City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: September 26, 2011 Item Number: C-7
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with
the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority
on the I-10/Robertson/National Area Circulation Improvement Project.
Contact Person/Dept.:
Diana Chang/Transportation
John Rivera/Public Works
Phone Number:
(310) 253-6566
(310) 253-5616
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [x] Date: _______________
Public Notification:
(E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (09/21/11) (E-Mail) City of Los Angeles
(8/31/11), and (E-Mail) Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (8/31/11).
Department Approval:
Art Ida (09/12/11)
Charles D. Herbertson (09/13/11)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (09/20/11)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (09/20/11)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (09/20/11)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (Metro) for the purpose of establishing the roles and
responsibilities of each funding agency participating in the I-10/Robertson/National
Area Circulation Improvement Project (Project).
BACKGROUND:
In 2003, the Project was identified by the Westside Cities Council of Governments
as one of the top priority projects to help relieve traffic congestion in the Westside
area of the County of Los Angeles. The Project area is located primarily within the
City of Los Angeles, but includes a portion of Culver City around the Exposition Light
Rail Transit (Expo) Culver City Station. The street system in the Project area has a
dysfunctional on/off-ramp configuration and skewed intersection alignments of the
major streets. The current configurations and alignments, coupled with inadequate
roadway capacity, create severe traffic circulation and congestion issues for
motorists. As a result, the area suffers from frequent poor traffic conditions as
motorists travel circuitously to and from the freeway ramps. The westbound I-10
on/off ramps are located at different locations, with the off ramp located north of the
freeway and the on ramp located south of the freeway. The eastbound I-10 on/off City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
ramps are also at different locations, with the on ramp at National Boulevard and the
off ramp at Robertson/Venice/Higuera.
Recognizing this problem, the cities of Culver City and Los Angeles, Metro, and the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) met several times, dating back to
2004, to explore longer-term strategies for this area. Several design alternatives
discussed involved relocating freeway ramps and reconfiguring streets. However,
the design alternatives required feasibility, environmental, and other technical
studies to be funded before the project could go any further. In 2005, Culver City
obtained a federal grant of up to $2 million through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) for the
planning, design and engineering of improvements at the I-10/Robertson/National
area. The grant required a 20% (up to $500,000) local match, of which Los Angeles,
Culver City, and Metro will contribute $250,000, $150,000, and $100,000
respectively. Metro’s contribution is pursuant to Mitigation Measure T2 (I-10
Robertson Boulevard Ramps) in the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Los
Angeles Mid-City Westside Transit Corridor / Mid-City Exposition Light Rail Transit
Project.
During the past few years, City staff worked collaboratively with representatives from
the City of Los Angeles Transportation Department (LADOT), Los Angeles City
Council Districts 5 and 10, Metro, and Caltrans to establish project goals and
objectives, discuss additional design alternatives, and draft an agreement that
defines the roles and responsibilities of the parties contributing financially to the
project. In 2009, Culver City and LADOT agreed that with most of the project area
residing in the City of Los Angeles, the limited resources at Culver City, and the
availability of technical staff within LADOT to oversee a consultant contract for the
required work, that it would be more practical if Culver City transferred ownership of
the grant to LADOT. On October 30, 2009, Caltrans and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) approved LADOT’s authorization to proceed with the project
as the new project lead agency.
DISCUSSION:
The I-10/Robertson/National Area Circulation Improvement Project is envisioned to
develop and evaluate alternatives to address the following issues:
• Bottlenecks (and motorists confusion) on I-10 and all major streets caused by
the existing on/off-ramp system and street configuration;
• Circuitous traffic movements in the area and conflicting movements between
vehicles and other modes of transportation;
• Adverse impacts created by traffic to and from parking facilities and bus stop
areas at the Expo Culver City Station;
• Traffic generated by all developments in the area, including the proposed
future higher-density developments adjacent to the Expo station; and, City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
• Inefficient operation of the I-10 Freeway at and around Robertson Boulevard.
The objectives of the project are to produce several Caltrans and Los Angeles City
required environmental and technical documents (such as a feasibility study, project
initiation document, and an environmental impact report/statement) within a few
years that will incorporate stakeholder and public comments, evaluate several
project alternatives and recommend a preferred alternative. This recommendation,
along with the supporting documents, will then serve as a basis to apply for state
and federal funding for construction of the approved alternative.
The MOU identifies the roles and responsibilities of the financially contributing
agencies and the administration and oversight of the Project and consultant(s).
LADOT staff will administer the grant and serve as the project manager over a
consultant team responsible for delivering the necessary studies/reports. Staff from
the cities of Culver City and Los Angeles and Metro will work cooperatively on
project consultant selection, review/revision/approval of the studies and plans, and
public outreach to achieve a mutually beneficial final product. After the execution of
the MOU, LADOT will go through a competitive bidding process to release a
Request for Proposal, negotiate and execute a contract with a consultant.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The Project will not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. The contract amount,
estimated up to $2,500,000, consists of $2,000,000 of federal (SAFETEA-LU)
funding, $250,000 from the City of Los Angeles, $150,000 from Culver City
(Transportation Fund), and $100,000 from Metro.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Los Angeles and the
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority related to the
I/10/Robertson/National Area Circulation Improvement Project; and,
2. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and,
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.