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File Number: 12 -372 AC Transit shall make accommodations for a southbound East 14th Street left turn to eastbound Broadmoor Boulevard. BACKGROUND The Alameda- Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) East Bay Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project is proposed to provide high quality, fast, and frequent express bus service along a 14 -mile long corridor between downtown Berkeley at the northern end, through downtown Oakland to San Leandro at the southern end. In San Leandro, the alignment runs along East 14th Street to Davis Street, then onto San Leandro Boulevard to the San Leandro BART Station. Five (5) of the 32 BRT stations are within San Leandro, with one of them located in the median and the remaining as curb extensions or sidewalk plazas with level station boarding and ticket stations. Basic features of the proposed BRT system include transit priority at all signalized intersections, new passenger stations with ticket vending machines, substantial shelters, and a combination of mixed -flow and dedicated travel lanes throughout the proposed alignment. AC Transit has been planning this project since the completion of an Alternative Mode Analysis in 1993, which identified priority corridors and candidate technologies for major transit investments that would provide cost effective methods to serve the East Bay Corridor's ridership. From 1999 to 2002, AC Transit conducted a Major Investment Study (MIS) of the Berkeley /Oakland /San Leandro corridor to examine alternatives for improved transit service. AC Transit prepared the MIS with input and guidance from key stakeholder agencies, elected officials, community leaders, and the general public. The result of the MIS was that AC Transit identified BRT as the preferred alternative with the understanding that light -rail transit (LRT) should be considered as a long -term goal. BRT was selected because it provided high- capacity express operation along dedicated lanes on existing roadways, provided many of the same features of LRT, and would attract a large number of new riders at a much lower cost with fewer traffic, parking, and construction impacts than LRT. Bus Rapid Transit is a transportation system that operates like a LRT, but uses buses instead of rail vehicles. In 2003, AC Transit initiated the CEQA process for BRT. In May 2007, a Draft EIS /EIR (DEIS /DEIR) was released for public review. The DEIS /DEIR evaluated four transit improvement alternatives for BRT. The City of San Leandro, along with more than 200 agencies, individuals, and organizations, provided review comments on the draft document, resulting in more than 1,000 individual comments. At that time, the City was asked to provide a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the project. In the fall of 2009, a series of public meetings were held in San Leandro to determine public support and to receive comments on BRT. In May of 2010, the City of San Leandro, by Council Resolution No. 2010 -054, forwarded its LPA to AC Transit. San Leandro identified an alternative that has BRT terminating at the Downtown San Leandro BART Station with dedicated bus lanes from the north city limit to Georgia Way, with local service provided by traditional or express bus service from the Downtown San Leandro BART Station to the Bay Fair BART Station. The City also requested that AC Transit evaluate extending BRT to the Bay Fair BART station in the Final EIS /EIR so that the impact would be known for the entire project. The AC Transit Board of Directors considered the recommendations of each city and selected an LPA on June 23, 2010. It was at this time that the AC Transit Board indicated an City of San Leandro Page 2 Printed on 711012012