04/10/23 DesignStrategy-USA.com 1

Developing a Sustainable Transportation Environmental

Improvement Plan

SJDOT TEAM Building

Making it Happen!

Roger Bazeley, M.S.T.M., M.S.I.D., C.T.S.M. DesignStrategy-USA, Transportation Consultants

WHY is a Sustainable DOT EMVIRONVENTAL POLICY & PRACTICE IMPORTANT ?

Transportation is a Significant Source of Air Pollution (Impact Costs $2-$3 billion annually-Transact)

Roads and Streets are a Major Source of Water Pollution – runoff & impervious surfaces

Transportation Contributes to Climate Change – Transportation Sector is responsible for 32% of U.S. CO2 emissions-Transact

Transportation is Responsible for High Energy Consumption – 165 billion gallons of Petroleum based fuels 43% of petroleum consumption annually-Transact

Transportation Operation Improvement, Reducing Environmental Impacts, Cost Savings, and Improving San Jose’s Walkablity can be accomplished through Citywide Teamwork and Inter-Agency partnership.

Supporting and Coordinating San Jose’s Green Mobility Goals

Power 100% of our City’s Vehicle Fleet with Alternative Fuels

Replace 100% of our street lights with smart, energy neutral lighting

Plant 100,000 new trees Connect 100 miles of trails for walking

and biking

Supporting and Coordinating San Jose’s Green Mobility Goals

Supporting and Coordinating San Jose’s Green Mobility Goals

Minimizing the Impact of DOT Activities on the Environment

Develop and Implement Strategy Plan Systemize Performance Measures Implement Annual Reporting

Requirements to address environmental regulations/legislation (AB 32-Environmental Global warming Solutions Act of 2006, CEQA, SAFETLU)

Identify and Analyze Environmental threats for Mitigation Priority

3 SJDOT Leadership Imperatives

Projecting realistic organizational and team goals that embrace honesty and integrity at all stakeholder levels: the public, management, vendors – An Atmosphere of being “Safe to Express Ideas” and for “Decision Making”

Setting realistic performance measures and controls that all team members/agencies can understand and participate in reducing environmental impacts and costs through innovation

Building Team “esprit de corps” through pride and ownership---Doing it the “SJDOT Way” – Service to the Customer our Community

Three levels for intervention:

POLICYInfluence policy, legislative law, local ordnances, funding priorities, methodology, guidelines

PROJECT CONCEPTInterject environmental policy into current project planning, pedestrian plan, infrastructure design and TOD’s

SITE SPECIFICRetrofit existing problem areas with new environmentally friendly design & technologies

State, Regional MPO, Cities,

Neighborhoods

Citywide, Business and Transit Corridors

Street/SchoolSite/Intersection

Influence policies, practices, plans, programs and funding processes

Interject safety and ECO-design solutions into current or future project plans

Eliminate problems with new design solutions and ITS technologies

Vital Impact Areas for Implementing Sustainable Improvement

POLICY PLANNING DESIGN

Making San Jose’s Transportation System safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly

The Transportation Green Mobility Plan involves: transit vehicle fleet, city car and truck vehicles (VTA, police,

fire, departmental/service fleet) and the very streets and land-use environments where operated.

A SJDOT GMP would result in a plan that would: reduce the impacts to the environment and

prioritize the needs of walking, bicycling, transit use, and the use of streets and transit corridors as public spaces for social interaction and community life following San Jose’s Green Mobility Plan’s Goals.

result in a “Green Network” that enhances the City’s long-term ecological functioning and peoples connection to the natural environment.

TEN ELEMENTS OF GREEN MOBILITY IMPROVEMENT

01-Designing streets that enhance the human connection to the natural and built environments.

02-Designing residential and neighborhood commercial-transit corridor streets to support connectivity, by removing barriers to free movement and transit accessibility.

03-Streetscape amenities: crossings, street-lighting, furniture, and landscaping strips/plantings creating buffers which minimize traffic/transit sounds and create favorable microclimate conditions—tree shade for pedestrians.

04-Design and maintain streets as green corridors: tree canopy and ground level landscaping-storm water management through increasing permeable surface areas, eco-irrigation technologies/methods.

TEN ELEMENTS OF GREEN MOBILITY IMPROVEMENT

05-Designing streets to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities through infrastructure improvements, installing pedestrian-scaled lighting for increasing night visibility to autos and transit vehicles.

06-Create a citywide pedestrian, bike, and transit network to connect activity centers, transit hubs by identifying gaps in pedestrian and bike accessibility.

07-Managing maintenance and modernization of streets, new (TOD) development, and transportation improvements to encourage local neighborhood commerce that invites public transit use over car use— thereby reducing parking impacts.

TEN ELEMENTS OF GREEN MOBILITY IMPROVEMENT

08-Provide maintenance for streets that reflect a high level of plant health, cleanliness, and repair—with the ability to encourage community stewardship

09-Develop transit and city vehicle fleet phase-out plan of gasoline fuel to alternative clean energy fuels and hybrid-electric engine technologies. (Natural Gas/CNG)

10-Develop environmental design guidelines, specification, and work procedures for programs which reduce traffic impacts, air-pollution, and development impacts to land-use/neighborhoods.

Supporting and Coordinating San Jose’s Green Mobility Goals

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Education: Provide Education and outreach to community members, decision makers, and City staff about transportation Green Mobility goals, issues, design, and implementation.

Enforcement: Reduce parking and traffic congestion that negatively impacts San Jose’s air quality and pedestrian/bike safety.

Monitoring: Create and implement performance measures and goals and gather baseline data to assess GMP goals and policies.

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Monitoring: Implement a program that evaluates performance measures and periodically reports on goal attainment.

Monitoring: Create a method to update codes, standards, and procedures.

Maintenance: Develop maintenance program that uses available resources effectively and efficiently.

Maintenance: Coordinate, streamline, clarify the roles and responsibilities of city agencies for public right of way maintenance considering cost savings.

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Maintenance: Maintain street infrastructure in a manner that optimizes life-cycle resource use and costs: resource extraction, long-term maintenance, replacement, and disposal costs.

Maintenance: Implement a strategy that uses an asset management system evaluating cost impact of repairing, replacing, or upgrading street infrastructure in a timely and preventative manner rather than deferred maintenance.

Maintenance: Identify best available environmental sound technologies and materials for maintaining transportation infrastructure.

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Maintenance: Accompany all transportation infrastructure projects with a long-range maintenance and task or project specific Green Mobility (GMP) improvement plan strategy.

Planning/Design: Analyze and mediate areas where design and maintenance needs are in conflict to resolve barriers to new designs, technologies, or materials.

Planning/Design: Identify and use best practices, innovations, and technologies from urban design, transportation planning and environmental engineering to improve transportation infrastructure.

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Planning/Design: Create design templates for street and transportation improvement projects that serve a variety of functions and integrate multi-functional elements.

Institutional Coordination: Improve inter-agency planning and design roles to eliminate redundancy but considers specialized expertise of individual agencies/department teams.

Outreach: Improve agency transparency and educate the public about the actual costs and efficiency savings of Green Mobility improvements.

SJDOT GREEN MOBILITY PLANProcess and Implementation Goals

Intuitional Coordination City Staff educational workshops, training and participation regarding application of Green Mobility applicable processes, information exchange

Institutional Coordination: Identify cost and maintenance priorities for transportation projects, transportation capital improvements for vehicle fleets, or infrastructure.

Funding: Create an adequate funding plan for planning, infrastructure, capital and maintenance improvements incorporating the GMP goals and vision.

Pedestrians: Have Rights and Expectations for a Safe Journey

Three E’s of Safety: Engineering, Education, Enforcement

Engineering: Design Enhancements

School Site ImprovementsBold/Yellow School LADDER crosswalks

School Zone/Site: New TechnologyFYG Signs, Signals/Traffic Control Devices

School/PED Zone Driver FYG LED Speed Feedback Signs (3M)

Embedded Strobe pavement lights

Crosswalks and School Zones

New Technologies: Communicate and Educate 24/7

OLD PED Signal

Countdown

Regional Pedestrian Safety:Educational and Safety PSA Programs

Educational: Safety Outreach-Bikes

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Benefits: Safer Walkable CommunitiesWorkshops, School/Community Audits, Building Active Partnerships

BE

INV

OLV

ED BE INO

VATIVE

Supporting and Coordinating San Jose’s Green Mobility Goals

Be Aware, Be Safe, Be Active, Walk & Bike---or Skate

SUPPORT GREEN MOBILITY