CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: October 6, 2025
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
TITLE: ADOPT RESOLUTION -25 AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH
KIMLEY HORN TO PREPARE A STUDY FOR THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL (SS4A) SAFETY ACTION PLAN
SYNOPSIS
This item requests authorization for the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Kimley Horn (Consultant) to perform engineering services to prepare a comprehensive roadway safety action plan (Action Plan). The agreement requires the Consultant to collect citywide traffic data, identify traffic injury emphasis areas, perform site-specific case studies, and perform outreach to stakeholders. An Action Plan is required for the City to be eligible to apply for current and future federal, state, and regional transportation grants.
DISCUSSION
Background
Federal regulations required that the City prepare a Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) to address roadway safety in its own jurisdiction and to support the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) mandate, a statewide approach to improve roadway safety. The LRSP creates a framework to systematically identify and analyze safety problems and recommend safety improvements. The LRSP provides a framework for organizing stakeholders to identify, analyze, and prioritize roadway safety improvements on our local roads. A completed and approved LRSP must be on file with Caltrans for the City of Pleasant Hill to be eligible to apply for current and future federal and state transportation grants.
In late 2019, Caltrans announced a Call-for-Project for an LRSP from local agencies statewide.
Staff applied for and received $40,000, which was the State grant maximum amount available to the City of Pleasant Hill based on the City’s population at the time and total road miles. These State grant funds were designated for preliminary engineering only, including the collection of historical collision data and roadway data, identifying potential roadway hazards, developing solutions, recommending safety improvements, prioritizing implementation, outlining stakeholder outreach efforts, documenting findings, and preparing a final report.
In August 2022, the City hired Advanced Mobility Group to develop the City’s LRSP. Their scope of work included the following: collect citywide roadway and collision data; identify potential roadway hazards and hot spots; develop an action plan to address multi-modal transportation safety needs; conduct outreach to stakeholders and prioritize implementation. Additionally, the LRSP was to provide a proactive approach to addressing citywide transportation safety needs and demonstrate agency responsiveness to safety challenges. Advanced Mobility Group completed the LSRP in September 2022 and although it was approved by City Council on September 12, 2022, the City Council expressed concerns about the breadth and depth of the report, and requested that staff make the LRSP more robust by including additional public outreach, speed studies, as well as an in-depth look at collision data on all City streets.
Toward this goal, on January 31,2023, the City was awarded $240,000 in federal USDOT SS4A grant funds, which required a local match of $60,000 to fund the preparation of a Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan. The local match was approved and funded by FY23/24 Measure K funds.
The SS4A Action Plan will build on the City’s existing 2021 Local Road Safety Plan and meet federal requirements. The goal is to take a citywide look at traffic safety using data and community input, with an emphasis on making it safer for people walking and biking, especially around schools and along the City’s major streets. The plan will also serve as a Vision Zero framework, aiming to reduce and ultimately eliminate serious crashes.
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) requires all local agencies prepare a SS4A Safety Action Plan to be eligible to pursue current and future federal, state, and regional transportation grant funds. The SS4A Safety Action Plan is an essential document that enables the City to apply for federal funding for roadway safety improvement projects. While not federally mandated, an approved SS4A Action Plan is a prerequisite for participating in the USDOT SS4A grant program and Caltrans Local Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). These grant funding opportunities will be necessary to help fund in part any future local roadway safety improvements within the City.
As part of the plan, the selected consultant will outline potential street improvements and traffic calming measures for the public can review and provide feedback. This process will help prioritize future projects and make the City more competitive for grant funding. The plan will also align with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Smart Intersections Program, which is upgrading traffic signals along major corridors. Consultants working on the plan will be expected to bring expertise in multi-modal safety, traffic signals, and data collection to ensure recommendations reflect both current needs and long-term goals.
Analysis
On July 14, 2025, staff released a Request for Proposals to 11 qualified transportation and civil engineering firms known to do this type of work. Three firms submitted proposals before the August 15, 2025 deadline: TJKM, Kimley Horn, and Fehr & Peers.
To select the most qualified firm, staff evaluated each proposal and ranked them based on the following scoring criteria: project understanding, approach, project team qualifications, ability to deliver on time, and use of innovative solutions. The firms were ranked as listed below.
Rank No. 1 Kimley Horn Pleasanton, CA
Rank No. 2 Fehr & Peers Walnut Creek, CA
Rank No. 3 TJKM Pleasanton, CA
Staff conducted interviews with Kimley Horn and Fehr & Peers, during which Kimley Horn demonstrated pertinent project understanding and insight through identification of collision locations, and innovative strategies for public outreach. In addition, Kimley Horn’s expertise in this area has helped municipalities in California successfully secure over $49.5 million in traffic safety capital project related grant funds; $244.45M for clients across the United States.
Kimley Horn provided a complete proposal for the scope of work, was ranked highest by the selection committee, and has stated they can complete the design services within the given timeframe. Staff believes that the Kimley Horn team has the expertise and professional competency to deliver a successful project within the project schedule and budget.
FISCAL IMPACT
Kimley Horn’s proposal costs $274,849, and staff recommends a contingency of $25,151, for a total project cost of $300,000. The project is funded by $240,000 US Department of Transportation grant funds and $60,000 of FY23/24 Measure K funds.
The Finance Division has confirmed that these funds are available for use on this project.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public Contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center, and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page.
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Adopt Resolution.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
None recommended.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Proposed Resolution
Agreement
Exhibit A. Proposal
Exhibit B. Fee Proposal
Prepared by: Laetitia Galeazzi, Senior Civil Engineer
Reviewed by: Ann James, Public Works Director
Approved by: Ethan Bindernagel, City Manager