BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 810 Hearing Date: 6/30/2015
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|Author: |Ridley-Thomas |
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|Version: |5/28/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Eric Thronson |
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SUBJECT: State Highway Routes 1 and 187
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) to relinquish to the City of Los Angeles a
portion of State Route (SR) 1 as well as all of SR 187.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Identifies the California state highway system through a
description of segments of the state's regional and
interregional roads that are owned and operated by the
Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Technically, a state
highway is any roadway that Caltrans is legislatively
authorized to acquire, lay out, construct, improve, or
maintain. Existing law specifies that it is the intent of the
Legislature for the routes of the state highway system to
connect the communities and regions of the state and that they
serve the state's economy by connecting centers of commerce,
industry, agriculture, mineral wealth, and recreation.
2)Provides a two-step process for the state to expand or delete
a section of the state highway system that begins with the
Legislature amending existing law and then CTC making findings
that it is in the best interest of the state to include or
delete a specified portion of roadway from the system. This
is known as the state highway relinquishment process.
AB 810 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 2 of ?
This bill:
1)Authorizes CTC to relinquish to the City of Los Angeles a
portion of SR 1 between the southern city limit of Santa
Monica and SR 105 as well as all of SR 187, upon terms and
conditions approved by CTC.
2)Provides that the relinquishment will become effective
immediately following the county recordation of the
relinquishment resolution.
3)Specifies that following the effective date of relinquishment,
the relinquished segment will no longer be a state highway and
may not be considered for future adoption as a state highway.
4)Requires the City of Los Angeles to maintain signage directing
motorists to the continuation of SR 1.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. According to the author, SR 187 is also known as
Venice Boulevard and serves as an important thoroughfare,
shopping and dining destination, and public gathering place for
several communities in the City of Los Angeles. A portion of
Venice Boulevard has been selected as part of the city's Great
Streets Initiative, which aims to activate public spaces,
provide economic revitalization, increase public safety, and
enhance local culture through roadway and streetscape
improvements. Los Angeles is currently performing extensive
public outreach in the Mar Vista neighborhood to develop a
community-led plan for these improvements, which will include
creative solutions to address safety and mobility issues that
may not necessarily be in line with Caltrans' design guidelines.
This project will be used as a model for further improvements
along additional sections of the Venice corridor. The City
wishes to gain ownership of Venice Boulevard to allow for a
locally controlled, streamlined Great Streets Initiative
project, while maintaining flexibility to experiment with
innovative solutions that can be adapted to meet the community's
changing needs over time.
SR 1, also known as Lincoln Boulevard, is an important
north-south thoroughfare through several communities on the west
side of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles envisions focusing
AB 810 (Ridley-Thomas) Page 3 of ?
on a series of roadway improvements for this corridor. Foremost
among those improvements is the need to address a critical
multi-modal chokepoint as Lincoln crosses the Ballona Creek
between Fiji Way and Jefferson Boulevard. Local residents also
hope to see Lincoln Boulevard treated more as a local street
than a highway, with special attention paid to safety issues for
people traveling by foot or bike, in addition to those traveling
by car or bus. While future plans for Lincoln Boulevard are in
the early stages of development, the city seeks to begin a
locally controlled engagement process with communities along the
route regarding roadway maintenance and improvement projects
concurrent with the relinquishment process.
Relinquishments. Each session, the Legislature passes and the
governor signs numerous bills authorizing CTC to relinquish
segments of the state highway system to local jurisdictions.
Relinquishment transactions are generally preceded by a
negotiation of terms and conditions between the local
jurisdiction and Caltrans. Once an agreement has been
established, CTC typically approves the relinquishment and
verifies its approval via a resolution.
Of interest, the administration proposed budget trailer bill
language this year intending to streamline the state's
relinquishment process. According to the governor's budget
summary, a number of routes are still part of the state highway
system that no longer serve an interregional purpose, and
instead serve primarily regional or local purposes. The
proposed trailer bill language broadens and streamlines the
state process for relinquishing these portions of the statewide
system that primarily serve regional or local purposes. This
could be a win-win proposal, with both locals and the state
benefiting. On one hand, shifting ownership of these segments,
many of which run through a downtown area, will increase local
flexibility to add stoplights and make better use of valuable
real estate to support transit-oriented development. Meanwhile,
additional relinquishments reduce the state's long-term costs
for ongoing maintenance and repair of the state system. There
is merit in a proposal streamlining the relinquishment process;
however, it seems that such a proposal should be considered
through the policy bill process and not as an add-on to the
state's annual budget.
Luckily, Senator Allen has authored Senate Bill 254, which
proposes a similar streamlining process and is progressing as a
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regular policy bill. SB 254 is pending in the Assembly
Transportation Committee.
Related Legislation:
SB 254 (Allen) - streamlines the state's highway relinquishment
process to not include legislative approval of each relinquished
segment. SB 254 is pending in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
SB 461 (Hernandez) - authorizes the CTC to relinquish to Los
Angeles County a segment of SR 164 south of Temple City. SB 461
is pending in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 652 (Cooley) - authorizes the CTC to relinquish segments of
SR 16 in the City of Rancho Cordova as well as in the
unincorporated portion of Sacramento County. AB 652 is pending
in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 78-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 16-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 24, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received
-- END --
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