MST’s SURF! Busway project granted permits from Sand City, Marina
SAND CITY – The Sand City City Council approved a coastal development permit, at its meeting last week, for the length of the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project project that runs within the city’s boundaries.
The vote was almost unanimous with one council member absent from the proceedings and passed 4-0, according to Sand City City Manager Vibeke Norgaard.
The Sand City portion of the Monterey-Salinas Transit SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project is about 0.67 miles long, beginning at Sand City’s northern city limit and terminating at Playa Avenue.
The Sand City coastal development permit for this project is a combined permit that also includes a design permit and tree removal permit.
Monterey-Salinas Transit – MST – proposes to implement bus rapid transit between the cities of Marina, Sand City, Seaside, Monterey and Salinas. The project includes a six-mile dedicated busway along a former rail right-of-way parallel to Highway 1 with bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and a transit signal prioritization system along some segments. The SURF! Busway will run between Marina and Sand City with the northern terminus located at MST’s Marina Transit Exchange at Reservation and De Forest roads and the southern terminus located at Contra Costa Street in Sand City.
The city of Marina City Council, at its meeting on June 4, voted 4-1 to uphold its Planning Commission’s approval of the coastal development permit for its portion of the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project and denied appeals. On April 11, the Planning Commission unanimously approved both a coastal development permit and tree removal permit as necessary for the multi-jurisdiction project.
The Marina portion of the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project would be located between MST’s existing Marina Transit Exchange at Reservation and De Forest roads – northern terminus – and the existing Highway 1 overpass at the Del Monte Blvd southbound onramp. The project also includes the development of the 5th Street Transit Center, the southern terminus in Marina. This segment is in the middle of the Line 20 bus route that currently connects Salinas with Seaside and Monterey.
The Sand City SURF! Busway Alignment would start from Sand City’s northern city-limit to the future Monterey Bay Shores development project (located where California Avenue intersects the southbound Highway 1 on-ramp) the busway would be located between Beach Range Road and the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, seaward of Highway 1.
After passing the future Monterey Bay Shores development project entrance location, the busway alignment will meet California Avenue at the Highway 1 southbound on-ramp. Buses will re-enter the public right-of-way via a new roundabout at the junction of California Avenue, the Highway 1 southbound on-ramp and the Monterey Bay Shores access road.
Buses would navigate the roundabout, proceed through the existing signalized intersection and continue on California Avenue for a few-hundred feet before making a left turn back into the undeveloped Transportation Agency for Monterey County corridor, part of the Monterey Branch Line which TAMC purchased from Union Pacific in 2003 for $9.3 million. The Branch Line is 15 miles long stretching between Castroville to Monterey.
The Sand City SURF! Busway will travel within the corridor where buses would drive on dedicated lanes down to Playa Avenue to a new bus stop and platforms within the TAMC right-of-way. Following this stop, buses would turn left on Playa Avenue and then right back on to Del Monte Boulevard where they would continue south to Contra Costa Street on existing roadways.
The project alignment within Sand City includes about 0.67 miles of new dedicated SURF! busway lanes located adjacent to Highway 1 and California Avenue, a new multi-use trail adjacent to the new SURF! Busway lanes along the California Avenue portion of the route, a new roundabout at the Highway 1 southbound on-ramp, which includes a new bus stop, a new dedicated SURF! bus stop and platform at Playa and California avenues, a new traffic signal at the intersection of Playa and California avenues, re-alignment of beach range road and closure of a portion of the Monterey Peninsula Coastal Recreation Trail and removal of nine trees.
The Sand City portion of the Monterey-Salinas Transit SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project is about 0.67 miles long, begins at Sand City’s northern city limit and terminates at Playa Avenue. (MST/TAMC/City of Sand City)The project is located within an existing transportation corridor that is assumed for continued transportation use in local land use and zoning documents. The majority of the alignment of the new “off-road” busway would be within the Transportation Agency for Monterey County Monterey Branch Line rail corridor right-of-way, an approximately 100-foot-wide corridor generally located between Beach Range Road and the Monterey Peninsula Recreation Trail on the ocean side of Highway 1 and adjacent to California Avenue in Sand City, which has been used for transportation purposes since the late 1800s. Some existing public roadways would be used for the SURF! line throughout the route.
The California Coastal Commission has jurisdiction over a large portion of the project’s pathway and has raised concerns, including funding and impacts to environmentally sensitive habitat areas, but has yet to make a final determination and is in ongoing discussions with MST, and other agencies. MST applied for a coastal development permit from the Coastal Commission which has until Sept. 27 to act upon it.
On May 21, TAMC, the property owner, and MST, the applicant, provided a joint response to the Coastal Commission letter dated May 17, according to City of Sand City documents. The response states that the Proposition 116 funding that TAMC received is allowed to be used for rail projects. Under Proposition 116, they explain, exclusive public mass transit guideway projects, which the SURF! Busway project is, fall under the definition of a “rail project.” The letter opines that the SURF! Busway is an allowed use under the Proposition 116 grant funding and that the use of the TAMC corridor for the SURF! Busway does not preclude the future use of the corridor to also be used for rail. The letter states that the SURF! Busway will increase ridership and would help build demand for a future rail project.
The city of Sand City has considered both the points raised by the Coastal Commission and the response by the applicant. The city said it defers to the applicant regarding conformance with their grant funding source. The city would generally not question the funding and financing of public agency applicants for projects within the city. Regarding ESHA, the applicant has agreed to the city’s required 1:1 mitigation for impacts to ESHA, with the opportunity for enhanced mitigation of up to 3:1.
