C Street Master Plan

November of 2006:
The CSAC endorsed the North Alignment Plan of the trolley tracks with a continuous eastbound driving lane. CSAC rejected the elimination of driving lanes, reduction of sidewalk and pedestrian crossing width to accommodate the three low-floor trolley.

December 2006:
MTS staff requests accommodation of Three Low-Floor Trolley for approval of the Master Plan.

March 2007:
Three Low-Floor Trolley Option #1 is endorsed by the MTS Executive Committee. With a required length of 275 feet, the plan leaves (2) driving lanes at 6th and 7th Avenues and a sidewalk below City code standards. At its March Board meeting MTS Staff expressed the long term objective to accommodate (4) low-floor trolleys, which would require 364 feet and multiple street closures/cul-de-sacs in the downtown. (See MTS Board Meeting (March 2007), under Documents)

April 2007:
The Office of the Mayor requests CCDC to study a 2-car Centre City Loop to see if there is a better long-term strategy for transit, pedestrians and automobile circulation. (See Mayor's Loop Letter, under Documents)

CCDC Real Estate Committee directs staff to evaluate the best strategy for the trolley and study the Centre City Loop.

Elimination of driving lanes and reduction of sidewalk and pedestrian crossing width to accommodate the proposed three low-floor trolley station is not supported by the Downtown Partnership Urban Design Committee, Council of Design Professionals, Little Italy Residents Association, Gaslamp Quarter Association, and Walk San Diego. (See Letters to C Street)

August 2007:
The Centre City Loop Study and Peer Review starts.

CCDC commissions SANDAG to perform a Ridership Survey: Origins and Destinations Analysis

September 2007:
City Traffic Engineering and Development Services Department staff completes a Preliminary Review of the proposed three low-floor trolley station at 6th Avenue, and rejects required variances for drive lanes, sidewalk and pedestrian crossing widths, as well as easements.

October 2007:
C Street Master Plan status is presented to the Land Use and Housing Committee (LUH).

Council Members Toni Atkins and Jim Madaffer support accommodation of the three low-floor trolley but asked CCDC to present the Loop Study to the Committee in the New Year.

Ridership Survey completed:

Ridership in the downtown has been flat for 10 years.
Transfers to buses and other trolleys are the primary reason for downtown destinations at the majority of the stations. Work destinations represent the majority of trips only at Civic and 5th Avenue stations.
41 percent of northbound travelers on the Blueline are travel through C Street and Park Blvd.
50 percent of southbound travelers on the Blueline are travel through C Street and Park Blvd.

November 2007:
C Street Master Plan presented to the CCDC Real Estate Committee (REC). The Committee directed staff to:

Develop a position paper
Justify the ridership numbers in the FEIR/Community Plan update
Develop a agency responsibility and cost matrix
Review other downtowns with transit malls

Some members of the committee were uncomfortable with changing the infrastructure of the downtown grid. (See Real Estate Committee Meeting (November 7, 2007) under Documents)

The Loop Study and traffic analysis is complete
A total of six Scenarios are evaluated, resulting in two recommendations:

Scenario C: Trolley shuttle between One America and 12th/Imperial
Scenario F: 2-Low-Floor Car Downtown Blue Trolley Line
(See Loop Scenarios under Maps and Graphics)

Both scenarios would allow for (longer) three and four trolleys to travel along the Bayside with 2-car or shorter trolleys operating along Park and C Street.
The study concluded that both options are feasible to meet today's demand with some flexibility in the future, handle the transfer loads and can be operated very efficiently. Each scenario brings increased operational costs and Scenario C would require facility improvements at the 12th and Imperial Station.
Both scenarios have constrained ability to meet the ridership projections of the 2030 FEIR Community Plan full build-out. Scenario C can be expanded with more frequent shuttle service to partly serve the demand. More frequent service may also be possible with Scenario F, but further evaluation is needed.
A final Design and Operational Plan would be required to refine each of these scenarios.

December 2007:
Loop Peer Review developed six scenarios and recommended the following options for evaluation:

Scenarios 1-4: 2-Car Downtown Operating System
Longer trolleys would operate along the Bayside. A 2-Trolley Downtown Blue and Orange would operate on Park and C streets. (See Attachment DEA Scenario 1-4 under Maps and Graphics)

Scenario 6: Downtown Bus Shuttle Concept.
Longer three and four Blue-line trolleys would operate along the Bayside. Blue and Orange lines would terminate at City College. A bus shuttle would operate on Broadway and C Street, connecting Sante Fe Station with City College Station. The trolley tracks would be eliminated from C Street. (See Attachment DEA Scenario 6 under Maps and Graphics)

January 2008:
Loop Options and Peer Review uploaded to Web site.

March 2008:
Meeting between City, CCDC, SANDAG, MTS, and the Office of Mayor to discuss the trolley length vs. the block issue.

CCDC asked to review possible station at 7th Avenue:

One lane at 7th and 8th Avenues to be eliminated, sidewalk and pedestrian crossing width to be reduced.
Basement mitigation and other issues to be resolved.

April 2008:
MTS has hired a consultant to study light rail vehicles/configurations that are less in length.

Next Steps
Future CSAC meeting and presentations are pending.