Date: September 17, 2015 Current Meeting: October 1, 2015 Board Meeting: October 1, 2015

BOARD MEMORANDUM TO: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors THROUGH: General Manager, Nuria I. Fernandez

FROM: Director of Planning and Program Development, John Ristow SUBJECT: SR 237 Express Lanes FY 2015 Annual Report

3331 North First Street ∙ San Jose, CA 95134-1927 ∙ Administration 408.321.5555 ∙ Customer Service 408.321.2300

FOR INFORMATION ONLY BACKGROUND: In Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015), the SR 237 Express Lanes exceeded the performance standard of operating at a minimum speed of 45 miles per hour (mph) for about 92 percent of the express lanes operating hours. Traffic volumes served by SR 237 Express Lanes in FY 2015 was 56,000 vehicles greater than FY 2014. The SR 237 Express Lanes have served over 1.9 million toll paying customers with about 200,000 vehicle hours of travel time savings gained within the corridor while generating about $3.6 million in gross toll revenues since the express lanes opened for tolling in 2012. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors approved the Silicon Valley Express Lanes Program (Program) at the December 2008 Board meeting. The purpose of the Program is to provide congestion relief through the implementation of a roadway pricing system that allows for the use of unused capacity in highway carpool lanes. This is accomplished by allowing solo commuters to use the available capacity in the carpool lanes for a fee. The fee changes dynamically in response to existing congestion levels and the available capacity in the express lanes. Implementation of roadway pricing is also part of the Bay Area Regional Transportation Plan update that was approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on July 18, 2013. The Program has been undertaken to provide long-term mobility benefits and to provide another funding stream for transportation improvements. Specifically, the primary objectives of the Program are as follows:

1. Provide congestion relief through more effective use of existing roadways; 2. Provide commuters with a new mobility option; and 3. Provide a new funding source for transportation improvements including public transit.

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DISCUSSION: The SR 237/I-880 Express Connectors project that converted the carpool lane connector ramps at the SR 237/I-880 interchange to express lanes operations (Attachment A) was the first phase of the overall Program as well as for express lanes on SR 237. The next phase of the Program involves converting the remainder of existing carpool lanes on SR 237 west of the existing express lanes to express lanes as well. This effort has been environmentally cleared and is in the design phase with a planned opening in 2017. Summary of SR 237 Express Lanes Update for Fiscal Year 2015 This update reflects the third full fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2015: July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015) of operation for the SR 237 Express Lanes. The SR 237 Express Lanes have served over 1.9 million toll paying customers (about 20 percent of the just over 9.5 million customers that have used the express lanes since inception). About 200,000 vehicle hours of travel time savings have been gained in the corridor while generating about $3.6 million in gross toll revenues since the express lanes opened for tolling on March 20, 2012. In Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015), the SR 237 Express Lanes exceeded the performance standard of operating at a minimum speed of 45 miles per hour (mph) for about 92 percent of the express lanes operating hours. Traffic volumes served by SR 237 Express Lanes during FY 2015 was over three million vehicles including both carpoolers (also referred to as high occupancy vehicles or HOVs) and solo drivers (also referred to as single occupant vehicles or SOVs). This is an increase of over 56,000 vehicles over FY 2014. The HOV/non-tolled traffic grew by about 140,000 vehicles (six percent) while the amount of SOV traffic decreased by about 83,000 (14 percent). The increase in HOV/non-tolled traffic is attributable to the growth in clean air vehicles (CAVs) that are allowed to use express lanes with a qualified decal sticker. Periodic spot counts counted by VTA staff within the SR 237 Express Lanes limits indicate that about 25 percent of the total traffic volume may consist of CAVs. In FY 2015, the growth in traffic volume and congestion also resulted in an increase in toll rates, up to six dollars in the corridor. Despite the increase in traffic usage levels, the SR 237 Express Lanes managed to provide travel time savings in the corridor of up to 14 minutes in the westbound direction during the morning commute period and up to seven minutes in the eastbound direction during the evening commute peak. As a result, the SR 237 Express Lanes continue to consistently draw both repeat users and first time users with this use averaging about 9,500 and 3,000 per month respectively. The result is a net revenue projection of about $300,000. The express lanes operate on Monday through Friday, from 5:00 am to 10:00 am in the westbound direction, from 5:00 am to 9:00 am for the eastbound direction, and from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm for both directions in the evening commute. This includes public holidays that occur on weekdays. At all other times and on weekends, the lane is “OPEN TO ALL.”

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A six-month period pilot project rolling back the double white lines from First Street to Zanker Road in the westbound direction of SR 237 was implemented on June 24, 2015. This project allows carpoolers traveling from Calaveras Boulevard to access the express lanes earlier by about three-quarters of a mile. This striping modification was implemented in partnership amongst several agencies including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Highway Patrol (CHP), City of Milpitas and VTA. The results of this implementation will be included in the FY 2016 SR 237 Express Lanes update. Express Lanes Operations The SR 237 Express Lanes operated at or above the minimum required 45 mph performance standard for about 92 percent of the express lanes hours of operation. During the remaining eight percent of the express lanes hours of operation, the facility operated as a HOV facility available only to vehicles meeting the carpool vehicle criteria. The average express lanes travel speed on SR 237 in the westbound direction (Figure 1) varied between 44 and 70 mph with minimum travel speeds at about 44 mph between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 60 mph and 70 mph between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The average express lanes travel speed on SR 237 in the eastbound direction (Figure 2) was about 70 mph during the morning commute period with speeds dropping to between 50 mph and 55 mph between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The average speeds are derived from the sensors located along SR 237 and it consists of data from 36 representative dates from throughout the year. The data was collected between Tuesday through Thursday and on days with no traffic incident or inclement weather condition. Figure 1: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Average Corridor Speed (Westbound)

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Figure 2: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Average Corridor Speed (Eastbound)

HOV ONLY operations on the SR 237 Express Lanes occur when the average corridor speed falls below the 45 mph standard during the express lanes hours of operation. This accounted for about eight percent of the express lanes hours of operation. Only eligible vehicles meeting the carpool vehicle criteria (including CAVs) may use express lanes during this time period. During FY 2015, HOV ONLY operations amounted to a total of about 360 hours (300 hours in the eastbound evening commute period and 60 hours in westbound morning commute period) that equates to an average of about one hour per day. This results in an estimated 45,000 toll vehicles not being able to use the express lanes facility due to the HOV ONLY restrictions.

In general, the eastbound PM peak period experiences HOV ONLY restriction due to recurring downstream congestion on I-880 that occurs north of the Santa Clara County limits (north of Dixon Landing Road). Similarly, in the westbound direction, the HOV ONLY restriction occurs due to downstream congestion from US 101 and low speeds between I-880 and Zanker Road.

Travel time savings along the SR 237 Express Lanes for the solo toll paying traffic can be up to about 14 minutes (between Dixon Landing Road and Great America Parkway) in the westbound morning commute direction and up to seven minutes in the eastbound evening commute direction. The evening commute travel time savings are significantly affected by downstream congestion beyond the SR 237 Express Lanes limits. About 200,000 vehicle hours of travel time savings have been gained in the entire corridor since opening to tolling operations. In addition, the SR 237 Express Lanes has served over 1.9 million toll paying vehicles that chose to use the facility to obtain the travel time reliability.

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Figure 3: Southbound I-880 to Westbound SR 237 AM peak period Travel Time - (Dixon Landing Road to North 1st Street)

Figure 4: Eastbound SR 237 to Northbound I-880 PM peak period Travel Time - (North 1st Street to Dixon Landing Road)

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During FY 2015, the SR 237 Express Lanes served a total of over three million vehicles including both carpoolers (HOV) and solo drivers (SOV). Over 525,000 (about 17 percent) of the total express lanes traffic chose to pay a fee to use the express lane to benefit their travel (Table 1). The average daily traffic for FY 2015 was about 11,700 vehicles consisting of about 9,700 non-tolled vehicles and 2,000 tolled vehicles. The majority of the tolled vehicles (68 percent) are commuting in the westbound direction on SR 237 from I-880 (Table 2).

Table 1: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Traffic Usage by Quarter FY 2015 Quarter 1

(July - Sep.) Quarter 2 (Oct. - Dec.)

Quarter 3 (Jan. - Mar.)

Quarter 4 (Apr. - June)

Total

# Tolling Days 66 66 64 64 260 SOV /Toll 144,763 119,953 130,635 129,828 525,179 HOV /Non-Toll 634,809 602,072 627,415 666,879 2,531,175 Avg. SOV /Day 2,193 1,819 2,041 2,029 2,020 Avg. HOV /Day 9,618 9,122 9,803 10,420 9,735

SOV = Single Occupant Vehicle HOV = High Occupancy Vehicle

Table 2: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Traffic Usage by Direction (SOV Users)

Tolled Vehicles Direction AM PM Total Percentage Eastbound 21,610 145,381 166,991 32% Westbound 298,319 59,869 358,188 68% Total 319,929 205,250 525,179

The main enforcement related topic is motorists’ crossing of the double white lines. The majority of the double white line crossings occurs between McCarthy Boulevard and Zanker Road during the peak commute period in the westbound direction of SR 237 as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Working with the CHP, focused enforcement activities on a periodic basis have taken place. Figure 7 highlights that the primary citation issued has been for carpool lane violations, amounting to about 80 percent of all citations (almost 500 total citations in FY 2015).

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Figure 5: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes Westbound Average Double White Line Crossing Violators between McCarthy Blvd. and Zanker Road

Figure 6: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes Eastbound Average Double White Line Crossing Violators between McCarthy Blvd. and Zanker Road

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Figure 7: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - California Highway Patrol Citations

No major traffic incidents occurred during FY 2015 that required closure of express lanes . VTA staff worked with the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and maintained uninterrupted toll transactions during BATA’s back-office system upgrade. In October 2014, a short segment of about 1,000 feet along westbound SR 237 between McCarthy Boulevard and Zanker Road interchange was repaved by Caltrans. The repaving project overlaid asphalt on top of the double white lines separating the express lane and the adjacent general purpose (GP) lane with the restriping completed in December 2014. The bi-annual maintenance for the corridor was undertaken in September 2014 and March 2015. This is a scheduled two-night preventive maintenance activity in addition to the weekly and monthly preventive maintenance. This maintenance activity consisted of field inspection of toll system equipment including the pricing sign, CCTV cameras, tolling equipment, pavement sensors, communication equipment and gantry poles. Other maintenance activities included the following:

November 2014 - Power generator was deployed at the toll zone site for the afternoon tolling period due to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) maintenance activity along I-880.

January 2015 – A new vehicle detector sensor was replaced near the First Street off-ramp in the SR 237 westbound direction.

February 2015 - Replaced failed Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) reader and the laser for the southbound toll zone.

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March 2015 – Power outage affected the electronic toll system but tolling operation continued without interruption using back-up historical toll rates

Toll Rates Since opening of SR 237 Express Lanes in March 2012, the corridor has experienced a consistent increase in traffic volumes over the last three years. Consistent with the increased traffic usage, the average toll rate in the corridor has increased. The average toll rate for FY 2015 was $2.28 compared to $2.01 for FY 2014. Figure 8 shows the average toll rate by month for FY 2015. The maximum toll rate in the corridor for FY 2015 was six dollars.

Figure 8: FY2015 SR 237 Express Lanes Average Weekday Toll by Month

Toll Revenues and Expenses The SR 237 Express Lanes have been well utilized and have generated toll revenues that have exceeded projections. Figure 9 shows the total traffic volume on express lanes and revenues by month. Figure 9 also illustrates the continued increase in toll revenues with seasonal dips including holidays. The average toll revenue per month for FY 2015 is about $99,700. This translates to average revenue of about $4,600 per day. The month of December was the lowest revenue month at about $66,700 while April was the highest at $117,700.

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Figure 9: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Total Traffic Volumes and Revenues by Month

The toll revenues generated for FY 2015 exceeded projections (Table 3) while the total expenses incurred were close to projections. Overall, the SR 237 Express Lanes resulted in positive net revenue over expenses of about $300,000. Table 3: FY 2015 SR 237 Express Lanes - Comparison of Revenues and Expenses Category FY14

Projection FY14 Actual FY15

Projection FY15 Actual 1

Toll Revenues $ 920,000 $ 1,222,000 $ 1,000,000 $ 1,157,000 Investment earnings $ 9,000 $ 19,000 $ 10,000 $ 17,000 Total Revenue $ 929,000 $ 1,241,000 $ 1,010,000 $ 1,175,000 Professional and Special Services

$ 535,000 $ 541,000 $ 572,000 $ 633,000

Other services $ 10,000 $ 1,000 $ 10,000 $ 0 Utilities $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 2,000 VTA Staff Services $ 370,000 $ 270,000 $ 400,000 $ 217,000 Total Expense $ 917,000 $ 814,000 $ 983,000 $ 852,000 Revenues Over (Under) Expenses

$ 12,000 $ 427,000 $ 27,000 $ 322,000

1- Preliminary unaudited number as of August 7, 2015. Final audited number may vary. Numbers may not add due to rounding. ADVISORY COMMITTEE DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) heard this item as part of its consent item on September 9, 2015.

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) heard this

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item as part of its consent item on September 10, 2015.

STANDING COMMITTEE DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Congestion Management Planning and Programming Committee (CMPP) heard this item on September 17, 2015. Member Esteves requested clarification on certain figures and tables in the report related to revenue projections and operating characteristics. Staff agreed to provide additional clarification on two of the figures in the report.

Prepared By: Murali Ramanujam and Arshad Syed Memo No. 5165

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