610 Walnut Street Office Development Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan
Prepared for: Windy Hill Property Ventures
January 29, 2019
Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc. Hexagon Office: 4 North Second Street, Suite 400 San Jose, CA 95113 Hexagon Job Number: 18LJ04 Phone: 408.971.6100 Client Name: Ms. Lisa Ring 610 Walnut Street Office Development TDM Plan January 29, 2019
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ...... 1 2. Transportation Facilities and Services ...... 4 3. Recommended TDM Measures ...... 10 3. Parking Analysis ...... 18 4. TDM Implementation and Monitoring ...... 20 List of Tables
Table 1 TDM Measures and Implementation Responsibilities ...... 11 Table 2 Office Parking Demand Survey Results ...... 19 List of Figures
Figure 1 Site Location ...... 2 Figure 2 Project Site Plan ...... 3 Figure 3 Existing Transit Services ...... 6 Figure 4 Existing Bicycle Facilities ...... 8
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1. Introduction
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is a combination of services, incentives, facilities, and actions that reduce single–occupant vehicle (SOV) trips to help relieve traffic congestion, parking demand, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution problems. The purpose of this Transportation Demand Management Plan is to recommend trip reduction strategies with the goal of reducing overall vehicular trip making from the project. This document identifies the baseline vehicular trip generation of the proposed project and documents appropriate trip generation reduction strategies.
Redwood City has adopted a goal to reduce single-occupant vehicle trips to 50% citywide. In order to achieve 50% citywide, Redwood City has adopted a goal of 33% drive-alone mode share for the downtown area, which has greater access to transit alternatives than other parts of the city. The 610 Walnut Street site is considered to be close enough to the downtown to have the more stringent requirement. Project Description
The proposed office development is located 610 Walnut within the Downtown Medical Campus (Kaiser) Precise Plan area in Redwood City, California (see Figure 1). The site currently is developed with a 11,123 square-foot two-story office building. The proposed project would replace the existing office building with a 63,828 square-foot office building with underground parking. The project proposes to provide 132 vehicle parking spaces and 28 bicycle parking spaces on site. There is currently on-street parking along both Walnut Street and Bradford Street. The project would maintain the on-street parking, but some spaces would shift due to driveway placement. Due to its location in the Downtown Medical Campus (Kaiser) Precise Plan area, the project is required to prepare a TDM plan.
This TDM Plan responds to the Precise Plan requirement and includes a broad range of TDM measures designed to reduce single-occupant vehicle trips and the project parking demand through a combination of appropriate measures to promote alternative forms of transportation. The objectives of the TDM Program include encouraging employees to use existing transit services and encouraging the use of bicycle travel and walking to, from, and around the area. The program complies with the City’s current expectations for TDM measures and incorporates current best practices for reducing single- occupant vehicle trips to achieve the goal of 33% drive alone mode share
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E Bayshore Rd Seaport Blvd Bair Island Rd
D St
REDWOOD Convention Way B St CITY 101 Blomquist St
Winslow St
Arguello St
ut St
Waln
Veterans Blvd
Whipple Ave Brewster Ave Bradford St
Winslow St El Camino Real
Marshall St Maple St
Middlefield Rd
Hopkins Ave Broadway St
Broadway Jefferson Ave
Main St
Bay Rd
Redwood Woodside Rd City Caltrain Station Spring St Middlefield Rd
LEGEND = Site Location Figure 1 Site Location 610 Walnut Street Office Development TDM Plan
WALNUT STREET
4 9 10 6 1 2 5 3 7
INE
O L
T
- 14'-0"
D
IL MIN. SETBACK
BU
7
UP UP DN DN
NO NO PARKING PARKING EV/FEV
2 VANPOOL CARPOOL / VANPOOL 14'-0" CARPOOL / MIN. SETBACK EV/FEV
BUILD-TO LINE REFERENCE SHEET A2.11 FOR
VANPOOL VANPOOL VANPOOL VANPOOL VANPOOL EV/FEV CARPOOL / EV/FEV
PARKING CARPOOL / CARPOOL CARPOOL / CARPOOL / CARPOOL / CARPOOL NO 9 FIRST LEVEL FLOOR PLAN VANPOOL
CARPOOL / BRADFORD STREET BRADFORD VANPOOL 8 CARPOOL /
UP 8% UP 19% 17.5% DN 8% DN
1
Figure 2 Project Site Plan 610 Walnut Street Office Development TDM Plan January 29, 2019
2. Transportation Facilities and Services
Transportation facilities and services that support sustainable modes of transportation include commuter rail, buses and shuttle buses, bicycle facilities, pedestrian facilities, and metered parking. This chapter describes existing facilities and services near the project site that would support the TDM measures contained in this plan. Figure 3 shows the existing bus and rail services. Caltrain Commuter Rail
Caltrain provides commuter rail service between San Francisco and San Jose, with limited service to Gilroy during commute hours. The project site is located about one half-mile northeast of the Redwood City Caltrain station, which is approximately a 10-minute walk. The Redwood City Station is served by local-stop, limited-stop, and baby bullet trains. During the morning peak period of 6:00 AM to 9:30 AM, the Redwood City Station is served by ten northbound trains, including three baby bullet and seven limited-stop trains, with headways between 6 and 34 minutes. Twelve southbound trains, including five baby bullet and seven limited-stop trains, serve the Redwood City Station in the AM peak period with headways between 5 and 35 minutes. During the PM peak period between 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM, the station is served by thirteen northbound trains, including five baby bullet, seven limited-stop and one local-stop trains with headways between 7 and 42 minutes. Ten southbound trains, including one local stop, three baby bullet, six limited-stop trains, with headways between 5 and 52 minutes serve the Redwood City Station during PM peak hours.
Bus Routes
The San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) provides bus service within 18 cities in San Mateo County and into portions of San Francisco and Palo Alto. The project site is served by Routes 270 and 276. The closest bus top is located approximately 700 feet southwest of the project site at the intersection of Main Street and Marshall Street. Access between this bus stop and the project site is provided via sidewalks located along both sides of Walnut Street, Marshall Street, Bradford Street, and Main Street. The project site is located within 0.5 miles from the Redwood City Transit Center with multiple weekday bus routes.
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Route 270 operates on Main Street within the project area, providing loop service connecting Redwood City Transit Center, downtown Redwood City, and Atherton with 60 minute headways.
Route 276 operates on Main Street within the project area, providing service between Redwood City Transit Center and Florence/17th in Atherton with 60 minute headways.
Route 274. Route 274 travels between Redwood City Transit Center and Canada College in Woodside with 30 minute headways.
Route 275. Route 275 provides service between the Redwood City Transit Center and the Woodside Plaza with 30 minute headways.
Route 295. Route 295 provides service between San Mateo Caltrain Station and Redwood City Caltrain Station with 60 minute headways.
Route 296. Route 296 travels between the Redwood City Transit Center, the Menlo Park Caltrain Station, and East Palo Alto with 30 minute headways during the AM commute hours and 15 minute headways during the PM commute hours.
Route 297. Route 297 is a non-commute hour route with stops at the Redwood City Transit Center, Menlo Park, and the Palo Alto Caltrain Station with 60 minute headways in the weekday mornings from 3:30-5:30 and weekday evenings from 10:30 PM to 12:30 AM.
Route 397. Route 397 is a non-commute hour route that travels between Palo Alto Transit Center and Downtown San Francisco and stops at the Redwood City Transit Center with 60 minute headways in the early morning from 12:30 to 6:30 AM.
Route 398. Route 398 has stops at the Redwood City Transit Center, San Francisco Airport, and the San Bruno BART and Caltrain Stations with 60 minute headways.
Route ECR. Route ECR travels along El Camino Real between Palo Alto and Daly City, and stops at the Redwood City Transit Center with 15-30 minute headways.
Rapid ECR. Route Rapid ECR operates between the Redwood City Transit Center and Daly City Bart Station during the AM and PM commute hours with 20-minute headways during weekdays and 30- minute headways during weekends.
Pacific Shores Shuttle provides services between the Redwood City Caltrain Station and the Pacific Shores area during the commute hours Monday thru Friday.
Mid-Point Area Shuttle This shuttle operates between the Redwood City Caltrain Station and the Mid Point Technology Business Park during the commute hours Monday thru Friday.
Seaport Centre Business Park Area Shuttle This shuttle operates between the Redwood City Caltrain Station and the Seaport Centre Office Business Park during the commute hours Monday thru Friday.
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E Bayshore Rd Seaport Blvd 73 Bair Island Rd
Redwood City Transit Center D St 95 270 274 275
278276295 296 REDWOOD Convention Way B St 101 RAPID CITY Blomquist St RAPID 397 398 ECR ECR ECR ECR Winslow St
397 Arguello St 398 270 95 ut St
Waln 270 276 Whipple Ave Veterans Blvd El Camino Real 295 Brewster Ave 295 Bradford St 73 Winslow St
Maple St Marshall St
Middlefield Rd Broadway St LEGENDHopkins Ave Broadway Jefferson Ave 270 Main St 276 = Site Location 95 Bay Rd XX = SamTrans School-day Redwood Only Route City Caltrain Woodside Rd XXX = SamTrans Routes Connecting Station to Caltrain Stations Spring St XXX = SamTrans Routes Connecting 397 Middlefield Rd to BART and Caltrain Stations 274 XXX = Samtrans Express Route = Seaport Shuttle = Midpoint Shuttle Figure 3 = Pacific Shores Shuttle Existing Transit Services 610 Walnut Street Office Development TDM Plan January 29, 2019
Bicycle Facilities
The existing and proposed bicycle facilities within the study area are shown on Figure 4, and include the following: • Bike Lanes: Bike lanes provide a striped lane for one-way bike travel on a street or highway and are designed for the exclusive use of cyclists with certain exceptions. For instance, right turning vehicles must merge into the lane before turning. • Bike Routes: Streets that are well-suited for bicycling where cyclists share the road with motor vehicles may be designated as bike routes. Bike routes may be defined by a wide curb lane and/or use of a shared use arrow stencil marking on the pavement, known as a “sharrow.” Within the project vicinity, there is one bike path extending from Skyway Road past Whipple Avenue to Bair Island Road. Existing bicycle lanes are located on:
• Marshall Street between Arguello Street and Walnut Street • Walnut Street between Bradford Street and Veterans Boulevard • Winslow Street between Broadway and Whipple Avenue • Brewster Avenue between Arguello Street and Main Street • Main Street between Convention Way and Veterans Boulevard • Veterans Boulevard between Whipple Avenue and Chestnut Street • Arguello Street between Whipple Avenue and Marshall Street
Existing bicycle routes are marked on:
Winslow Street/Middlefield Road between Broadway and Cassia Street
The Citywide Transportation Plan (RWCmoves) (July 2018) shows bicycle facilities are proposed on several additional Downtown roadways within the project vicinity.
• Proposed bike lane or route on Main Street between Veterans Boulevard and Broadway • Proposed bike lane or route on Broadway east of Jefferson Avenue • Proposed bike lane or route on Chestnut Street between Middlefield Road and Blomquist Street/E Bayshore Road • Proposed bike lane or route along Maple Street • Proposed bike lane on Stambaugh Street between Maple Street and Charter Street • Proposed bike lane on Spring Street between Main Street and Chestnut Street
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E Bayshore Rd Seaport Blvd Bair Island Rd
D St
REDWOOD Convention Way B St CITY 101 Blomquist St
Winslow St
Arguello St
ut St
Waln
Veterans Blvd
Winslow St Whipple Ave Brewster Ave BradfordBradford St
El Camino Real
Marshall St Maple St
Middlefield Rd
Hopkins Ave Broadway St
Broadway Jefferson Ave
Main St
Bay Rd
Redwood Woodside Rd City Caltrain Station LEGEND Spring St Middlefield Rd = Site Location
= Class I Bike Paths = Class II Bike Lanes = Class III Bike Routes Figure 4 Existing Bicycle Facilities 610 Walnut Street Office Development TDM Plan January 29, 2019
Pedestrian Facilities
Sidewalks are present on all roadway segments within the vicinity of the project site. Crosswalks are provided at all intersections in the study area and pedestrian walk signals are provided at the signalized intersections. Pedestrian volumes are high, and the area is viewed as a pedestrian-friendly environment.
In the immediate vicinity of the project site, the intersection of Walnut Street and Bradford Street is a stop-controlled intersection with crosswalks provided across the south and west legs. The intersection of Main Street and Bradford Street is a two-way stop- controlled intersection with crosswalks along each leg. The signalized intersection of Main Street and Marshall Street has pedestrian signal heads and crosswalks across the north, south, and west legs. The intersection of Main Street and Marshall Street is a two-way stop-controlled intersection with crosswalks provided across all legs. The overall network of sidewalks and crosswalks in the study area has good connectivity and provides pedestrians with safe routes to transit services (Redwood City Transit Center and Caltrain Station) and other points of interest in the downtown area.
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3. Recommended TDM Measures
This chapter describes Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures that are applicable to the proposed office development project. The recommended TDM measures include planning and design measures related to the attributes of the site design and on-site amenities. Such design measures encourage walking, biking, and use of transit. The TDM programs and measures include strategies that are geared towards the office project’s employees. Table 1 presents a summary of the measures recommended in this Plan, along with an indication of who should have primary responsibility for implementing each measure.
Downtown Location and Proximity to Rail
The location of the project adjacent to downtown Redwood City promotes pedestrian and bicycle travel in a high density area of complementary land uses. The project is located at the edge of the Redwood City downtown and is a short walk or bicycle ride from numerous complementary land uses and transit services. The project location effectively renders it part of a mixed-use development in a pedestrian- and bike-friendly environment with a significant share of trips internal to the downtown area.
The project is located less than 0.5 miles from the Redwood City Transit Center, which provides direct access to Caltrain service as well as to multiple shuttle routes and SamTrans bus routes. At a normal walking pace, it would take approximately 10 minutes to walk from the project site to the transit center. This encourages the use of Caltrain and SamTrans for employees of the proposed project.
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Table 1 TDM Measures and Implementation Responsibilities Recommended TDM Measures Implementation Responsibility
TDM Administration & Promotion, Monitoring & Reporting Designating a Transportation Coordinator Building Developer Online Kiosk/TDM Information Board Transportation Coordinator 1 Transportation Information Packets Transportation Coordinator Trip Planning Assistance Transportation Coordinator Annual Employee Surveys Transportation Coordinator Annual Trip Reduction Goal Monitoring Independent Third Party Bicycle Facilities Secured and Temporary Bike Parking Spaces Building Developer Showers and Changing Rooms Building Developer Bike share program Transportation Coordinator Bike maintenance station Transportation Coordinator Bicycle Resources Transportation Coordinator Carpool and Vanpool Programs On-Site Ride Matching Assistance Transportation Coordinator 511 Ride Matching Assistance Availble to Public Carpool/Vanpool Incentives for New Users Availble to Public Preferential Carpool/Vanpool and electric Parking Spaces Building Developer Emergency Ride Home Program Building Tenants Modified Work Schedules Compressed Work Week Building Tenants Flex Time Building Tenants Transit Elements Transit Subsidy Building Tenants Transit Information Building Developer
Notes: 1. The building developer will have initial responsibility for creating an online kiosk. After the building is occupied, the Transportation Coordinator will have ongoing responsibility for maintaining and updating the online kiosk.
TDM Administration and Promotion
Transportation Coordinator Experience with other TDM programs indicates that having a Transportation Coordinator who focuses on transportation issues and is responsible for implementing the TDM program is key to its success. We recommend the building owner or management appoint an individual as the Transportation Coordinator or TDM contact person, and that person’s name and contact information will be provided to the City.
The Transportation Coordinator will be a point of contact for tenants when TDM-related questions arise, and will be responsible for ensuring that tenants are aware of all transportation options and how to fully utilize the TDM Plan. The Transportation Coordinator will provide the following services and functions to ensure the TDM Plan runs smoothly:
• Provide transportation information packets to new tenants, for distribution to all employees.
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• Set up and maintain an online kiosk with information about alternatives to driving alone to work (single-occupant vehicles). • Provide trip planning assistance and/or ride-matching assistance to employees who are considering an alternative mode. • Maintain Bike Spa facilities and promote bikeshare program membership. • Manage annual surveys and submit annual TDM monitoring reports to the City. The results will be used to determine whether the implemented TDM measures are effective and whether new TDM measures should be implemented.
The Transportation Coordinator will maintain a supply of up-to-date transit schedules and route maps for SamTrans and be knowledgeable enough to answer tenants’ TDM program related questions.
If the site is ultimately leased or sold to a single employer, we recommend that the lease/sale agreement require the future tenant to provide a Transportation Coordinator for the site so that the TDM program can be tailored to the specific employer’s needs. If multiple employers occupy the site, the subsequent property management group, will continue to provide a Transportation Coordinator that will interface with each tenant on site. Online Kiosk The Transportation Coordinator is recommended to set up and maintain an online kiosk with information regarding non-auto transportation alternatives. The online kiosk will update key transportation information included in the welcome packets. Additionally, transportation news and commuter alerts will be posted online.
Most TDM plans have traditionally included a requirement for a physical bulletin board to be created for posting information related to alternative travel modes. Experience often shows, however, that few employees look at these boards after an initial period of interest. This TDM Plan recommends the online kiosk with similar information that an employee could access from their desk at work, their home, or anywhere else. TDM-related links and information will be posted on this forum, and the Transportation Coordinator will have host permissions to send tenants email notifications pertaining to the TDM Plan and measures. The online kiosk will include information about all the measures, services, and facilities discussed in this Plan, including:
• A summary of SamTrans and Caltrain services and links to further information about their routes and schedules. • Bicycling resources on 511.org. • A local bikeways map. • Information about ridematching services (511.org, Zimride, and TwoGo). • A link to the many other trip planning resources available in the Bay Area such as Dadnab, the 511 Transit Trip Planner, real-time traffic conditions, etc.
The building developer would have responsibility for creating the website so that it is up and running as soon as the new building is ready for leasing. More specific information can be added later to reflect any programs specific to certain tenants. The Transportation Coordinator would be responsible for adding new information to the website (or providing it to the website designer) so that the online kiosk remains current and informative.
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Orientation (Welcome) Packet New office employees should be provided transportation information packets. This packet should include information about transit maps/schedules (Caltrain and SamTrans), bike maps, ride matching services, transit planning resources, and bicycle parking on-site. Also included in the packet should be information regarding how to contact the Transportation Coordinator who can provide information regarding modes of transportation available to office employees. Transportation Management Agency (TMA) Transportation Management Agencies (TMA) are associations of businesses, property owners, tenants, and cities that offer programs and services to give commuters alternatives to driving alone. TMAs are supported by member dues. Many TMAs offer shuttle bus services. They also provide services like guaranteed ride home programs. They typically promote ridesharing, provide matching services, and generally provide assistance to persons seeking alternatives to driving alone. The proposed project will participate in a TMA if/when a TMA is established for the project area. Transit Elements
Subsidized transit passes are an extremely effective means of encouraging employees to use transit rather than drive to work. Transit passes allow employees to save money, as well as allowing them to avoid the stress of driving during commute periods. The project will participate in the Caltrain Go Pass Program to encourage employees to utilize public transit when commuting to and from the project site. Caltrain Go Pass The Caltrain Go Pass program is an employer-sponsored annual pass that offers unlimited rides on Caltrain through all zones, seven days a week. Participating companies pay an annual fee to provide the Go Pass to every regular, full-time employee (excluding contractors, temporary employees, interns and consultants), regardless of how many will use the transit pass.
In 2018, the total cost of participating in the Go Pass program is the greater of $237.50 per eligible user or $19,950. To determine the cost, multiply the number of eligible Users by $237.50. If the total is less than $19,950, the participation cost is $19,950. If the total exceeds $19,950, the cost is $237.50 per eligible user. The cost is pro-rated if the participant joins the program for less than a full year. Based on a rough estimate of 4 employees per 1,000 square feet, this project is estimated to have approximately 255 employees, which would cost $60,563 per year for the Go Pass program. Bicycle Facilities
Bicycle Parking Providing secure bicycle parking encourages bicycle commuting and reduces daily vehicle trips. Based on the City’s bicycle parking requirements (Section 30.6 D, one bicycle parking space per 5,000 square feet of floor area), the project should provide 13 bicycle spaces. As shown on the site plan, the project will provide a bicycle storage room with 28 bicycle parking spaces on the first floor, which will satisfy the
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City’s requirement for bicycle parking. In addition, the project would allow bicycles to be brought up into the office space to encourages ridership by not having to worry about bike parking. Showers In combination with providing bicycle parking spaces, shower facilities can further encourage employees to bike by providing a facility for employees who bike to work to prepare for the day and change clothes. We recommend the project developer provide at least two shower/changing rooms located near the bike parking area. Bicycle Repair Station In addition to bicycle parking, the project includes a bike repair station next to the bike storage room, which will provide a singular point where bicyclists can share information on routes, commuting, and maintenance practices to help generate a stronger community that is more engaged in bicycling as a mode of transportation. Bicycle Resources As part of the information available in the online kiosk discussed above, resources useful to cyclists should be included. For example, the local bikeways map will be posted for easy reference.
The following resources are available to bicycle commuters through 511.org. These resources should be noted on the project’s online information center, in order to make employees aware of them.
• Free Bike Buddy matching • Bicycle maps • Bicycle safety tips • Information about taking bikes on public transit • Location and use of bike parking at transit stations • Information on Bike to Work Day • Tips on selecting a bike, commuter gear, and clothing • Links to bicycle organizations Trip Planning Resources
There are several free trip planning resources that employees may not be aware of. Information on these services should be included in the welcome packets for new employees. These include:
• 511 Transit Trip Planner. Online transit trip planning services are available to the greater San Francisco Bay Area through 511.org. Users enter their starting and ending points, and either the desired starting or ending trip time. The service can build an itinerary that best suits the user’s preferences for the fastest trip, fewest transfers, or least walking.
• Dadnab. Dadnab.com enables Bay Area commuters to get transit directions by text message. Users send a text message with their origin, destination, and optional departure or arrival time and Dadnab replies with a detailed itinerary listing which buses or trains to take, stop locations, and departure times.
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Carpool and Vanpool Programs
One of the greatest impediments to carpool and vanpool formation can be finding suitable riders with similar work schedules, origins, and destinations. Facilitated rideshare matching can overcome this obstacle by enabling commuters who are interested in ridesharing to enter their travel preferences into a database and receive a list of potential rideshare partners. The success of these programs is largely determined by the number of participants and, in turn, the number of potential matches that can be made. On-Site Ride Matching Assistance The Transportation Coordinator should distribute a carpool/vanpool matching application to all employees as part of the welcome packets. The application should match employees who live in the same area who may be able to carpool or vanpool together. Some employees who may be reluctant to reach out to find carpool partners via the 511 RideMatch service may be more likely to fill out a form that will be administered by their Transportation Coordinator. 511 Ride Matching Assistance The 511 RideMatch service provides an interactive, on-demand system that helps commuters find carpools, vanpools or bicycle partners. This program should also be promoted through the online kiosk. This free car and vanpool ride-matching service helps commuters find others with similar routes and travel patterns with whom they may share a ride. Registered users are provided with a list of other commuters near their employment or residential ZIP code, along with the closest cross street, email, phone number, and hours they are available to commute to and from work. Participants are then able to select and contact others with whom they wish to commute. The service also provides a list of existing car and vanpools in their residential area that may have vacancies. Ride-matching assistance is also available through a number of peer-to-peer matching programs, such as Zimride and TwoGo, which utilize social networks to match commuters.
There are also many free and commercial applications offering carpooling or discounted taxi services. These applications are created by third-party application developers for smartphone users. Carpooling applications include Carma and SliceRides. Discounted taxi services include Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar Ride. Carpool/Vanpool Incentives for New Users The 511 Regional Rideshare Program offers a number of incentive programs to encourage people to try carpooling and vanpooling. Most of these programs are designed to reward someone for forming or trying a carpool or vanpool and provide an award or subsidy after the first three or six months of use.
Vanpool Formation Incentive. The 511 Regional Rideshare Program provides up to $500 in gas cards to new vanpools that meet certain eligibility requirements and complete three to six consecutive months of operation. The gas cards are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, until funds are exhausted.
Vanpool Seat Subsidy. The 511 Regional Rideshare Program also offers a vanpool seat subsidy in the form of gas cards. The seat subsidy will provide $100 per month, with a limit of three months per van during the program year, to help cover the fare of a lost participant. The gas cards will be offered to eligible vans on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are exhausted.
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Discounted Tolls. The 511 Regional Rideshare Program offers free toll passage on seven of the Bay Area’s bridges for vanpools with 11-15 people who register with 511. Additionally, the program also offers toll discounts to carpools with three or more people (two people in a two-seat vehicle) on eight of the Bay Area’s bridges during peak commute hours. The discounts vary per bridge, but typically are half of the standard toll price. Preferential Carpool/Vanpool Parking Allowing carpool and vanpool participants and drivers of low-emission (electric) vehicles to park near garage entrances and near the elevators used to access the office building is a common TDM measure. Redwood City requires office developments to permanently reserve 10% of all on-site parking spaces for carpool or vanpool spaces and 3% for electric vehicles. Based on the currently-proposed 135 parking spaces on site, the project needs to reserve 14 parking spaces as carpool/vanpool spaces and 4 electric vehicle charging spaces. Preferential parking provides reserved parking in a desirable priority location, such as near the building entrance or near a garage entrance/exit. This initiative encourages employees to rideshare by making it more convenient for users to locate parking spaces and reduce the walk distance to their offices. The designated preferential parking spaces will also provide exposure of the carpool/vanpool program and provide an incentive for employees to try ridesharing.
Emergency Ride Home Program
The purpose of an Emergency Ride Home program is to guarantee that employees need not worry about being stranded at work without a car in the event of illness, family emergency, or unexpected overtime if they carpool, vanpool, take transit, or bike to work. By reassuring commuters who do not drive alone that they can have timely and paid transportation in the event of an emergency, this program removes one of the largest concerns expressed by most employees about using alternative modes of transportation. Future tenant(s)/employer(s) should reimburse their employees for rides home via taxicab, Uber, Lyft, or other similar services in the event of an emergency. An employee would, however, need to provide an explanation of the emergency, and a limit on the number of rides that will be provided per employee per year is reasonable.
Modified Work Schedules
Future tenants should consider offering alternative work-hour programs. Compressed work weeks or flex time directly reduce the number of trips taken by employees to travel to the project site during the peak commute hours. Compressed Work Week A compressed work week allows employees to work longer days in exchange for an additional day off that would normally be worked. For example, employees may work eight nine-hour days and one eight- hour day, in a 10-day (2-week) pay period, totaling 80 hours and permitting one day off each two weeks. This program not only reduces the amount of peak hour commute trips, but also is often attractive to employees, increasing morale and job satisfaction. Flex Time Flex time, or staggered work hours, can be used to reduce peak hour trips and spread trips throughout non-peak times by allowing employees to begin and end work at a time that is different from the typical 8 AM to 5 PM shift. For example, an employee may arrive at 6 AM and leave at 3 PM. This can be attractive to employees with commutes that are congested during the peak times.
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Implementation Responsibility
The TDM measures and programs described by this Plan are to be implemented by the building developer, the Transportation Coordinator and by the building manager/future employers (see Table 1 above). The building owner will need to incorporate specific tenant TDM program components into lease agreements or other instruments to ensure their implementation.
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3. Parking Analysis
Based on the City’s parking requirements (Section 30.2C), office developments within the Downtown Parking Zone are required to provide six parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, which translates to a minimum of 383 spaces. The project proposes to provide 132 parking spaces on site, which is about 66 percent fewer than the required parking spaces. The project would have the option to make the parking available for public use to get a shared parking bonus. Based on the City’s Zoning Codes (Section 30.2 C3), all shared parking spaces shall count as two (2) parking spaces toward the fulfillment of the minimum requirement. If it is assumed that all the parking spaces will be shared parking spaces, the minimum number of required parking spaces would be 192. The proposed number of parking spaces is still about 31 percent fewer than the required parking spaces. The proximity of the project location to the Redwood City Transit Center and Caltrain Station and the proposed TDM Plan would help reduce the parking demand.
To estimate the parking needs of the proposed office development and to determine whether the proposed parking supply is adequate. Hexagon conducted a parking analysis based on surveys conducted at a list of existing office buildings in Bay Area that are near rail transit to see if the necessary parking reduction is reasonable.
Hexagon has previously conducted parking counts for similar office developments in year 2016 and year 2018 in the City of San Mateo. The following three office buildings were counted in 2018. • 3050 S. Delaware Street (Station 4) in Bay Meadows II • Franklin Templeton Campus in Bay Meadows I • 200 & 250 S. Mathilda Avenue (Nokia & Apple) in Sunnyvale
The result of the parking counts (see Table 3) shows that the peak office parking demand for these transit-oriented development (TOD) buildings ranges from 1.91 to 2.26 spaces per 1,000 s.f. The average parking demand for these office buildings is 2.12 spaces per 1,000 s.f. Hexagon also has counts on file from 2016 at three other office buildings in downtown San Mateo • 101 S. Ellsworth Avenue • 181 2nd Avenue • 400 S. El Camino Real
The result of the parking counts (see Table 2) shows that the peak office parking demand for these TOD and Downtown buildings ranges from 1.56 to 2.28 spaces per 1,000 s.f. with an average parking demand of 1.82 spaces per 1,000 s.f.
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Table 2 Office Parking Demand Survey Results
Parking Count Building Floor Peak Parking Parking Ratio Building Address City TOD features Date1 Area (s.f.)2 Demand (spaces/ksf)
TOD Buildings 3050 S. Delaware St San Mateo Next to Hillsdale Caltrain February 2018 216,428 456 2.11 (Station 4) Station Franklin Templeton San Mateo 0.6 mile to Hillsdale Caltrain November 2016 380,843 862 2.26 Campus Station and shuttles between station and campus
200 & 250 S. Mathilda Ave Sunnyvale 1,800 feet to Sunnyvale February 2018 252,800 482 1.91 (Nokia & Apple) Caltrain Station Average of above TOD buildings 2.12 TOD and Downtown Buildings 101 S. Ellsworth Ave San Mateo In downtown and next to San October 2016 98,300 181 1.84 Mateo Caltrain Station 181 2nd Ave San Mateo In downtown and 1,100 feet October 2016 76,300 174 2.28 to San Mateo Caltrain Station 400 S. El Camino Real San Mateo In downtown and 0.6 mile to October 2016 141,400 221 1.56 San Mateo Caltrain Station Average of above TOD and Downtown buildings 1.82 Average of all buildings 2.04
1. Parking survey for each site was conducted on regular weekdays between 10 AM and 2 PM, when office parking demand peaks. 2. Building floor area for buildings in Sunnyvale and Fremont and at 181 2nd Avenue in San Mateo was estimated based on Google Earth. Building area for Franklin Templeton was estimated based on 67% occupancy of total existing 568,423 s.f. The average parking demand of all surveyed buildings is 2.04 spaces per 1,000 s.f. The proposed parking standard of 2.07 spaces per 1,000 s.f. is higher than the peak parking demand of most of the studied office buildings. Therefore, the proposed parking standard is expected to provide sufficient parking spaces to accommodate the peak parking demand for proposed office building, when considering its proximity to Caltrain and the recommended TDM program.
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4. TDM Implementation and Monitoring
The purpose of the Plan is to reduce vehicle trips, parking demand, and encourage non-auto modes of transportation. As required by the Redwood City New General Plan (May 2010), the project should submit annual reports to the City describing the specific TDM measures that are being implemented, the number of employees on-site, and the success of the measures, expressed in AM and PM peak hour vehicle trips generated by the project, and parking utilization.
The project applicant should be responsible for ensuring that the TDM trip reduction measures are implemented. After the development is constructed and the building is occupied, the project applicant should identify a TDM coordinator. It is assumed that the property manager for the project will be responsible for implementing the ongoing TDM measures. A commitment will be added to all tenant leases, making tenants aware of the TDM obligations of the project and requiring them to meet the project’s TDM goals. This will include the commitment by the tenant to provide a transit subsidy, flexible work schedules, and emergency ride homes as identified in the TDM plan. Employee Surveys In order to monitor progress towards the TDM goal, the Transportation Coordinator should conduct an annual employee survey for all tenants to determine the mode split among employees, whether the existing TDM measures are effective, and whether employees prefer different TDM measures. The survey should use the standard survey forms available from Redwood City to ensure that the survey results are comparable for all residential properties within the City and should be constructed as a general survey with questions such as work environment satisfaction to promote survey responses. The developer or property manager will be responsible for administering the survey and communicating the results to the City.
In addition to obtaining quantitative data on the mode split, the survey will provide qualitative data regarding employee perceptions of the alternative transportation programs and perceptions of the obstacles to using an alternative mode. The survey results will measure the relative effectiveness of individual program components and facilitate the design of possible program enhancements. Along with collecting information on mode split, the survey can gather information on use of the bike storage, use of the online kiosk, and walking trips made to nearby retail, restaurant, and entertainment uses.
The goal will be to obtain as close to 100% response by all employees as possible. The City has established a minimum response rate of 51% to ensure that the mode split can be reliably calculated. The developer or property manager will make every commercially reasonable effort to achieve at least a 51% response rate.
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Annual Parking Counts Annual parking counts should be included as part of the monitoring program. It will be the building developer’s and property manager’s (or any future building owner’s) responsibility to collect parking counts. Driveway Counts Consistent with common traffic engineering data collection principles, trip generation will be monitored by means of driveway counts at the project’s access points. The counts will be conducted one day per year on a typical weekday (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) when schools are in session. The project trips during the AM and PM peak hours of commute traffic will be extracted from the daily driveway count. The site TDM Coordinator will work with an independent consultant to obtain traffic count data and to document the results in a TDM monitoring report. TDM Trip Reduction Goal Monitoring The project’s TDM Plan is subject to the City’s monitoring and evaluation program. The annual employee surveys conducted by the Transportation Coordinator will be utilized to evaluate the success of the TDM Plan. Evaluation should be conducted upon 75% occupancy of the building and then for the first five years after occupancy.
The annual survey results will be submitted to the City for review, along with an assessment of whether the TDM measures implemented during the preceding year led to the targeted reduction in trips, compared to standard ITE trip generation rates, for the project as a whole. If it is determined that an adequate trip reduction has not been achieved, the report will outline additional measures that will be adopted in the coming year to achieve the goal, along with an implementation schedule by month. Annual Reports
The building developer and property manager (or any subsequent building owner) should submit reports with the results of the surveys to Redwood City annually for the life of the project. The annual reports will detail the office use and awareness of the TDM program, detail parking utilization rates, and calculate the mode split.
The individual preparing these reports to the City should coordinate with City staff on the City’s reporting requirements.
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