Amended in Senate April 3, 2013

Senate Bill No. 811

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 22, 2013

An act to begin delete amend end delete begin insert add end insert Section begin delete 70 of end delete begin insert 103.1 to end insert the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 811, as amended, Lara. begin delete California Transportation Commission. end delete begin insert State Highway Route 710. end insert

begin insert

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of the state highway system. Existing law imposes various requirements for the development and implementation of transportation projects.

end insert begin insert

This bill would impose various additional requirements on the department with respect to the proposed program of improvements for the State Highway Route 710 Corridor in the County of Los Angeles. The bill would require the department, in conjunction with various other entities, to, among other things, develop and implement a comprehensive public transportation plan, create and implement a comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle improvements element, implement certain improvement programs and projects relative to the Los Angeles River and certain tributaries, provide various community benefits to schools and other facilities, and engage in certain job training, workforce development, and targeted hiring activities. The bill would require the department to allocate $3,000,000 annually from project funds for job training during the life of the Route 710 Corridor project, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations.

end insert begin delete

Existing law creates the California Transportation Commission as the successor to the California Highway Commission and specifies its authority and duties.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 103.1 is added to the end insert begin insert Streets and
Highways Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 103.1. end insert   

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “I-710 project” means the proposed program of
improvements to the State Highway Route 710 Corridor in the
County of Los Angeles within the State Highway Route 710
Corridor project study area.

(2) “Los Angeles River” or “river” means the Los Angeles
River within the State Highway Route 710 Corridor project study
area, including the adjacent tributaries of Compton Creek and
Rio Hondo.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the proposed I-710
project is a project of national significance that is intended to
expand capacity on State Highway Route 710 in the County of Los
Angeles to accommodate the movement of freight from and to the
ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, thereby providing economic
benefits in the region and beyond. However, the I-710 project, as
proposed, will have adverse public health, air quality, and
quality-of-life impacts on residents residing near the corridor from
East Los Angeles to Long Beach.

(c) The department, in coordination with the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority and service councils within
the project’s vicinity, shall, as part of the I-710 project, develop
and implement a comprehensive public transportation plan for the
corridor. The plan shall be aligned with the goals of Assembly Bill
32 (Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006) and Senate Bill 375 (Chapter
728, Statutes of 2008) of reducing greenhouse gases by reducing
vehicle miles traveled and increasing public transit use and active
transportation. The plan shall incorporate local Safe Routes to
School programs and pedestrian and bicycle plans to safely
connect communities. In addition, the plan, at a minimum, shall
do all of the following:

(1) Add bus shuttles from the affected communities to transit
centers.

(2) Expand rail transit service on the Metro Blue and Green
Lines.

(3) Expand local, express, and Metro Rapid bus services.

(4) Enhance community bus service, such as local circulator
routes in the Cities of Long Beach, Commerce, and Paramount.

(d) The department shall include a comprehensive pedestrian
and bicycle improvement element as part of the I-710 project. This
element shall be developed in conjunction with local agencies and
interested private organizations, and shall consist of the projects
as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2). The elements shall be
consistent with the department’s complete streets policies,
including Department of Transportation Deputy Directive 64-R1,
“Complete Streets -- Integrating the Transportation System.” The
element shall build upon any existing efforts to identify bicycle
and walkability improvements, and be integrated and coordinated
with any existing bicycle and pedestrian plans of cities within the
corridor. The elements shall include all of the following projects:

(1) Community improvements consisting of the following:

(A) Bridges designed for the sole use of pedestrians and bicycles
that cross the freeway at one-quarter to one-half-mile intervals
and are connected with existing or new pedestrian and bicycle
facilities on either side of the freeway.

(B) Implementation of best design practices to ensure that
roadways are safe for use by pedestrians and bicyclists at on- and
off-ramps to the freeway and adjoining intersections within the
I-710 project area. All intersections and crossings within the I-710
project shall be consistent with the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.) requirements to facilitate
access for the disabled.

(C) Repair and improvement of existing trails, bicycle paths,
and sidewalks within the I-710 project area, including enhanced
lighting, signage, signalization, widening, and separation from
vehicle traffic, as appropriate. This requirement shall apply both
to facilities within the Route 710 right-of-way and to overcrossings,
arterials, and intersections that are part of the I-710 project, and
shall include trails, bicycle paths, and sidewalks that connect with,
or are along, the Los Angeles River.

(D) Construction of new pedestrian and bicycle paths and routes
within the Route 710 right-of-way and with respect to
overcrossings, arterials, and intersections that are part of the
I-710 project. The new facilities shall be connected to existing
facilities wherever possible. Extension of the Los Angeles River
shared-use path shall be included, with the intent that the path
serve as the spine of an enhanced regional pedestrian and bicycle
network.

(2) Support of new pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure within
the project area consisting of all of the following:

(A) Installation of bicycle parking at public and commercial
destinations.

(B) Construction of new class I, II, and III bicycle routes.

(C) Adequate striping of bicycle lanes.

(D) Promotion of projects that safely and effectively connect
pedestrians and bicyclists to public transit in order to encourage
the use of public transit.

(E) Promotion of neighborhood routes, also known as “bike
boulevards,” with features such as traffic circles.

(F) Transformation of existing underutilized railroad and utility
rights-of-way into separated pedestrian and bicycle paths.

(e) (1) The department shall develop a collaborative with
federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholder organizations
to fund and implement the improvement projects described in
paragraphs (2) and (3) relating to the Los Angeles River within
the I-710 project area. River improvements shall include
restoration of the natural river functions, improved bicycle and
walking trail networks, and protection from runoff pollution. The
department shall include river improvements as part of the I-710
project.

(2) Improvement projects to restore the natural river shall
include projects that:

(A) Increase, enhance, and maintain recreational trails.

(B) Restore, enhance, and maintain associated wetlands.

(C) Allow for continuous fish migration along the river.

(D) Increase, enhance, and maintain native landscaping.

(3) Improvement projects to provide neighborhood access to
the river shall remove barriers to neighborhood access to the river,
including providing improved bicycle and walking trail networks
between greenbelts, local parks, and the river.

(f) The department shall include the following mitigation and
community measures as part of the I-710 project in order to ensure
that affected communities are vibrant and healthy:

(1) Healthy schools projects to protect the health of children
and improve schools and mitigation for schools, which shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Creation of pedestrian and streetscape improvements to
facilitate safe access to schools, to be coordinated with the
comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle improvements element of
the I-710 project.

(B) Use of green and energy-efficient building materials and
systems in school facilities.

(C) Planting of trees along school property lines to mitigate
noise and air pollution.

(D) Constructing sound walls on Route 710 within the project
area near affected schools sufficient to mitigate noise impacts
down to a maximum of 45 dB(A) inside classrooms.

(E) Installation of air filtration systems in school facilities
pursuant to paragraph (2).

(F) Any other mitigation measures necessary to protect school
children from the impacts of noise, pollution, land encroachments,
and other nuisances related to the construction of the Route-710
project and its future operation.

(2) Air filtration projects coordinated with the South Coast Air
Quality Management District to ensure that homes, schools, and
public buildings within 500 meters of the I-710 project and major
arterials impacted by the I-710 project are equipped with register
systems and high-performance panel filter air filtration systems,
or systems of equivalent effectiveness.

(3) Tree and streetscape projects to provide for the greening of
public and shared spaces and thereby provide for the community
well-being, including new tree planting, protection of existing
trees, and landscape improvements in order to mitigate noise,
emissions, and other nuisances from the Route 710 corridor and
to promote desirability for walking along sidewalks, parkways,
and medians.

(4) Traffic and parking mitigation measures, both during
construction and subsequent operation of the I-710 project,
including management of truck parking in residential
neighborhoods and a traffic management plan that includes, but
is not limited to, traffic signal upgrades, traffic control measures,
and traffic calming.

(5) (A) Job training programs, including preapprenticeship
programs.

(B) The department shall allocate from project funds three
million dollars ($3,000,000) per year for the life of construction
of the I-710 project for the purposes of this paragraph. Any funds
remaining unspent in a given fiscal year shall be available in the
subsequent year. The funds shall be subject to appropriation by
the Legislature.

(C) The department shall also implement a work experience
program to be used by its contractors on the I-710 project, with
specific targeting of opportunities for placement to workers
residing in the I-710 project area or targeted workers to the extent
permissible by law.

(D) Enrollment opportunities in job training programs primarily
funded pursuant to this paragraph shall be predominantly made
available to low-income individuals that have resided within the
I-710 project area for at least one year, special needs individuals,
and targeted workers.

(E) Job training programs shall include job readiness programs,
skills development, career ladder programs, incumbent worker
training, and other similar programs.

(F) As used in this paragraph, “targeted worker” means an
individual whose primary residence is in an extremely economically
disadvantaged area anywhere in the United States, or a
disadvantaged worker from anywhere in the United States.

(G) The department shall require its contractors to comply with
targeted hiring requirements under which 40 percent of all hours
of project work are allocated on a priority basis to targeted
workers, with priority to be given to residents of extremely
economically disadvantaged areas until the available pool of those
workers is exhausted, and thereafter to any targeted worker. The
department shall require its contractors to allocate a minimum of
10 percent of all hours of project work to disadvantaged workers.
The department shall require its contractors to allocate a minimum
of 20 percent of all hours of project work to apprentices, with 50
percent of all apprenticeship hours to be performed by targeted
workers.

(g) (1) The department shall allocate funding from the I-710
project budget for the purposes of subdivisions (d) and (e) to
participating agencies and organizations based on a competitive
application process, under which each applicant’s proposal is
evaluated for its nexus to the I-710 project. A project proposal
may be submitted for project design, scoping, environmental study,
construction, operations, or education, or more than one of these
phases. Priority shall be given to “shovel-ready” projects.

(2) Each local agency participating with the department in the
implementation of subdivisions (d) or (e) shall have drafted and
adopted a pedestrian and bicycle master plan that reflects local
conditions and priorities, and that facilitates regional connectivity.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 70 of the Streets and Highways Code is
amended to read:

70.  

(a) The California Highway Commission is hereby
abolished, and the California Transportation Commission succeeds
to, and is vested with, all the duties, powers, purposes,
responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the California Highway
Commission.

(b) A reference in any law or regulation to the California
Highway Commission shall be deemed to refer to the California
Transportation Commission.

(c) The California Transportation Commission shall have the
possession and control of all licenses, permits, leases, agreements,
contracts, orders, claims, judgments, records, papers, equipment,
supplies, bonds, moneys, funds, appropriations, buildings, land,
and other property, real or personal, held for the benefit, use, or
obligation of the California Highway Commission.

end delete