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DATE: OCTOBER 8, 2024
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
FROM: DAVID JACOBS, DIRECTOR
BY: HEIDI NIGGEMEYER, NPDES PROGRAM MANAGER
TITLE: IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW STREET SWEEPING ROUTES AND INSTALLATION OF PARKING RESTRICTIONS IN A PILOT AREA TO IMPROVE STREET SWEEPING EFFECTIVENESS RECOMMENDED MOTION:
A motion to approve a Resolution:
Approving the new street sweeping routes;
Installation of signage in the Pilot Route area; and
Delegating authority to the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with one of the City’s approved on-call Class A contractors, following selection through a competitive process, for the fabrication and installation of “No Parking” signage in an amount not to exceed $600,000.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City is required to revise and implement an effective street sweeping program to be in compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit issued in 2019. The City’s current street sweeping routes were introduced in 2012, sweeping both sides of the street on the same day. They could be significantly more effective at removing debris by revising routes to sweep opposite curb sides on different days and including parking restrictions on high and medium priority streets to ensure the sweeper has full curb access to remove debris. Comprehensive road condition and curb access data was collected across the City to identify key considerations for route revisions and designating areas to pilot No Parking signage. New street sweeping routes were designed and tested by City maintenance staff, and pilot routes were selected for parking restrictions based on data collected to date. The costs to install No Parking signage in the pilot area and purchase equipment and software for the program will be paid for via ARPA funds. To ensure the City maintains compliance with the NPDES permit, staff recommends that City Council approve the new street sweeping routes and installation of parking restrictions in the pilot area, and appropriate funds for the required signage.
BACKGROUND:
Street sweeping is an effective method to reduce trash, debris and other pollutants from reaching local waterways. As such, the past two NPDES stormwater permits have mandated the City of Salinas to enhance its street sweeping program to optimize pollutant removal from streets (2019 Order R3-2019-0073, 2012 Order R3-2012-0005). Currently, the street sweeping program has 30 unique routes and sweeps all City-maintained streets at least twice a month, with two routes on heavily trafficked commercial roads swept weekly. However, the current routes sweep both sides of the street on the same day, often resulting in the sweeper just driving down the middle of the street due to parked cars. Already in the 2024 calendar year, street sweepers have removed more than 2,000 tons of debris from City streets. Although the current practices remove considerable debris from Salinas streets, the sweeping effectiveness can be significantly improved by revising the routes to sweep on alternate days and increasing curb access where pollutants and trash accumulate. The 2019 NPDES permit mandates the City to improve its overall street sweeping effectiveness by implementing parking restrictions on high and medium priority streets to ensure the sweeper has full access to the curb. Per the current NPDES Permit (Section M.6.c.ii):
“Parking restrictions – By the end of Year 3, the Permittee shall revise and commence implementation of its parking restriction strategy, including parking restrictions and public outreach, to ensure that street sweepers can access and sweep gutters for all High and Medium Priority streets and to increase the effectiveness of sweeping operations for the entire roadway width. By the end of Year 5, the Permittee shall complete implementation of the revised parking restrictions.” Beginning in 2017, City staff and street sweeper operators implemented several studies to collect road debris and curb access data across all existing streets. Data collected in these efforts illustrates areas in greatest need of parking restrictions based on two criteria: poor curb access and high rates of road debris accumulation at the curb. City streets were prioritized based on these criteria. The data collected was entered into 2NForm, our stormwater information system, and this data was mapped to geospatially show the areas where the high priority streets are located (see slides 18-20 in presentation). Those with the worst curb access and high trash accumulation rate at the curb were rated as High Priority (darker colored streets). The remaining streets were ranked according to the same criteria to determine Medium and Low Priority streets. In Year 3 (2022), we began revision of street sweeping routes and community outreach regarding the upcoming changes to the street sweeping routes and potential No Parking signage. We are now at the end of year 5 (2024) and we are looking to implement No Parking signage on a Pilot route. A community engagement effort addressing street sweeping signage in the Monte Bella community in 2022 showed residents wished to spread the parking restrictions over a two-day period to accommodate moving of vehicles to the opposite side of the street on the designated street sweeping day. The City, therefore, redesigned its current routes to sweep opposite curb sides on different days to meet the NPDES sweeping effectiveness requirement with minimized impact to residents.
City staff designed new routes using RouteSmart software. The software facilitates efficient and geographically balanced route development servicing opposite curbs on different days. In total, the redesigned routes include 21 unique routes that maintain the same sweeping frequency on all roads that are currently swept (Attachment 1). All routes have been test-driven by Public Works staff and have been modified to address any issues with route modeling to ensure routes minimize cross traffic left turns and provide safe U-turns.
As instructed by the 2019 NPDES permit, parking restrictions must be implemented on pilot routes by 2022-2023 and in all high priority areas by 2024. The City invested in data collection and public outreach to successfully roll out the new street sweeping program with parking restrictions. It, also, requires a significant amount of monetary resources to sign each route. A CIP has been set up to facilitate the signage of one or two new high priority routes each fiscal year. The City has utilized the best available data to select a pilot area to implement parking restrictions. Data collected to date illustrates areas in greatest need of parking restrictions based on two criteria: poor curb access and high rates of road debris accumulation. City staff selected an east Alisal neighborhood, where data show curb access is low and road debris is high, for a pilot effort to implement parking restrictions (Attachment 2). The designated pilot area will allow staff to observe the effectiveness of the program on water quality by collecting samples at an existing monitoring outfall in the pilot area.
As per City Code Chapter 12-21, Public Works purchases, as otherwise directed by the City Council, whenever the amount to be expended for any purchase whatsoever is in excess of one hundred thousand dollars, the purchasing agent shall advertise for sealed bids and the contract of purchase shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Costs to sign the pilot routes were estimated by the City’s traffic division utilizing our current “On-Call” signage contractor fee schedule, whose contract has now expired. Thus, staff is requesting to utilize one of the “Class A” contractors, who were selected using the RFQ process, to fabricate and install the No Parking signage on a competitive basis. Once the City Council has approved the allocation of ARPA funds for No Parking signage, bids will be obtained from the on-call Class A contractors for the fabrication and installation of the No Parking signage as per the Sign Plan developed by the Traffic Division. The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
No Parking signs will be placed a minimum of 200 feet apart in the pilot area to notify motorists of the street sweeping schedule. The Monte Bella neighborhood included in the pilot routes is already signed with parking restrictions, reducing the number of signs needed to be installed and the overall cost to implement the pilot program. Fabrication and installation of the No Parking signage has been estimated to cost approximately $600,000. ARPA funds have been secured to pay for this effort.
The City has already begun a public outreach effort about the revised street sweeping program. Beginning in 2023 City staff attended tabling events, created social media content and blogs about the importance of street sweeping, and conducted door knocking in District 2 near Closter Park (located in the pilot area). The Table 1 and Table 2 below summarize the digital and in person outreach events conducted to date since the street sweeping outreach program’s inception (January 2023 through July 31, 2024). Additional statistics are given in Attachment 3.
Table 1. Street Sweeping Program Digital Media Engagement (January 2023 - July 2024) Activity
Description
Reach
Social Media Posts
Designed and published 50+ social media posts
302,898 impressions
Website Content
Created street sweeping content and blogs and posted to cleanwatersalinas.com 3,600 page views
Survey Form
Created digital form to cell phone numbers for City alerts about street sweeping 237 sign ups
Table 2. Street Sweeping Program Direct Public Outreach Engagement (January 2023 - July 2024) Activity
Description
Contact Information Collected
Reach
Kickoff Event at Closter Park
(June 2023)
Salinas Streets Shine Together Campaign Kickoff with tabling 12 ~100 booth visitors
Community Clean-up at La Paz Park
(September 2023)
Clean-up and tabling event
40 ~100 booth visitors
Ciclovia
(October 2023)
Tabled at community event
115
~500 booth visitors
150th Anniversary Celebration
(April 2024)
Tabled at community event
25 ~100 booth visitors
Door Knocking
(July 2024)
Door to door knocking in City Council District 2
45 70 conversations
On September 12, 2024, the Traffic & Transportation Commission unanimously recommended the City Council approve the new street sweeping routes, the pilot route for signage, and the appropriation of ARPA funds to fabricate and install signed per the Sign Plan. With Council approval of the new routes and the pilot program, the City will deploy a targeted outreach and engagement effort in the pilot program neighborhoods. Outreach efforts will notify residents of the new parking restrictions and new sweeping routes with door knocking, fliers, and a coordinated notification system sending text messages directly to subscribed residents. Outreach will also be performed via social media and the CleanWaterSalinas website.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
The City of Salinas has determined that the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (Section 15301, Class 1(c)) because the actions consist of minor alterations of existing City streets via signage.
CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES:
No
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
The proposed project meets the City Council’s Strategic Plan Initiative of Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability. Redesigned street sweeping routes and No Parking signs in the pilot area will improve the condition of local streets and utilize modern techniques to build climate resiliency. A strategic street sweeping program supports this initiative by removing debris and pollution thereby improving the street appearance as well as improving water quality and reducing flood risk.
DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION:
Public Works will advance this project through coordination with Traffic and Parking Enforcement with additional input from Public Relations to ensure that the public is engaged in the pilot program testing. Parking enforcement is provided in coordination with a parking enforcement contractor (LAZ) for warning tickets and the Police Department for all potential towing issues.
FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
Fund
Appropriation
Appropriation
Name
Total Appropriation
Amount for recommendation
FY 24-25 CIP Budget Page
Last Budget Action (Date, Resolution)
3911
50.8192-63.5900
Outside services-Other professional
$700,011
$600,000
Storm Sewer (NPDES)/9292
9/21/21
Reso 22175
.
The total estimated cost for the implementation of the pilot program is $600,000 to pay for the fabrication and installation of “No Parking” signs within the affected neighborhoods. The expenses will be paid from ARPA funds appropriated to the Public Works Dept. for the Green Infrastructure Project.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Attachment 1 – Redesigned Routes
Attachment 2 – Pilot Routes
Attachment 3 – 2023-24 Street Sweeping Education Outreach Campaign Stats Page | 3
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