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.








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          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  








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          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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