HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-02-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - ISTEA REAUTHORIZATION LOCAL (2)NEW BUSINESS
DATE:
SUBJECT:
DEPARTMENT:
BACKGROUND
AGENDA REPORT
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented by:
Michael P. Murphy
February 11, 1997
ISTEA REAUTHORIZATION: LOCAL PROJECTS
City Manager's Office
During 1997, the 105th Congress is scheduled to reauthorize the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which is presently due to expire on September 30, 1997.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure currently anticipates a six year,
$150 billion program to address the nation's highway, transit, motor carrier, safety and
research program needs.
For maximum opportunity at inclusion in 1997 ISTEA,Members of Congress must submit
projects from their districts to the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation not later than
February 25, 1997. Both Senator Boxer and Congressman McKeon have indicated their desire
to work on the City's behalf for inclusion of projects in the 1997 ISTEA reauthorization
legislation. Santa Clarita's requests should be transmitted not later than February 18, 1997,
to allow them to assemble their respective total state and district requests.
City staff recommends that the City Council adopt three specific project requests for inclusion
in the 1997 ISTEA reauthorization: a transit and maintenance facility, bus acquisition, and an
interchange project. These projects are detailed below:
Transit Maintenance and Administration Facility
Request $8 million dollars for construction of a transit maintenance and administration facility.
An eight acre site for the facility has already been identified as part of the Porta Bella
development agreement which makes an attractive local match component for the project.
This facility is anticipated to accommodate up to 140 buses and vans and will allow
maintenance and storage to occur at a single location. Presently, the City utilizes an off site
storage lot for the buses and is limited to two service bays.
Bus Acquisition
Request $10.3 million over five years for bus replacement and fleet expansion. It is anticipated
Agenda Item
that over a five year period beginning in the year 2000, 20 replacement buses and 30 new
buses, funded via ISTEA, will be required to meet increasing transit service demand.
Additional buses will also be. requested through the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority Call for Projects during the same time period. It is anticipated that
in light of the 1996 Consent Decree judicial action establishing MTA transit as the top priority
for MTA resources, the competition for transit dollars via the MTA Call for Projects will be more
acute, potentially leaving Santa Clarita Transit in a less competitive position locally.
Interstate 5/State Route 126 (Manic Mountain) Interchange and road widening project
On May 9, 1995, the City Council identified this interchange project and Magic Mountain
Parkway widening project between Interstate 5 and McBean Parkway as a top local priority for
inclusion in the National Highway System (NHS) legislation. Although no construction projects
were ultimately included in NHS, both Interstate 5 and State Route 126 were included as part
of the national highway system, making them eligible for future federal funding opportunities.
This interchange improvement project is presently estimated at $9.6 million with the Magic
Mountain road widening to an ultimate six lane configuration costing an additional $8 million.
Therefore, the overall project will be a total of $17.6 million. This project is particularly
attractive because it directly facilitates access to the Valencia Industrial Center, Six Flags
California, Valencia Town Center, local automobile dealers and surrounding businesses. The
economic component is a critical part of the committee's consideration of project
competitiveness.
MTA also recognizes that individual communities will be seeking funds through ISTEA for local
projects. MTA does not view such action as being in conflict with the Call for Projects or other
MTA funding processes but rather, as a supplemental manner in which additional federal funds
can be made available to the region.
The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation has developed a fourteen (14) point list of
questions, the answers to which will be the scorecard for measuring the national competitive
posture of each project. It is anticipated that requests will outstrip available dollars, thus
creating a process which weeds out weak projects and one that could become highly political
as individual members seek to make the case for district projects. Santa Clarita is already well
positioned in that Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruture, Bud
Shuster, in his remarks before the House urging passage of the 1995 NHS legislation, noted
local transportation shortfalls, highlighted by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
RECOMMENDATION
Request that Senators Boxer and Feinstein and Representative McKeon include the transit
maintenance and administration facility, bus acquisition and Interstate 5/SR 126 (Magic
Mountain Parkway) interchange and road widening project, as outlined in the agenda report,
in the 1997 ISTEA reauthorization legislation.
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