchanged in this update. The revision is foremost a reaffirmation of MTCs commitment to the regional transit expansion program adopted in 2001.