City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: DECEMBER 13, 2022 FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION TO APPROVE THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE LOCAL ROADWAY SAFETY PLAN ISSUE:
Consider adoption of a Resolution to approve the City of Riverside Local Roadway Safety Plan, a data-driven document that systematically identifies and analyzes citywide traffic collision histories, roadway safety concerns and recommends proven safety countermeasure improvements to reduce traffic collisions.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council adopt a Resolution to approve the proposed City of Riverside Local Roadway Safety Plan.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
The Transportation Board met on November 2, 2022, to review the draft City of Riverside Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP). The Board unanimously recommended that the City Council approve and adopt the proposed final version of the City of Riverside LRSP.
BACKGROUND:
On October 10, 2019, the Public Works Department submitted a grant application to Caltrans for funding to establish a Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP). On December 4, 2019, Caltrans awarded the grant application and allocated $72,000, with the City providing a matching fund of $28,000 toward this effort (total of $100,000 available). On June 28, 2022, City Council awarded a Professional Services Agreement to Kimley Horn & Associates Inc to complete a LRSP in the amount of $99,508.23.
As part of an ongoing effort to identify and implement roadway safety improvements, the intent of an LRSP document is to:
Evaluate and develop recommendations for focused safety improvements to address local highway safety needs Maintain eligibility for future safety grant funding opportunities such as Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), Safe Streets for All (SS4A), etc.
Evaluate crash history affecting all transportation modes Identify crash types and locations
Develop a stakeholder group representing multiple disciplines within the City The LRSP builds on the recently adopted Riverside PACT (Pedestrian Target Safeguarding Plan, Active Transportation Master Plan, Complete Streets Ordinance, and Trails Master Plan Update) which included a comprehensive analysis of pedestrian and bicycle involved collisions throughout the city.
DISCUSSION:
What is an LRSP?
Local Roadway Safety Plans have been proven to reduce fatalities on local roads in states that have implemented them, and implementation of this LRSP will improve transportation safety for the City’s residents and visitors.
The Public Works Department has a demonstrated history of promoting safety and improving the transportation network aligned with the City’s Strategic Plan. Existing efforts have included traffic safety studies at multiple locations citywide, grant funding pursuits, monthly safety education programs, and infrastructure improvements. Examples include the installation of High Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) signals, yellow reflective signal head backplates, buffered bike lanes, high visibility crosswalks, audible pedestrian signals, radar speed feedback signs, and traffic calming measures to reduce traffic speeds to name a few.
Development of the LRSP
As part of this LRSP, a five-year collision history database was developed using data from the City’s Crossroads Traffic Collision Database Software and the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). The collision history was then analyzed to identify the primary causes and concerns for traffic collisions within the City’s roadway network. The analysis found that there were 16,081 police-reported collisions Citywide between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2022. Of these, 89 resulted in fatalities and 327 resulted in severe injuries, which combined totals 416 and represents 2.6% of all collisions as shown in the Executive Summary of the LRSP. The three most common overall collision factors in Riverside during this timeframe were Improper Turning (28%), Unsafe Speed (19%), and other improper driving (11%) as shown in Table 4 of the LRSP.
Infrastructure improvements were identified for consideration at roadways and intersections with a documented history of collisions. Staff will determine appropriate placement of identified improvements for future grant funding pursuits, such as the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants. The LRSP identified 12 case study locations within the city, including representative signalized intersections, uncontrolled intersections, and roadway segments. Each location was analyzed for specific collision history and potential safety countermeasures. This analysis allows staff to focus on identified needs to apply for grants or implement safety improvements as part of capital improvement projects. Future updates to the LRSP can add additional intersections or street segments based on incident data trends.
Stakeholder Engagement:
The LRSP project created a team of stakeholders consisting of multi-disciplinary decisionmakers and partners throughout the city. Stakeholders were selected for their influence over the 4 “E”s (Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Services) of transportation safety and their ability to coordinate specialized services for the City of Riverside within their respective agencies. The stakeholder group consisted of representatives from Riverside Police Department, University of California Riverside, Riverside Unified School District, Riverside Community Health Foundation, Center for Environmental Research and Technology (UCR CE-CERT), Riverside Downtown Partnership, and the Riverside Bicycle Club.
Two stakeholder meetings were conducted virtually on August 4, 2022 and September 1, 2022. Stakeholders provided feedback on the content and accuracy of the LRSP. Stakeholders will convene annually, at the request of the City of Riverside, to confirm the safety goals and direction of the LRSP, which is intended to be a living document.
The LRSP will augment projects identified in the Riverside PACT. Projects within the PACT are a product of extensive community engagement including over 40 stakeholder meetings and several online engagements attended which reached approximately 900 live online viewers. Data from the LRSP will be used to inform the community engagement process of the forthcoming General Plan Circulation Update.
Additionally, City staff and the project team conducted a field evaluation and visited all 12 case study sites to obtain field notes, capture photos and verify feasibility of proposed infrastructure improvements.
Grant Application Efforts:
A draft LRSP document was prerequisite for applying for the Cycle XI Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant funds and the USDOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant funds. On September 6, 2022, City Council authorized the submittal of a Cycle XI HSIP grant in the amount up to $10 million. The Public Works Department applied for both the Cycle XI HSIP grant funds and US Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant funds, each with a total project cost of $9,018,200 on September 12, 2022, and September 15, 2022, respectively.
Both grant applications were derived from the LRSP effort and propose implementation of the following proven safety countermeasure improvements:
Implement a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) signal timing Install retroreflective backplates at all signalized intersections Construct median improvements along Mission Inn Avenue
The Federal Highway Administration has provided studies showing that retroreflective backplates can contribute to a 10% reduction in collisions when implemented, Leading Pedestrian Intervals provide a safety benefit of 13% reduction in pedestrian-vehicle collisions at intersections, and median barriers estimate a reduction in head-on and cross-median collisions in the range of 8% up to 97%. The City has previously implemented a pilot program to install retroreflective backplates at 10 signalized intersections in 2017.
Summary:
The development of the Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) consisted of a data-driven review of police-reported traffic collision history specifically within the city boundaries during the most recent five years (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2022), coordination with representative stakeholders of the city, and establishes a prioritized plan of proven safety countermeasures to reduce or eliminate future traffic collisions citywide. The LRSP satisfies the minimum requirements of a data-driven traffic safety improvement plan for multiple safety grant applications.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The Riverside LRSP contributes to Strategic Priority 6 – Infrastructure, Mobility & Connectivity and Goal 6.2 to maintain, protect and improve assets and infrastructure within the City’s built environment to ensure and enhance reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and facilitate connectivity.
Furthermore, the LRSP aligns with the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – Throughout the LRSP development process, the community was reached through the representative stakeholder groups representing the interests of residents, public safety, community health, education, and bicycle advocates. The project management team hosted two stakeholder meetings to discuss the LRSP.
Equity – The development of the LRSP is a tool that helps promote the safe usage of City roads by motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians that utilize the public streets and roadways across the entirety of the City.
Fiscal Responsibility – The LRSP is a document that satisfies the minimum eligibility requirements for safety grant applications and provides the means to empower staff to easily pursue safety grant applications for improving roadway safety. The LRSP is a document that is necessary to pursue and receive grant funds that can be utilized to improve the traffic safety of the community.
Innovation – The LRSP is the first data driven safety analysis document of its kind for Riverside. It evaluates historical collision trends, identifies new strategies and safety countermeasures that can be implemented on a system-wide basis and provides a prioritized and detailed infrastructure improvement plan for future implementation.
Sustainability & Resiliency – As a living document, the LRSP will be valid for 5 years and can be built upon in the future. The LRSP supports the City’s goals for sustainability and its attention to community health, safety, and resident resilience.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with approval of the Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP).
Prepared by: Gilbert Hernandez, Public Works Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Resolution
Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP)
Transportation Board Meeting Minutes – November 2, 2022 Presentation
City of Riverside Local Roadway Safety Plan ● Page 2