Council
Meeting: October 11, 2005
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Conceptually Approve the
Schematic Design Elements for the 2nd and 4th Streets
Pedestrian and Streetscape Improvements Project, Authorize the City Manager to Amend
the Design Contract with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF) in the amount
of $39,700 for Scope Enhancements and Authorize Staff to Proceed with Design
Development and Preparation of Construction Drawings
This report
recommends that the City Council conceptually approve the proposed schematic
design elements for the 2nd and 4th Streets Pedestrian
and Streetscape Improvements Project, authorize the City Manager to amend the
design contract with ZGF in the amount of $39,700 for the design of scope
enhancements and authorize staff to proceed with design development and
preparation of construction drawings.
On June 22, 2004 City Council awarded a contract to
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership for the design of the 2nd and 4th
Streets Pedestrian Streetscape Project, also known as the Pedestrian Extension
to the Downtown Transit Mall. The
Project consists of eight blocks of pedestrian and streetscape improvements
along 2nd and 4th Streets between
These improvements were identified as a third phase
in the Downtown Urban Design Plan, adopted in 1997. Staff applied for a grant from the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in 1999 and
federal Transportation Enhancement Activity (TEA) funds were awarded starting
in FY 02-03. The project scope included
new closely-spaced pedestrian lighting to illuminate the sidewalks; replacement
of every-other street tree; and other possible streetscape amenities. Subsequently, mid-block crosswalks were
added to the scope of the project as a component of Phase III of the City’s
crosswalk improvement program.
The project is
intended to further enhance the pedestrian environment within the downtown
area, encourage pedestrian circulation beyond the
ZGF has completed two phases of the schematic
design portion of the project. The first
phase was to explore and reconfirm the vision for the project, since the plan
was developed in 1997. To this end, the
team conducted outreach through community workshops on April 4th and
9th, 2005. The attached
survey form was also distributed (Attachment 1) though workshop invitations
were sent directly to downtown businesses, residents and property owners and
the workshops were advertised in three local papers, attendance was low. The team sought comments from Bayside
District and the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce at their monthly
meetings. A presentation was made to a
combined meeting of the Architectural Review Board and the Landmarks
Commission, at the request of these bodies so they could provide input. Issues raised are addressed below.
The second phase, development of schematic
design recommendations, identified specific program components and developed a
preliminary cost estimate. During both
phases ZGF worked closely with City staff to understand sustainability, design,
operational, maintenance and funding-limitation issues.
Recommended Program Components for
2nd and 4th Streets between
Pedestrian Lighting: The recommended lighting fixture
to replace the existing cobra-head street lights is a modified version of the one
used for the Transit Mall, with a closely spaced single-head fixture directed
at the sidewalk and a less frequently spaced two-tiered version to light the
sidewalk and street (Exhibits C and D).
Use of a Transit Mall-type fixture will create an expanded sense of a
downtown “district.” The Transit Mall
fixture is no longer being supplied and a new custom fixture that is similar,
but not identical, must be developed to incorporate a long lasting and energy
efficient lamp, reduce glare and provide a warmer quality of light. Maintenance issues will also be addressed in
the performance standards for the new light fixture.
Discussion: Members of the Landmarks Commission and the
Santa Monica Conservancy advocated for use of a historic-style fixture. The 1997 Downtown Urban Design Plan
originally recommended a historic fixture for the district, which included both
the Transit Mall Streets and the current project. A different course of action was elected
through the Transit Mall design process, resulting in selection of a
contemporary fixture.
Street Trees: The Downtown Urban Design Plan called for
the replacement of every-other Ficus tree.
The density of the Ficus trees makes the streets dark in the daytime and
difficult to light at night. A less
dense deciduous tree would provide dappled light most of the year and direct
light in the winter, as well as increased visibility to and from the many
interesting building frontages. Ginko biloba
trees are recommended to replace every other Ficus tree. (Consistent with the original design plan, two
replacement trees will be needed to fill the space of each Ficus because of the
distance between the Ficus.) A Ginko is
a graceful airy columnar-shaped tree with a light green distinctive leaf that flutters
in a breeze. The recommended cultivar is
bred to turn golden seasonally. The
trees tend to be slow growing and reach a maximum height of around 40 feet. The Ficus trees would continue to provide
canopy and the Ginko trees will provide an attractive complement to the Ficus at
an appropriate scale for 2nd and 4th Streets. The alternating pattern will maintain the
canopy effect and be continued on the east side of 4th and west side
of 2nd Streets, between Broadway and
Discussion:
An objective of the
design process was to review the Downtown Urban Design Plan 1997 recommendation
to replace every other street tree in light of the City’s Community Forest
Management Plan adopted in November 1999, the Benefit-Cost Analysis of Santa
Monica’s Municipal Urban Forest (October, 2001) and current community
sentiment. It was difficult to assess
community “sentiment”, since so few people chose to participate in the widely
noticed process.
The Ficus is the dominant tree in the City
with respect to numbers and size and scored highly in the City’s benefit-cost
analysis study with respect to factors such as shade and atmospheric
benefits. However, the report also
emphasized the need to ensure the stability of the urban forest and noted that,
although gradual replacement of Ficus during the next ten years will result in
short-term reduction of canopy cover, the loss is offset by the promise of net
benefits, in the long term, from replenishing and diversifying the forest. The study recommended diversifying 5-10% of
the new plantings with species that have proven successful in nearby cities and
offers the Ginko as an example to be considered. As part of the schematic design phase, City
staff surveyed other cities to assess their experience with Ginkos and received
positive feedback. By leaving half of
the Ficus (and relocating some of the removed trees to fill in the spacing),
the City will continue to reap the benefits of the Ficus and will also benefit
by increasing the diversity of the urban forest.
Ficus roots grow close to the surface, are
destructive to the surrounding paved areas and generate a high level of
sidewalk maintenance expenditures.
Replacing the Ficus with the Ginko will reduce sidewalk maintenance
expenditures and liability exposure in this pedestrian oriented district.
The project assumes that the new trees will
be planted in structural soil, as was done for the Transit Mall trees. Structural soil ensures
that the new trees have the maximum opportunity to establish and thrive within
the urban environment by providing
space for the roots to grow within the compacted soil that supports the
sidewalk. If structural soil is included
as part of the project, ZGF must perform additional design work in the amount
of $7,700. The additional construction
costs associated with the structural soil are estimated at $320,000.
Mid-Block Crosswalks: Landscaped curb extensions at the
six midblock crosswalks on 2nd and 4th Streets would provide
greater visibility and shorten the exposure of pedestrians to traffic while crossing
the streets. One or more of the
crosswalks may be moved slightly to shift them away from existing
driveways. Curb extensions on both sides
of
Discussion: Curb
extensions generally accepted as pedestrian friendly have been criticized
elsewhere as impeding traffic flow. The
curb extensions on 2nd and
Access Ramp Upgrades: The
project would reconstruct all curb ramps on 2nd and
Art
/Sculptural and Tree Up-Lighting: The project artist developed preliminary
concepts for sculptural lighting elements near the pedestrian entrances to the
parking structures and at the mid-block crosswalks to provide strong identity
for these focal points. Because the
project budget is limited and the parking structure entry elements should be
coordinated closely with the parking structure upgrade projects, the design-development
and fabrication of sculptural lighting at the parking structure pedestrian
entrances will be considered at that time with funding from the parking
structure upgrade art budget. No funding
is available for proposed lighting sculptures at the mid-block crosswalks.
Up-lighting the branching area of the Ficus
trees has been explored as a way to feature the sculptural nature of the trees
and add atmosphere to the Streets. The
feasibility of lighting each tree with a dual rack of LED lights either mounted
on a pole adjacent to the tree or mounted in the tree would require further evaluation
during the design process with respect to ongoing maintenance requirements. The proposal could create a unique atmosphere
and could be developed in a way to meet dark-sky policy objectives.
Discussion: Both the ARB and the Bayside
Board strongly supported this proposal. No
funding source has been identified for estimated design-development at $28,000 and
construction at $540,000.
Sustainability
Sustainable design is incorporated into
every aspect of the project. Enlarged
tree wells and landscaped curb extensions at the mid-block crosswalks would
reduce storm water run-off. The new
trees would be irrigated with inline drip irrigation. The new pedestrian and streetlights would
adhere to
Coordination with Other Projects on 2nd
and
The following additional coordination issues
were explored as part of the outreach and schematic design phase.
·
·
Series
Circuit Conversion on
·
Way
Finding/Real Time Parking Information: Potential coordination has been explored,
with timing being a critical factor. A
budget for way finding signage is included in the Bayside Capital Improvement
Budget approved by the Council for FY 05-06.
·
Transit
Stop Furniture: Big Blue Bus is currently working on the
design of transit stops for the Rapid 3 and other high-use stops. Shelters may be placed on
·
Parking
Structure Seismic Upgrade and Construction: The seismic upgrade of the
structures can be coordinated with the streetscape construction and existing
installations can be protected if parking structures are upgraded after the
streetscape improvements are installed.
Two of the three structures that are slated for demolition will be a
number of years out and careful planning will be required for the first
structure that is demolished. Possibly
fixtures and/or trees may need to be temporarily relocated.
NEXT STEPS
There will be a hand-off of the project lead
from Planning and Community Development Department to the City Engineer’s
Office of EPWM as lead for design development, preparation of construction
drawing and specifications, and construction management. The project will be bid and the construction
contract will be brought back to Council for approval.
Design Costs:
The recommended design options, including mid-block
crosswalks and structural soil addition, will require an increase to the existing
contract with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF) of $39,700 for a total
authorized contract amount of $522,700.
Budget authority is available in capital account C010456.589000. Therefore, $39,700 will be transferred from
account C010456.589000 (Crosswalk Improvements) to account C010646.589000
(Pedestrian Extension –Transit Mall.)
Future Costs:
Construction costs for the recommended project
including the mid-block crosswalks and the structural soil addition are
estimated at $3.5 million. At this time,
a combination of grant funds are available, including $1.8 million in federal
TEA funds, $1.0 million in local Proposition C and A grant funds; $.4 in
federal CBDG funds and $.28 in General Funds from previously approved Crosswalk
Improvement project funds. Construction
costs and associated funding sources will be detailed with the requests of
construction bid award.
The project will add ongoing maintenance and
operating costs and will require future enhancements to City operating budgets
when the project becomes operational in FY 06-07. The additional cost of tree pruning, maintaining
the landscaped areas of the mid-block crosswalks and the increased irrigation
requirements is estimated at $5,000/year for a full year. The
new pedestrian lighting will add increased utility costs of approximately $
7,200/year. Maintenance cost for both
bulb replacement and pole repair will cost approximately $ 18,100/year. Additionally, based on the experience for the
Transit Mall, up to four poles may need to be replaced per year, resulting in
potential pole replacement costs of up to $31,000/year. The total on-going maintenance costs are
estimated at $61,300 annually.
CEQA ANALYSIS
The
proposed pedestrian and streetscape improvements for 2nd and 4th
Street have been determined to be
categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 19, Section 15301 (c) which was
recently amended to define Class 1 exempt project in the following way:
"Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting,
leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private
structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features,
involving little or not expansion beyond that existing at the time of the lead
agency's determination..." This
exemption lists as an example of "existing facilities: (c) Existing
highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and
similar facilities." The pedestrian
and streetscape improvements, including minor curb alterations; the addition of
pedestrian lighting, replacement of street trees and other minor landscaping,
are to existing streets and sidewalks and include negligible or no expansion of
these existing facilities.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommends that the City Council take the following
actions:
1.
Authorize staff
to proceed with design development and the preparation of constructions
drawings and specifications for the recommended pedestrian and streetscape
improvements.
2.
Authorize the
City Manager to negotiate an amendment to the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF) contract
in the amount of $39,700.
Prepared
by:
Ellen Gelbard, Deputy Director for Special Projects,
PCD
Attachments:
Exhibit
A: Context
Exhibit
B (1 & 2): Existing Conditions B1 Existing Conditions B2
Exhibit
C (1 & 2): Proposed Layout C1 Proposed Layout C2
Exhibit
D Street Trees and Lighting
Exhibit
E Mid-Block Crossings
Attachment
1: 2nd
& 4th Street Pedestrian/Streetscape Questionnaire
