Lane effort building its momentum

The $514 million Managed Lanes project will build a new lane in each direction on Highway 101 between Interstate 380 and Whipple Road. The far left lane in each direction will be converted to an express lane and commensurate signs and real-time surveillance equipment will be installed. Those lanes are intended to improve traffic by allowing buses, carpools of three people or more and motorcycles to travel free while charging an electronic toll for other drivers who choose to use them.

Whether two-person carpools and clean-air vehicles ride free or discounted is yet to be determined, as is a potential reduction for low-income drivers.

While Managed Lanes will not officially be voted on until the environmental review is complete, decisions have and will be made before then.

Several board members, for example, were surprised and less than thrilled to learn that they will only be choosing between no project or express lanes moving forward. Past alternatives, such as carpool lanes, are now off the table.

Boardmember Karyl Matsumoto, South San Francisco mayor pro tempore, also said she’s “not enamored” with the project as it exists and wished carpool lanes would be installed first before making the leap to express lanes.

The toll aspect continues to concern some boardmembers, especially county Supervisor David Canepa, who has been an outspoken critic of express lanes.

“It’s always been an equity issue for me,” he said. “I just don’t believe that people should move to the front of the line [by paying a toll].”

While toll policies haven’t been decided and prices would fluctuate, Leo Scott, a consultant with Gray-Bowen-Scott, said estimates suggest tolls would average nearly $1 per mile on the stretch of Highway 101 in San Mateo County, which is on the cheaper end compared to express lanes elsewhere in the nation. Express lanes on Interstate 495 in Washington, D.C., for example, charge an average of almost $4 per mile.

Scott said estimates are in the $9.7 million to $20.5 million range for annual net revenue, while the first year would bring in between zero and $11.5 million. He said that first year does not typically result in a profit for agencies and added revenue from San Mateo County’s express lanes would be higher than anywhere else in the Bay Area.

The immediate decision facing the board is what agency will own and operate San Mateo County’s express lanes if they’re installed. Scott said the decision is needed now because the owner determines the operator and the operator’s input is needed during the design phase, which is “progressing rapidly.”

The owner would own the tolling equipment and related highway infrastructure, set policy and rates and pay for the operation and maintenance of the facility, among other duties. They’re also responsible for liabilities.

The operator, on the other hand, would manage day-to-day operations and maintenance.

The board can create its own agency to own and operate the facility or it could outsource the operator role to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Another option is to hand the reins over to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, in which case it would both own and operate the express lanes, per MTC’s policy.

“Everyone wants to maximize control and minimize risk,” said Boardmember Doug Kim, Belmont mayor. “You want agencies with experience and a track record, which points toward the MTC model. ... Frankly if C/CAG were the owners I’d have concerns.”

Scott said if C/CAG would take on an “observation and oversight role” if it chose to hand control over to MTC.

“If you let MTC have it, they get the whole thing,” he said.

That left some boardmembers concerned.

“I have problems with MTC being the owner,” said Boardmember Gina Papan, Millbrae mayor. “We’d have one vote out of eight and I don’t appreciate their familiarity with our corridor. I’m not comfortable turning over control to them. I think it’s important for us to maintain control.”

Papan added that she’d be interested in knowing the terms of how long the owner or operator would be involved.

Those decisions will be made in the coming months, but concerns with express lanes, particularly around the equity issue, persist as the project progresses.

“We’re faced with two choices: not to build, which would leave us with what we have — congestion, no social equity anyway and no way to change that. And then build, which we will have more information for,” said Boardmember Irene O’Connell, San Bruno councilwoman.

The board will receive more information on the project and continue the discussion at a study session scheduled for August or September. C/CAG is a joint powers authority comprised of board members representing each city and the county that works on quality of life issues such as air quality and transportation, among others.

The environmental review for Managed Lanes is expected to wrap up in October and the design phase in the summer of 2019, while the entire project is scheduled to be complete by 2021.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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