Transportation Performance Measures Aligning Policies and Performance Measures Mark Yamarone Sr. Director – Long Range Planning LA Metro

About Pasadena Land use decisions made in the 1994 and 2004 General Plan updates: Developed a limited growth strategy that protected the historic neighborhoods that ring the Central District Resulted in walkable transit-oriented development (TOD) along the route of the Gold Line LRT service Urbanized area with only In fill development opportunities Source: Census Transportation Planning Package, ESRI, Strategic Economics

Land Use Framework Land use decisions made in the 1994 and 2004 General Plan updates Developed a limited growth strategy that protected the historic neighborhoods that ring the Central District Resulted in walkable transit-oriented development (TOD) along the route of the Gold Line LRT service.

Pasaden General Plan 2015 Guiding Principles Mobility Elem. Objectives Target growth to Central District and transit/neighborhood villages Preserve historic character and environment Promote economic vitality A healthy family community A city where people can circulate without cars Cultural, scientific, corporate, entertainment and educational center for the region Community participation Commitment to public education Enhance livability Encourage walking, biking, transit, and other alternatives to motor vehicles Create a supportive climate for economic viability Refined from the 2004 General Plan Based on extensive (hundreds of hours of) community input

Previous CEQA Thresholds Intersection volume to capacity ratios and Level of Service (LOS) are the primary measures. Volume-based analysis of change in traffic on street segments to assess impact.

Previous Mobility Metrics Land Use Impact Analysis Intersection Level of Service (LOS) Street Segment Impacts Transportation System Performance Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR) – TRO Goal of 1.5 for regulated sites Annual Transit Ridership Green City Action Plan – Urban Environmental Accord Indicators Arterials average travel time & speeds

What’s right with LOS as a CEQA metric? Pasadena TAC March 5, 2010 What’s right with LOS as a CEQA metric? Familiar Responds to many people’s “hot button” issues Established basis for funding and mitigation Syncs up with other agencies 7 Ellen Greenberg, AICP

Why consider changes to using LOS? Pasadena TAC March 5, 2010 Why consider changes to using LOS? Can’t effectively evaluate some options Not-so-good reflection of people’s real experiences May be producing unintended consequences Not well-aligned with adopted policies Not consistent with the vision of Land Use Element Update Some strategies to be considered during the General Plan update can’t be effectively evaluated with current performance measures We can do a better job of reflecting people’s experience as they get around the city The basis for funding and mitigation strategies needs to be strengthened Some measures may be measuring process rather than outcomes (EG: Is this necessarily bad?) Some measures may be producing unintended consequences Link up to Green City etc though may not control outcome 8 Ellen Greenberg, AICP

Transportation Performance Measures The Pasadena Mobility Element Update focused on three main policy objectives, as refined from the 2004 General Plan and extensive community input: Enhance livability Encourage walking, biking, transit, and other alternatives to motor vehicles Create a supportive climate for economic viability

Transportation Performance Measures Goals for the New Performance Measures: The new measures needed to decrease the emphasis on the efficiency of auto travel relative to other modes. Needed to address the manner in which people use and experience the transportation system.

Aligning Metrics and Policies Pasadena TAC March 5, 2010 Aligning Metrics and Policies Decreasing Emphasis Increasing Emphasis Evaluating only street operations and traffic volume changes Individual intersection performance Level of Service Mitigating only impacts to auto travel Adding vehicular capacity via street widening Reduce Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Miles of Travel metrics Elevating priorities for transit, pedestrian and bicycle travel Enhance conditions for vulnerable users Network performance Travel time reliability Speed management SB 743 is removing LOS as a metric in urban areas Decreasing Emphasis On: Additional capacity Reducing individual intersection delay Increasing Emphasis On: Network management Travel time reliability Improved transit services Complete Streets Multifunctional rights of way: green streets, social spaces Managing multimodal system Ellen Greenberg, AICP 11

Performance Measures Public Review Draft Measures Transportation Advisory Commission (Feb & Mar 2014) Municipal Services Committee (March 2014) Community Meeting (March 2014) Planning Commission (April 2014) Proposed Transportation Advisory Commission (May, June, Sep 2014) Planning Commission (May, June, July, Sep 2014) Community Meetings (June 2014) Municipal Services Committee (July & Oct 2014) City Council Adoption (Nov 2014) Proposed Measures and Thresholds

Adopted Metrics with CEQA Thresholds DESCRIPTION IMPACT THRESHOLD 1. VMT Per Capita Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the City of Pasadena per service population (population + jobs). CEQA Threshold: An increase over existing Citywide VMT per Capita of 22.6 2. VT Per Capita Vehicle Trips (VT) in the City of Pasadena per service population (population + jobs). CEQA Threshold: An increase over existing Citywide VT per Capita of 2.8 3. Proximity and Quality of Bicycle Network Percent of service population (population + jobs) within a quarter mile of each of bicycle facility types CEQA Threshold: Any decrease in existing citywide 31.7% of service population (population + jobs) within a quarter mile of Level 1 or 2 Bike Facilities. 4. Proximity and Quality of Transit Network Percent of service population (population + jobs) located within a quarter mile of transit facility types. CEQA Threshold: Any decrease in existing citywide 66.6% of service population (population + jobs) within a quarter mile of Level 1 or 2 Transit Facilities. 5. Pedestrian Accessibility The Pedestrian Accessibility Score uses the mix of destinations, and a network-based walk shed to evaluate walkability CEQA Threshold: Any decrease in the Citywide Pedestrian Accessibility Score

Pasadena’s New Metrics Accessibility and Environmental Performance Promote Pedestrian, Bicycle and Transit Mobility VMT per capita Vehicle Trips (VT) per capita Thresholds are existing citywide levels

Transportation Impact Analysis Guidelines Threshold for requiring Transportation Analysis Adopted CEQA Metrics & Thresholds Project Review Metrics & Caps (Non-CEQA) Auto Level of Service (LOS) Street Segment Analysis Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index (PEQI) Bicycle Environmental Quality Index (BEQI)

CEQA Advantages Relatively high thresholds for study limits the burden on small projects Streamlines the CEQA process for urban infill and TOD projects Shifts the focus of analysis from traffic congestion to more holistic environmental impacts (air quality/GHG emission, urban sprawl considerations, etc.) Allows for congestion to be considered outside the confines of CEQA

Thresholds for Determining Level of Transportation Review of Projects Outside of CEQA Analysis CEQA Analysis TYPE OF PROJECT EXEMPTION Category 1: below Communitywide SIGNIFICANCE Category 2: Communitywide SIGNIFICANCE Residential (Net # of units) 10 units or less 11 – 49 units 50+ units Non-Residential use(Net) 10,000 Sq. Ft or less than 300 daily trips 10,001 to 49,999 Sq. Ft 50,000+ Sq. Ft

Challenges - General Learning curve/lack of practical experience Unfamiliar to community and decision makers Limited mitigation options CMP still requires LOS analysis for certain facilities People are still concerned with traffic congestion

Case Study - Medical Office Project Proposed Medical Offices in the East Pasadena 224K Sq. Ft Medical Offices VMT of 32.3 > 22.6 Impact VT 3.0 > 2.8 Impact Pedestrian Accessibility Impact Recommended Mix of Land uses to eliminate impacts 200 Senior Citizen Housing and 200K Sq. Ft of Medical Offices

Recent EIRs Based on Modified Metrics General Plan Land Use Element and Mobility Element Update FEIR Rose Bowl Music and Arts Festival FEIR 500-room Hotel near PCC FEIR Bike Impact – mitigated through fair share contribution to planned bicycle facility 150-room Hotel near Civic Center DEIR Caltrans

Pasadena Travel Demand Model Built on Southern California Association of Government’s (SCAG) regional model using TransCAD On average, 10 Pasadena TAZs within 1 SCAG’s TAZ 349 TAZs covering Pasadena and 139 TAZ’s covering sounding areas 25 land-use types used in the model Eight trip purposes used in the model Staff uses the TransCad -model for +

Lessons Learned VMT Metrics do not replace LOS 1:1 Case studies comparing the two are not effective VMT Metrics not reactive to projects consistent with plans Align Metrics with adopted City Goals “Planning for Gridlock” Limited LOS analysis outside of CEQA effective for transition Traffic intrusion Traffic operations Pedestrian/Bicycle conditions Constrained environment limits mitigation approaches – puts more emphasis on system management and sustainability Focus on General Plan Consistency is Key to CEQA

Lessons Learned Built-out City with In-Fill Opportunities Good Fit for Pasadena Implementation Built-out City with In-Fill Opportunities Metrics Support General Plan Goals and Policies Emphasis on getting around without cars Transportation Impact Fee already in place Updated to include bicycle and walking network Investment in forecasting model platform/process Linked to Land Management System Staff development to operate and update Constrained environment limits mitigation approaches – puts more emphasis on system management and sustainability Focus on General Plan Consistency is Key to CEQA

Thank You Constrained environment limits mitigation approaches – puts more emphasis on system management and sustainability Focus on General Plan Consistency is Key to CEQA