DATE: June 16, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the Foster City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
Marlene Subhashini, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Andrew Brozyna, Public Works Director
Laura Galli, Engineering Manager
Francine Magno, Senior Civil Engineer
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF COUNTY WIDE AND FOSTER CITY LOCAL
ROADWAY SAFETY PLAN (LRSP) AND ACCOMPANYING
VISION ZERO GOAL
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council of the City of Foster City adopt the attached resolution accepting the Countywide and Foster City Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) and accompanying Vision Zero Goal.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In March 2023, the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) Board of Directors hired Kittelson & Associates (Kittelson) to develop a San Mateo Countywide LRSP, which included a standalone chapter for Foster City. An LRSP identifies and analyzes roadway safety needs and develops a prioritized list of safety improvements. It establishes goals to reduce and eventually eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries using a data-driven, multi-disciplinary approach that increases safe mobility for all. The Traffic Review Committee (TRC) met to review and discuss the LRSP at the May 29, 2025 regular meeting. The TRC recommends the City Council adopt the Countywide and Local Roadway Safety Plan, including the accompanying Vision Zero Goal.
City Council’s approval of the attached resolution will adopt the Countywide and Foster City LRSP as a guiding document to address safety needs and render the City eligible for future grant funding.
BACKGROUND
On January 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) adopted Resolution No. 4505 outlining the One Bay Area 3 (OBAG 3) County & Local Program’s policies and procedures for the selection of projects to be funded with Surface Transportation Planning, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds. A requirement to maintain eligibility for OBAG 3 funding is that jurisdictions must have an LRSP or equivalent safety plan in place. As a result, C/CAG initiated a procurement process to hire a firm to prepare an LRSP for San Mateo County and for the 10 County jurisdictions lacking an existing plan (including Foster City). The C/CAG Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) provided review and input into the RFP prior to solicitation.
On March 9, 2023, the C/CAG Board of Directors awarded an agreement to Kittelson for the preparation of the LRSP and development began in Spring 2023. The project team assembled a working advisory group comprised of city staff from various San Mateo County jurisdictions (including Foster City staff), public health staff, public safety, and other community partners to inform the development of the plan. The advisory group met three times throughout the course of the plan’s development. The advisory group played an integral part in identifying priorities, provided a local context, and reviewed various stages of the plan development. In addition, the project team held various public engagement events across the County in August 2023, December 2023, and January 2024 to receive feedback on areas of safety concern from the public. For Foster City, outreach took place at the City’s Summer Days event in August 2023.
Draft versions of the LRSP were presented to the CCAG TAC and Board on March 21, 2024, and April 11, 2024, respectively. Input and comments provided by each body were incorporated into the final plans. The C/CAG TAC and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) recommended approval of the Final San Mateo Countywide LRSP at their May 16 and May 23, 2024, meetings, respectively. On June 13, 2024, the C/CAG Board of Directors approved Resolution 24-47 adopting the Final San Mateo Countywide LRSP and accompanying Vision Zero Goal.
ANALYSIS
Following the C/CAG Board of Directors adoption of the Final San Mateo Countywide LRSP, it was anticipated that the 10 cities (Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Colma, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, San Carlos, and Woodside) that were provided individual plans through the Countywide LRSP process would locally adopt separate resolutions in order to become eligible for future USDOT, Caltrans, and other safety funding opportunities.
The adoption of the LRSP supports Foster City’s desire to improve roadway safety. The LRSP identifies existing conditions of the roadway network and analyzes roadway safety needs. Through this analysis, the LRSP develops a framework for systematic safety improvements in the areas of engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency response. An LRSP offers a proactive approach to addressing safety needs and demonstrates an agency’s responsiveness to safety challenges. The LRSP also contributes to the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), which aims to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries across the State’s roadways.
The adoption of the Countywide and the Foster City LRSP includes the adoption of the County’s accompanying Vision Zero Goal. A Vision Zero Goal establishes a desired future condition that maintains a safe transportation system, achievable with collaboration efforts amongst all agencies within the County to eliminate death and severe injury on county and local roads. Foster City’s Vision Zero Goal is to “Eliminate all traffic fatalities and reduce the number of non-fatal crashes by 50% by 2050 as part of a broader effort to promote roadway safety for Foster City’s employees, businesses, and residents”. The LRSP contains an engineering countermeasure (improvements) toolbox which includes specific actions that could be implemented to make progress towards Foster City‘s Vision Zero Goal. Countermeasure examples include raised medians, improved traffic signal hardware, street lighting improvements, or additional pedestrian crossings, In addition, both near-term and long-term policy and program recommendations are included in the LRSP such as engaging in a High-Visibility Media Campaign to maximize exposure while promoting safety awareness, deployment of more speed monitoring awareness radar trailers, and/or roadway safety education in schools. Progress towards the Vision Zero Goal will be presented annually to the City Council. To further enable collaboration between jurisdictions, City staff will participate in an inter-jurisdictional Transportation Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) led by C/CAG, with staff from partner agencies.
The TRC met to review and discuss the Roadway Safety Plan at the May 29, 2025 regular meeting. The TRC recommends the Council adopt the Countywide and Local Roadway Safety Plan, including the accompanying Vision Zero Goal.
CEQA
This action does not require a CEQA exemption.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no fiscal impacts associated with this Council action.
The development of the Countywide LRSP and the Foster City Chapter was funded through Federal Surface Transportation Funds, including Local Congestion Relief Plan funds match, secured by C/CAG.
The adoption of the Foster City LRSP will render the City eligible for future grant funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), OBAG 3 County and Local Program, Caltrans Highway Safety Improvement Program, and US Department of Transportation Safe Streets for All (SS4A).
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Infrastructure and Facilities
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – CCAG Countywide LRSP - Foster City Chapter Exhibit A (Link only) – County Wide Local Roadway Safety Plan (includes Foster City Chapter on pg. 263): https://ccag.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/28717_CCAG- Countywide-LRSP-Countywide-Local-w-appendices_Jun7_2.pdf