Indian Hill Grade Separation City Council Meeting February 23, 2016

Indian Hill Grade Separation For many years, City staff has been working with the Construction Authority on the Claremont section of the Gold Line extension from Glendora to Montclair. The 12.3-mile, six-station Foothill Gold Line light rail extension from Glendora to Montclair was environmentally cleared under CEQA by way of the Final EIR and is now undergoing advanced conceptual engineering as the project is prepared to break ground.

Indian Hill Grade Separation As part of the engineering phase currently underway, the Construction Authority has identified several potential changes to the previously approved project. – One of those changes is the potential to build a bridge for the Gold Line light rail tracks over Indian Hill Boulevard.

Indian Hill Grade Separation Public Input Process In mid December, Gold Line approached staff to discuss the Grade Separation Proposal at Indian Hill Blvd. Staff discussed the public outreach process. Due to the holidays, staff scheduled Gold Line to present the proposal to the City Council at its first meeting in January. – At the January 12, 2016 Council Meeting, Gold Line presented the proposal. – On January 25, 2016 City held a community meeting – On January 27, staff presented an overview to Architectural Commission – On February 3, Gold Line presented to the Village Marketing Group – Notice of the proposal was included in the City Manager Weekly Update, Claremont Courier, Chamber of Commerce State of the City, and City website

Indian Hill Grade Separation Public Input Process The Authority has asked for the City Council’s feedback on whether to pursue and evaluate the grade separation proposal by late February in order for the Construction Authority’s engineering team to continue with the necessary studies and include in the CEQA addendum document. The CEQA addendum to the Final EIR would go to the Construction Authority Board of Directors for consideration in March (April at the latest). The Construction Authority is working to get the Gold Line extension project to a point in 2017 for its first design-build procurement, assuming funding becomes available in 2017 following the November 2016 sales tax ballot measure.

Indian Hill Grade Separation Structure The Construction Authority is proposing the Gold Line light rail tracks be placed on a bridge structure that would pass over Indian Hill Boulevard in the railroad easement south of First Street. The Metrolink and freight tracks would remain at street level to the south of the bridge within the easement.

Indian Hill Grade Separation Structure Bridge Construction – Abutment walls would start approximately 900 feet to the west of Indian Hill Blvd. and 700 feet to the east, gradually getting taller as the walls approach the bridge. – At their tallest, the walls will be approximately 30 feet tall. The light rail power system would rise another 16 feet above the top of the bridge. The bridge would provide at least 16.5 feet of clearance under the bridge.

Indian Hill Grade Separation Structure (Conceptual rendering)

Indian Hill Grade Separation Structure Video model of bridge a2a837a

Traffic Impact The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is proposing the grade separation as a means of reducing traffic wait times on Indian Hill Boulevard caused by crossings from Metrolink, freight, and Gold Line trains. – A grade-separated crossing would allow Gold Line trains to cross Indian Hill Boulevard without stopping traffic. – Gold Line trains are expected to run on 10-minute headways in each direction, so one light rail train will cross the street every five minutes on average.

Traffic Impacts The City hired a traffic consultant to study and analyze the current train crossing wait times from Metrolink and freight trains. The consultant compiled the information into a report and provided the report to the City’s Engineering staff for review.

Results of current conditions and model of 2023 conditions

The first task of the study (completed by Advantec Consulting Engineers) was to evaluate the existing conditions on Indian Hill Blvd. related to the Metrolink and Freight train crossings. As part of the consultant’s study, video footage was recorded over a 48-hour period to verify the gate down times, and the resulting traffic queues (amount of traffic backed up from the railroad tracks) and the traffic delays.

Current Conditions: Metrolink and Freight Study shows a total of 38 train crossings occurred during the day, from approximately 4:30 am to 10:30 pm (36 Metrolink, 2 Freight). Average 4 trains per hour during peak hours Average gate down time = 1 minute, 45 seconds Maximum gate down time = 3 minutes Total Gate Down time ranges from 7 minutes to 12 minutes per hour.

Future Conditions: 2023 Gold Line Gold Line trains expected to run on 10 minute intervals in each direction. One light rail train will cross the street every five minutes on average, for a total of 12 trains per hour. Gate down time per train is estimated at approximately 55 seconds per train crossing. Total Gate down time for Gold Line (at grade) will be approximately 11 minutes per hour. Total Gate Down time Gold Line above grade Gold Line at Grade 7 to 12 minutes 18 to 23 minutes

Graph Representation: Number of Train Crossings

Traffic Queues and Delays Traffic consultant completed a simulation model to measure the impacts of the combined Metrolink and Gold Line crossings on Indian Hill Boulevard. The model measured the resulting traffic queues and traffic delays for three scenarios: o 2016 current conditions o 2023 Metrolink and Gold Line (above grade) o 2023 Metrolink and Gold Line at Grade

Model Demonstration

2016 PM Peak Max Queue Traffic Queues for Current Conditions Metrolink only PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

2016 PM Peak Max Queue 2023 PM Peak Max Queue w/o Gold Line Traffic Queues for 2023 Metrolink + Gold Line above Grade PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

2016 PM Peak Max Queue 2023 PM Peak Max Queue w/o Gold Line 2023 PM Peak Max Queue with Gold Line Traffic Queues for 2023 Metrolink + Gold Line at Grade PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

2016 PM Peak Max Queue 2023 PM Peak Max Queue w/o Gold Line 2023 PM Peak Max Queue with Gold Line Max Delay 7 min, 6 sec Max Delay 9 min, 30 sec Traffic Delays for Current Conditions Metrolink only PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

2016 PM Peak Max Queue 2023 PM Peak Max Queue w/o Gold Line 2023 PM Peak Max Queue with Gold Line Max Delay 7 min, 24 sec Max Delay 10 Minutes Max Delay 7 min, 6 sec Max Delay 9 min, 30 sec Traffic Delays for 2023 Metrolink + Gold Line above Grade PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

2016 PM Peak Max Queue 2023 PM Peak Max Queue w/o Gold Line 2023 PM Peak Max Queue with Gold Line Max Delay 7 min, 24 sec Max Delay 10 Minutes Max Delay 7 min, 6 sec Max Delay 9 min, 30 sec Max Delay 13 min, 18 sec Max Delay 9 min, 36 sec Traffic Delays for 2023 Metrolink + Gold Line at Grade PM Peak (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)

Average Delays experienced throughout the day

Additional Reasons for Grade Separation In addition to reducing traffic impacts, a grade- separated crossing would provide long term benefits for noise reduction, station access and access to the historic depot. A grade-separated crossing would not require bells and lights to be activated when a Gold Line train is approaching, reducing potential noise from those warning devices. Additionally, a grade-separated crossing would require the Claremont Gold Line Station to be moved closer to College Avenue, allowing direct access to the station from both Harvard Avenue and College Avenue, and reducing visual effects from the station to the City’s historic Santa Fe depot. Gold Line is also proposing a center platform for loading and unloading passengers should the grade separation move forward.

Public Concerns At Community Meetings, several residents asked for information on an underpass or tunnel – Both concepts were given a preliminary review by the Gold Line engineers and the concepts were deemed financially unfeasible by the Construction Authority. According to the Construction Authority, both concepts would double if not triple the cost of the Claremont section of the line. The City would have to pay for the cost to tunnel or underground. – The undergrounding would result in the closure of First Street and affect surrounding properties that are adjacent to Indian Hill Boulevard. Furthermore, tunneling the light rail would significantly impact structural integrity of the buildings on either side of the easement. – The Construction Authority is not pursuing either option due to the construction impacts to adjacent streets and properties as well as the cost.

Public Concerns Residents also expressed a concern that the proposed bridge would change the character of the Village area. – Some views would be diminished due to the anticipated height of the structure and abutment walls. Residents gave input on the design of the bridge and requested consideration be given to widening the opening under the bridge, creating wider pedestrian walkways, using landscaping under the bridge to separate pedestrians from traffic, and enhancing the walls with artwork. Many residents asked for a redesign of the bridge to more closely reflect the character of Claremont.

Environmental Review If the City decides to keep the crossing at-grade, no additional environmental analysis is needed and the project will be designed and built as currently approved. Should the City decide to express support for exploring the concept of the grade-separation bridge option, the Construction Authority would environmentally analyze the project refinement and would include it in the addendum to the Final EIR and present it to the Construction Authority Board of Directors for possible inclusion in the project.

Next Steps If the City supports the grade separation concept…. The design of the bridge would be developed later with input from the community and reviewed by the Planning and Architectural Commissions and City Council. – The City would have an additional year (February 2017) to review a design concept. – Input on the design of the bridge would be limited to the look of the bridge and aesthetic details. – Additional cost over the $23 Million set aside by Gold Line for the bridge construction would be the City’s responsibility. If after Commission and community review, no design is acceptable, the City may revert back to the at-grade option.

Recommendation Based on conversations with the community as well as Gold Line Authority since the publication of tonight’s agenda, staff is proposing a revised recommendation: Staff recommends the City Council express support for the Construction Authority to evaluate under CEQA a grade separation at Indian Hill Boulevard, and direct staff to work with the Construction Authority to prepare a design concept for review by the City's Architectural Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council. The City’s commissions and ultimately the City Council will have until February 2017 to review and compare the conceptual design to an at grade option and revert back to an at grade crossing should a suitable design not be developed.