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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 193-08 AlaCo Trans CampaignRESOLUTION NO. 193 - 08 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ENDORSING THE ALAMEDA COUNTY ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION CAMPAIGN AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THE CAMPAIGN WHEREAS, Alameda County's Countywide Bicycle Plan and Countywide Strategic Pedestrian Plan include the following goals that support active transportation: • Increase the number and percentage of walking trips with the intention of reducing motor vehicle use, preserving air quality, and improving public health. • Improve pedestrian safety, especially for the young, elderly, and disabled. • Ensure that essential pedestrian destinations throughout Alameda County -particularly public transit -have direct, safe and convenient pedestrian access. • Complete the San Francisco Bay Trail and paved inter jurisdictional East Bay Regional Park District trail systems that serve populated areas in Alameda County. • Maximize the amount of funding for pedestrian projects, programs and plans in Alameda County, with an emphasis on implementation, • Create and maintain an inter-county and intra-county bicycle network that is safe, convenient and continuous. • Increase the potential for bicycle transportation by closing gaps in existing bikeways. • Encourage policies and actions that foster bicycling as a mode of travel; and WHEREAS, nearly half of all trips for personal transportation in the United States are three miles or less in length, and thirty percent of all trips in the San Francisco Bay Area are one mile or less, making biking and walking a healthy alternative for a significant portion of daily trips; and WHEREAS, bicyclists and pedestrians represent 9% of all personal trips nationwide (14% in Alameda County), and 14% of all traffic fatalities in the United States (almost 25% in Alameda County), yet receive less than 1 % of all federal road spending; and WHEREAS, the above disparity indicates an opportunity to produce a substantial shift to these healthy, non-motorized transportation modes; and WHEREAS, in 2005, federal legislation, SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users), created the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program for construction of a network of non-motorized transportation infrastructure facilities in four urban communities to demonstrate the extent to which bicycling and walking can carry a significant part of the transportation load and play a major role in transportation solutions; and WHEREAS, the four communities were selected to each receive grants of $25 million over four years to participate in the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program; and Page 1 of 3 WHEREAS, a national non-profit multi-modal transportation advocacy organization, the Rails- to-Trails Conservancy, is leading a national campaign to expand this program in the next federal transportation reauthorization to include at least 40 communities, with $50 million per community over six years, to promote "active transportation" (walking, biking and access to transit) for mobility; and WHEREAS, Alameda County joined this effort to expand the federal program, called the 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation, and seeks to be one of the communities to receive $50 million; and WHEREAS, an Alameda County Active Transportation Plan was developed in 2008 with the input of a Steering Committee, Community Advisory Committee, Technical Advisory Committee and Organizing Committee, representing all areas of Alameda County; and WHEREAS, this Active Transportation Plan, which will benefit the entire County, will create active transportation opportunities for children, commuters and community by investing in three priority areas: 1. Advancing pedestrian and bicycle access to transit, 2. Connecting communities with urban greenways, 3. Inspiring the community to walk and bike through education and promotion programs; and WHEREAS, the overarching goal of this Plan is to increase the number of people walking, biking and using public transit in Alameda County from 22% today, to 30% by 2016; and WHERAS, the Citywide Master .Bikeways Plan approved by Council on July 17, 2007 supports the preparation of joint applications for multi-agency bikeway projects with other local and regional agencies to compete for state and federal funding opportunities; and WHEREAS, one of the projects proposed for funding in the Alameda County 2010 Campaign Case Study is the completion of the Iron Horse Trail extending from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station to Livermore, which will increase the availability and uses of the Trail for Dublin residents; and WHEREAS, Alameda County showed tremendous support for active transportation in 2000 when 81.5% of the voters approved a $100 million investment in improving walking and biking as part of the passage of a twenty-year local sales tax measure (Measure B); and WHEREAS, in 2006, Alameda County adopted a Countywide Strategic Pedestrian Plan, a Toolkit for Improving Walkability in Alameda County, and a Countywide Bicycle Plan; and WHEREAS, the East Bay Regional Park District Master Plan, as updated in 2007, encompasses an extensive system of multi-use trails in Alameda County; and WHEREAS, municipalities in Alameda County continue to plan and develop active transportation infrastructure to: • Create safe transportation routes, • Promote healthy lifestyles, • Invigorate the sense of community, • Promote economic diversity and vitality, Page 2 of 3 • Improve air quality, • Relieve motorized traffic congestion, • Improve the efficiency of transportation infrastructure, • Decrease dependency on carbon fuels, and • Reduce the burden of infrastructure maintenance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Dublin strongly supports and endorses Alameda County's participation in the 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation, which has a goal of doubling federal funding for trails, walking and biking in the next federal transportation reauthorization and attracting $50 million of this funding to Alameda County to implement its Active Transportation Plan. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Mayor is authorized to sign a letter stating the City's support of the Alameda County Active Transportation Campaign. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 21st day of October, 2008, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Hildenbrand, Oravetz, Sbranti and Scholz, and Mayor Lockhart NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTES ~, < < ~~ City Clerk ;o No. 193-08, Adopted 10-21-OS, Item 8.4 Page 3 of 3