Newport Beach pursues grant to help pay for planned shuttle service
Newport Beach city leaders took a step forward this week with a plan to launch a free shuttle service that could move locals and visitors around the Balboa Peninsula during busy summer weekends.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to apply for a grant from the Orange County Transportation Authority that would cover more than 90% of infrastructure, operation and maintenance costs associated with the shuttle.
The Transportation Authority offers grants to help municipalities develop local shuttle or bus services if their needs are not met by existing regional transit. OCTA is considering eliminating bus Route 71, the only transit service offered on the peninsula, according to a city staff report.
City staff expects to launch Newport’s shuttle service in May 2017. The total cost for the first year is estimated at $224,430. With the grant, the city would have to contribute $20,937 in the first year and $9,337 each year afterward.
The OCTA grant is expected to be awarded in June.
According to city documents, the city is considering operating four or five shuttles along Balboa Boulevard on 10 summer weekends and on Independence Day from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. There also would be a 7:30 a.m. service on those summer weekends to accommodate people traveling on the Catalina Flyer.
The shuttles could start as vans — similar to how Dana Point ran its service the first year — and then eventually be switched to electric-powered open-air trolley-style buses, the staff report states.
Community leaders have been working for years to upgrade the aging downtown area with streetscape, new signs and repairs to business facades. The Balboa Village Advisory Committee, made up of area business owners, residents and city officials, has been considering for some time the question of how to transport people around the area in the busiest months, members say.
The Balboa Peninsula is narrow, with a main drag that becomes crowded during the summer, with few available parking spots. Local leaders believe a shuttle service may alleviate some of the traffic congestion, with visitors able to park at a city-owned lot at Superior Avenue and Coast Highway and then take the shuttle onto the peninsula.
In May, the city hired Dan Boyle & Associates, a San Diego-based transportation planning firm, to look into the potential routes, cost and market for a transit service. Members of the Balboa Village Advisory Committee were supportive of the plan and voted to send the idea to the City Council for consideration last year.
