STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of April 23, 2024
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Michael Roberts, Public Works Director/City Engineer SUBJECT: Review and Approval of the Local Road Safety Plan RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive a presentation on the Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP), discuss, provide feedback if any, and adopt a resolution approving the LRSP.
BACKGROUND:
The goal of the Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) is to eliminate traffic collision fatalities and serious injuries for all modes of transportation on City streets. The LRSP provides a framework for organizing stakeholders to identify, analyze, and prioritize safety improvements on local roads. This process typically entails assembling a core group of stakeholders; then reviewing crash, traffic, and roadway data; engaging the community; and culminates in a list of prioritized safety improvements.
MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission), Caltrans, and FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) are now requiring local agencies develop a LRSP to be eligible for safety-related grants, such as the new federal Safe Streets and Roads for All and Highway Safety Improvement Program.
In 2022 the City applied for a $36,000 grant from Caltrans to develop a LRSP and was awarded the full amount, which requires a $4,000 match. The services of Kittelson & Associates, Inc. in the amount of $40,000 was subsequently secured to assist the City in the development of the Plan. Kittelson was selected by the CCTA (Contra Costa Transportation Authority) to provide support to West County Cities with the development of their respective LRSPs. Utilizing Kittelson allows Hercules’ Plan to be seamlessly integrated into CCTA Countywide Safety Action Plan that is under development. CCTA intends to apply for roadway safety grants for regional projects, which if successful would benefit individual jurisdictions such as Hercules.
In July 2023, City Council referred the development of the Draft LRSP to the Public Safety/Traffic Council Subcommittee. The Council Subcommittee conducted 2 meetings:
Meeting #1 (October 2023): Introduced the LRSP and safety management process, discussed stakeholder roles, discussed crash analysis results, and identified initial priority locations.
Meeting #2 (March 2024): Reviewed Draft LRSP and priority projects and strategies, identified any needed changes ahead of full City Council review.
The Kittelson & Associates, Inc. team provided technical support during these meetings in addition to researching crash data and developing priority safety projects or strategies. Public outreach also occurred through a pop-up event conducted at October’s Pumpkataaz at the Community Center and remotely on Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s (CCTA) website where participants engaged in an interactive map to show their locations of concern.
The Draft LRSP is now being recommended to the full City Council for review and approval.
ANALYSIS:
The draft LRFP identifies eleven Priority Intersections and one Priority Corridor due to their collision severity scores. These locations were identified through network screening of citywide reported collisions from January 2018 through December 2022. The screening process identifies intersections and segments with the highest collision frequency and severity to determine locations where improvements may have the highest impact.
Priority Intersections
#
Location
Control Type
Collision Severity Score
1 Sycamore Avenue & Willow Avenue
Signalized
52.55 2
Sycamore Avenue & Railroad Avenue
Unsignalized
42.51 3
Lupine Road & Sequoia Road
Unsignalized
41.29 4
Canterbury Road & Gloucester & Dartford Street
Unsignalized
39.15 5
Sycamore Avenue & Civic Drive*
Unsignalized
39.15 6
Tsushima Street & Riverview Terrace
Unsignalized
39.15 7
Pheasant Drive & Eagle Court
Unsignalized
39.15 8
Marigold Place & Sunflower Court
Unsignalized
39.15 9
Opal Court & Turquoise Drive
Unsignalized
39.15 10
San Pablo Avenue & Hercules Avenue
Signalized
31.002
11 San Pablo Avenue & Sycamore Avenue
Signalized
28.85 Priority Intersections Location Map
Priority Corridor
#
Location
Limits
Collision Severity Score
1 San Pablo Avenue
South of State Route 4 to Hercules City Limits
48.438
Priority Corridor Location Map
Using this collision-based methodology is required for LRSP projects to be eligible for future grant opportunities. There are other areas in the City’s transportation network that would benefit from safety enhancements and will continue to be a priority but do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the LRSP which is based on crash data.
Kittleson representatives will be attending tonight’s meeting and be able to respond to questions about the locations in the LRSP and the methodology used.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this agenda item.
Attachments:
Resolution
Draft Local Roadway Safety Plan
Local Roadway Safety Plan Presentation