As a result of planned increases in passenger and freight rail traffic on the three rail lines in Orange County, a renewed focus has been placed on at-grade rail-highway crossing (grade crossing) improvements. Improvements to grade crossings can cover a wide spectrum, beginning with basic safety improvements (improving crossing surfaces, re-applying of pavement markings and enhancing signing), to the installation of supplemental safety measures that allow for the reduction of locomotive horn blowing (quiet zones).

 

On August 27, 2007, the OCTA Board of Directors approved the implementation strategy for the grade crossing enhancement program and quiet zone improvements at 53 grade crossings in Orange County. Since then, significant efforts have been undertaken to advance the program towards completion by the spring 2010. The 30 percent design was completed in May 2008, and cities’ review and comments were received. On June 23, 2008, a program update was provided to the OCTA Board of Directors. A budget amendment was approved for an additional $10 million to the current $60 million program budget based on updated cost estimates generated at 30 percent design completion. The current design phase should be completed in August 2008.

The GoLocal program is a four-step program designed to enhance connections between the Metrolink stations in Orange County and surrounding communities. Since the inception of the Go Local program, Orange County cities have worked to develop concepts either individually or in partnership with neighboring cities. All 34 cities received a $100,000 grant from OCTA to study possible extensions linking major activity and employment centers with a Metrolink station. Cities began submitting their findings in March and final reports were due June 30, 2008, ending the first step of the program. 

 

Step One report evaluations are now under way and the OCTA Board of Directors awarded the first round of Go Local Step Two funds. The City of Anaheim has been awarded $5.9 million for detailed planning, alternatives analysis, conceptual engineering, and state and federal environmental clearance for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) to The Platinum Triangle to Anaheim Resort Connector. The City of Santa Ana also has been awarded $5.9 million to undergo similar activities for the Fixed Guideway: Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center to Harbor Boulevard proposal. Although Go Local Step Two is funded through M1, the detailed planning efforts are needed to prepare before competing for M2 Project S and other funds.

 

Consistent with previous OCTA Board of Directors direction, the Irvine Guideway Demonstration Project was formally included as a Go Local project, although Step Two of the project has already been funded with OCTA contributing $5.2 million of federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds, and $1.3 million being provided by City of Irvine local funding.

 

As part of Go Local Step Two, all proposed mixed-flow bus/shuttle routes need to be evaluated to refine the proposed concepts and routings prior to further action by the OCTA Board of Directors. In May 2008, the Board directed that staff procure outside resources that would work directly with the participating cities to conduct service planning activities according to a set of guidelines established by OCTA. This approach will ensure uniformity in merging existing and new service into a cohesive transit system by maximizing the overall transit service and avoiding duplication of services. The Board also directed staff to procure additional resources to supplement the Step Two programmatic development of the three fixed-guideway proposals, including program management oversight and technical support.

 

Staff will be requesting the Board’s approval to release requests for proposals (RFP) in July 2008 for both tasks. The deadline for Go Local Step One final reports was June 30.

OCTA Staff:  Dinah Minteer (714) 560-5740

 

As a result of planned increases in passenger and freight rail traffic on the three rail lines in Orange County, a renewed focus has been placed on at-grade rail-highway crossing (grade crossing) improvements. Improvements to grade crossings can cover a wide spectrum from basic safety improvements (improving crossing surfaces, re-applying of pavement markings, and enhancing signage), to the installation of supplemental safety measures that allow for the reduction of locomotive horn blowing (quiet zones).

 

On August 27, 2007, the OCTA Board of Directors (Board) approved the implementation strategy for the grade crossing enhancement program and quiet zone improvements at 53 grade crossings in Orange County. Since then, significant efforts have been undertaken to advance the program towards completion by spring 2010.

 

On August 15, 2008, the design was completed for the Metrolink Service Expansion Plan (MSEP) and rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) released the invitation for bids for the combined MSEP and the rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program on September 28, 2008. This is a major milestone for the programs. The SCRRA Board of Directors is expected to award a contract in December 2008, with construction beginning in early 2009.

 

The rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program cooperative agreements between the cities and OCTA are expected to be signed by mid-October 2008. To date, five of nine cities have already approved the agreements, clearing the way for these projects to advance into construction.

OCTA Staff:  Kelly Hart (714) 560-5725

 

On July 28, 2008, the Board approved the release of requests for proposals for professional services to assist staff in three separate efforts as part of Go Local Step Two project development including:  service planning for qualifying Go Local Step One mixed-flow bus/shuttle proposals, project management oversight of the mixed-flow bus/shuttle proposals, and technical and program management support for the fixed-guideway proposals.  Staff is in the process of reviewing proposals for these efforts and will bring recommendations on the selected consultants to the Board in late fall 2008.

 

In September 2008, cooperative agreements were executed between OCTA and the cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana to identify the roles and responsibilities for Step Two.  In May 2008, the Board had awarded each city $5.9 million to perform detailed planning, including an alternatives analysis, and state and environmental clearance on their respective fixed-guideway proposals.  The cooperative agreements executed by the Board further identify the level of effort expected as part of Step Two, including the requirement for the two cities to return to the Board at certain Step Two milestones in order for the Board to be kept apprised of project status and to approve progression into the next phase of study.

 

To date, OCTA has received 29 bus/shuttle proposals requesting consideration to be advanced to Step Two for further refinement of the proposed routes.  Based on a screening of the proposals against the Board-approved Go Local evaluation criteria, staff is recommending that 25 of the 29 proposals be advanced to Step Two.  The Board is expected to consider staff’s recommendations in late October 2008.

OCTA Staff:  Dinah Minteer (714) 560-5740

 

During this quarter, all cooperative agreements between OCTA and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) corridor cities have been executed. Additionally, most construction and maintenance agreements between the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) and the cities have been signed (except for the cities of Fullerton and Dana Point).

 

OCTA has successfully completed identification of right-of-way (ROW) and utility impacts associated with grade crossing improvements at all 51 locations.  Weekly ROW and utility meetings are conducted with the affected cities and utility companies.  ROW acquisition has begun in the City of Orange, and is expected to be completed by the end of January 2009. Other cities in the program have asked OCTA to provide technical/consultant assistance for ROW acquisitions.  OCTA has consultants on board to proceed with right-of-way and utility coordination work. In December, SCRRA received bids for the civil construction package. The contract is expected to be awarded by the SCRRA Board of Directors in the first quarter of 2009.  The construction of these improvements is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

OCTA staff:  Kelly Long (714) 560-5725

 

On October 27, 2008, the Board approved 25 mixed-flow bus/shuttle proposals submitted under Go Local Step One to be advanced to Step Two. As part of Step Two, each of the proposals will undergo detailed service planning in order for the Board to assess, at the completion of Step Two, if the concept has significant merit to advance to step three for implementation. Each of the approved bus/shuttle services propose to provide a connection between a Metrolink station and major destination centers within the respective communities.  The concepts generally provided regional benefits, offered a link from the nearest Metrolink station to cities’ major population centers, and demonstrated a preliminary financial commitment on behalf of the proposing cities and surrounding business and activity centers.

 

In December 2008, agreements were executed with several professional services firms that will assist OCTA staff in assessing the feasibility of the proposals by evaluating areas such as, but not limited to, potential demand and customer needs, route segment and system performance, potential impacts to existing OCTA fixed-route bus and paratransit service, boardings/revenue vehicle hours, resources, budgets, policies, and technical aspects of the proposed service.

 

Project development continues with the fixed-guideway proposals previously approved by the Board in May 2008 to complete an alternatives analysis as part of step two.  Staff will bring to the Board, in early 2009, a recommendation for award of a consultant who will serve as an extension of OCTA staff in providing project management oversight and technical support to ensure that the fixed-guideway projects undergo detailed planning and obtain the necessary environmental clearances as required in step two of the Go Local program.

 

All planning work done as part of steps one and two of the Go Local program is funded by M1 in preparation for the implementation of Project S, Transit Extensions to Metrolink under M2.

Since the inception of the Go Local program, Orange County cities have worked to develop concepts either individually or in partnership with adjacent cities. To date, the Board has approved Go Local concepts from all 34 cities, most recently including the Cities of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. With the first of four steps of the program complete, cities will now compete for additional funding to further develop the top-ranked projects. There will be a total of $25.4 million available for this phase of the program.

The City of Anaheim and OCTA recently received responses to the ARTIC Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) from 14 private firms representing a variety of industries and market sectors, including:

• Arup and Transmetrics
• Cherokee
• CIM Group
• Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.
• Forest City Development
• Hill International
• Hines
• IBI Group and AREP Group
• Lehman Brothers
• Newport Real Estate Services, Inc., and Focus Real Estate Group, LP
• Opus West Corporation
• Parsons Transportation Group, Inc.
• PB Americas, Inc. and Arlington Group
• WoodStone Capital Group LLC

The RFEI is intended to assist OCTA in determining the availability, magnitude, and timing of private funds, the public private partnership structure, and project delivery mechanisms. These responses were voluntary on the part of the development community and will be used to advance a formal procurement process to select a private partners to undertake ARTIC and the associated development. The City of Anaheim, together with OCTA, will be releasing a Request for Qualifications document later this spring.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, visited Orange County in February to tour various local projects including the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). The Secretary provided very positive comments about the project and noted she does not know of a better example of a multimodal, public-private partnership transportation project in the country. The Secretary commended Orange County for its efforts in establishing public-private partnerships to deliver traffic relief to residents quickly and without raising taxes. Click here to see a copy of the Secretary’s speech.

• Read full speech
• Watch video

The OCTA Board approved a cooperative agreement with the City of Placentia for the design and construction of a new Metrolink station in the city. The Board also approved releasing a request for proposals seeking a design consultant to provide plans, specifications and estimates for the project. The station would be Orange County’s 12th and consists of platforms, a parking structure, surface parking, pedestrian access and widening of the existing Melrose Street structure to accommodate new platforms. The proposed Placentia Metrolink Station is on the Metrolink 91 Line serving Riverside, Fullerton, Buena Park and downtown Los Angeles. This line has experienced the most dramatic ridership growth of all the passenger rail lines in Orange County over the past three years.

Over $100,000 in Commuter Urban Rail Endowment (CURE) funding was made available in order to make final revisions to the design of a pedestrian undercrossing planned for the Orange Transportation Center. Constructing a pedestrian underpass will improve safety and provide easier access from the parking lot to the station platform and bus transfer facilities. With the design phase completed, construction on the project is scheduled to begin in April 2008. Click here for more information on the project.

• See Item 5 in the OCTA Transit Committee Agenda [PDF, 4MB]

OCTA Staff:  Dinah Minteer (714) 560-5740

As a result of planned increases in passenger and freight rail traffic on the three rail lines in Orange County, a renewed focus has been placed on at-grade rail-highway crossing (grade crossing) improvements.  Improvements to grade crossings can cover a wide spectrum from basic safety improvements (improving crossing surfaces, re-applying of pavement markings, and enhancing signage), to the installation of supplemental safety measures that allow for the reduction of locomotive horn blowing (quiet zones).
 
On August 27, 2007, the OCTA Board of Directors (Board) approved the implementation strategy for the grade crossing enhancement program and quiet zone improvements at 53 grade crossings in Orange County.  Since then, significant efforts have been undertaken to advance the program towards completion by spring 2010.

On August 15, 2008, the design was completed for the Metrolink Service Expansion Plan (MSEP) and rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program.  The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) released the invitation for bids for the combined MSEP and the rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program on September 28, 2008.  This is a major milestone for the programs.  The SCRRA Board of Directors is expected to award a contract in December 2008, with construction beginning in early 2009.

The rail-highway grade crossing safety enhancement program cooperative agreements between the cities and OCTA are expected to be signed by mid-October 2008.  To date, five of nine cities have already approved the agreements, clearing the way for these projects to advance into construction.

OCTA Staff:  Kelly Hart (714) 560-5725

On July 28, 2008, the Board approved the release of requests for proposals for professional services to assist staff in three separate efforts as part of Go Local Step Two project development including:  service planning for qualifying Go Local Step One mixed-flow bus/shuttle proposals, project management oversight of the mixed-flow bus/shuttle proposals, and technical and program management support for the fixed-guideway proposals.  Staff is in the process of reviewing proposals for these efforts and will bring recommendations on the selected consultants to the Board in late fall 2008.

In September 2008, cooperative agreements were executed between OCTA and the cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana to identify the roles and responsibilities for Step Two.  In May 2008, the Board had awarded each city $5.9 million to perform detailed planning, including an alternatives analysis, and state and environmental clearance on their respective fixed-guideway proposals.  The cooperative agreements executed by the Board further identify the level of effort expected as part of Step Two, including the requirement for the two cities to return to the Board at certain Step Two milestones in order for the Board to be kept apprised of project status and to approve progression into the next phase of study.

To date, OCTA has received 29 bus/shuttle proposals requesting consideration to be advanced to Step Two for further refinement of the proposed routes.  Based on a screening of the proposals against the Board-approved Go Local evaluation criteria, staff is recommending that 25 of the 29 proposals be advanced to Step Two.  The Board is expected to consider staff’s recommendations in late October 2008.

Due to the planned increases in passenger and freight rail traffic on the three rail lines in Orange County, a renewed focus has been placed on at-grade rail-highway crossing (grade crossing) improvements.  Improvements to grade crossings can cover a wide spectrum from basic safety improvements (improving crossing surfaces, reapplying pavement markings, and enhancing signage), to the installation of supplemental safety measures that allow for the reduction of locomotive horn blowing (quiet zones).

 

On August 27, 2007, the OCTA Board of Directors (Board) approved the implementation strategy for the grade crossing enhancement program and quiet zone improvements at 52 grade crossings in Orange County.

 

Final design for the grade crossing safety enhancements was completed, but there was a delay in advancing this project of approximately 90 days in order to accommodate use of Proposition 116 funds (in combination with funds from M2) on this project. While the delay affects the construction schedule, this effort allowed the region to keep Proposition 116 funds within Orange County, which was a critical issue in light of current revenue forecasts and future funding opportunities.

 

Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) awarded Herzog Contracting Corporation a contract to support the Metrolink service expansion program (MSEP) and grade crossing safety enhancements. In addition to the civil construction contract, contracts for special track work, signal construction, signal maintenance, rail, and ties have also been awarded.

 

OCTA staff continues to meet with cities to discuss pre-construction requirements and plan reviews. This effort is intended to resolve issues early and avoid delays once construction begins. Construction of the projects will be undertaken at the same time.  SCRRA expects to issue a notice to proceed to the contractor to begin construction in August 2009.  Construction is expected to take slightly over two years to complete.

 

Once the construction is completed, cities may apply for the establishment of a quiet zone through the Federal Railroad Administration.

 

A comprehensive public outreach program also was developed to notify communities of construction impacts such as road detours, nighttime work, and dust impacts throughout the two-year program. The goal of the public outreach program is to inform and engage the public throughout the development of construction, raise awareness of increased train service, and partner with participating cities to create a quiet zone outreach program. In addition, a rail safety public education program, “Be Rail Safe,” was also developed to educate youths and adults to help reduce the number of trespassings on or around the train tracks. An interactive web site and speakers bureau has been developed for both outreach programs. 

Dinah Minteer (714) 560-5740

Project development continued with the two Board-approved Go Local fixed-guideway project concepts, from the City of Anaheim and the cities of Garden Grove and Santa Ana. Both teams are underway with step two efforts to complete detailed planning including alternatives analysis (AA), selection of a locally preferred alternative, and environmental clearance.

 

During this quarter, the City of Anaheim selected a short list of alternatives that propose various alignments and technologies to connect the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) to the Platinum Triangle and Anaheim resort area. The short-list of alternatives will be reviewed at a public scoping meeting in July. 

 

The City of Santa Ana continues to work on assembling a consultant team that will conduct the AA and environmental clearance for their fixed-guideway concept. The city anticipates that the consultant will be on-board by July. The City of Santa Ana’s fixed-guideway concept proposes to connect the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center through downtown Santa Ana to Harbor Boulevard in the City of Garden Grove.

 

During the reporting period, cooperative agreements were executed with the lead agencies of Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Fullerton, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, and Westminster to define the roles of responsibilities for step two service planning of the lead agencies’ Board-approved bus/shuttle concepts.  Work is underway to develop the ridership methodology that will be used to assess the viability and feasibility of all step two bus/shuttle concepts.

 

All planning work done as part of steps one and two of the Go Local program is funded by Measure M (M1) in preparation for the implementation of project S (transit extensions to Metrolink), funded by Renewed Measure M (M2). Staff continues to develop guidelines for the evaluation of Go Local projects that will compete for M2, project S funds. Staff expects to bring draft guidelines for the Board’s consideration in early 2010.

Kelly Long (714) 560-5725