Entity: San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
Minute Action
AGENDA ITEM:
Date: April 10, 2025
Subject:
Request for Information Smart Corridors
Recommendation:
That the following be reviewed and recommended for final approval by the Board of Directors, acting as the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA), at a regularly scheduled Board meeting:
A. Allocate $660,400 of Valley Measure I Traffic Management System (TMS) funds to the City of Colton for smart corridor improvements to Pepper Avenue and Valley Boulevard.
B. Allocate $1,000,000 of Valle y Measure I TMS funds to the City of Highland for smart corridor improvements to Base Line Street and Greenspot Road.
C. Allocate $943,000 of Valley Measure I TMS funds to the City of Ontario for smart corridor improvements to Euclid Avenue.
D. Allocate $1,000,000 of Valle y Measure I TMS funds to the City of Montclair for smart corridor improvements to Central Avenue.
E. Allocate $976,750 of Valley Measure I TMS funds to the City of Rialto for smart corridor improvements to Riverside Avenue.
F. Allocate $372,376 of Valley Measure I TMS funds to the City of San Bernardino for smart corridor improvements to Baseline Street.
G. Authorize the Executive Director, or his designee, to finalize and execute funding agreements for the projects awarded under this action, subject to approval as to form by SBCTA General Counsel.
Background:
The San Bernardino County Council of Governments (SBCOG) completed the Smart County Master Plan (SCMP) in December 2024, with input from a full range of stakeholders, including local jurisdictions. One of the early action items in the SCMP is to move forward with a set of “smart corridors” on which to focus controller technology and communications upgrades to improve traffic flow, with the additional consideration of incorporating technology to reduce delays for buses on the Omnitrans network.
It is noted in the SCMP that the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority ( SBCTA) Board of Directors (Board) previously set aside $5,000,000 in Measure I Valley Traffic Management System (TMS) funds for investment in traffic signal coordination upgrades for five different corridors in the Valley, in addition to the Haven Avenue corridor already completed.
Recommendation C of Agenda Item 8 in the July 2021 Board agenda stated:
C. Allocate $3,000,000 and $2,000,000 of Measure I Valley TMS program funds to be made available to East Valley and West Valley jurisdictions, respectively, through a competitive grant process to be developed by staff for implementation of a r egional coordinated approach to San Bernardino Valley Coordinated Traffic Signal System (SBVCTSS) program improvements upon future Board of Directors approval.
Board of Directors Metro Valley Study Session Agenda Item April 10, 2025
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
When funds were committed to the SCMP , the Board directed staff to put the additional $5,000,000 in TMS allocation on hold until the SCMP was completed. The SCMP left open the final designation of smart corridors pending further outreach to treatments in those corridors.
In parallel with the SCMP, SBCTA staff recently completed the Long -Range Multimodal Transportation Plan (LRMTP). As part of the effort, two Board actions were taken that are connected to this Smart Corridor Request for Information (RFI) and recommended allocation of Valley TMS funding.
1. On December 4, 2024, the Board directed staff to conduct an e valuation of the Transit Signal Priority (TSP) application and other strategies to enhance local bus service, in conjunction with the development of smart corridors in the Valley, with an investment plan to be brought back to the Board by spring 2025.
This effort is currently in process. SBCTA has been engaged with Omnitrans and the Orange Co unty Transportation Authority to better understand the capabilities and potential application of TSP technology in San Bernardino County. The investments anticipated under this recommendation would promote SBCTA, Omnitrans , and local jurisdiction opportunities to implement TSP in the future as many signal s continue to use outdated technology that at this time would not be TSP-ready.
2. On March 5, 2025, the Board approved the LRMTP. The LRMTP reaffirmed the Priority Transit Corridors for future consideration of express bus and bus rapid transit (BRT) improvements. The action also included the creation of the Top Tier of Priority Transit Corridors in the San Bernardino Valley. The Top Tier corridors (listed in alphabetical order, not priority) are:
• Baseline/Highland Avenue, San Bernardino Transit Center to Greenspot Road • Foothill Boulevard, Victoria Gardens to San Bernardino Transit Center • San Bernardino Avenue, Ontario Mills to San Bernardino Transit Center
The recommended allocations included consideration of the Priority Transit Corridors and Top Tier corridors when conducting the evaluation.
Consistent with directions from the SBCTA Board, staff prepared a Smart Corridor RFI that was circulated to member jurisdictions on January 15, 2025. The RFI process included the schedule below:
Task Complete By
1. Distribute RFI to local jurisdictions 1/14/25
2. Question/answer session at Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) meeting
2/3/25
3. Closing date for questions 2/17/25
4. SBCTA responses to questions 2/27/25
5. Receive corridor proposals from jurisdictions 3/17/25
6. Evaluate proposals 4/2/25
7. Seek approval at Metro Valley Study Session meeting 4/10/25
8. Board approval 5/7/25
Board of Directors Metro Valley Study Session Agenda Item April 10, 2025
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
Outreach efforts were made to the TTAC and City/ County Managers ’ Technical Advisory Committee. Staff executed the RFI consistent with the schedule. The only deviations to the schedule were extending the window for submitting questions to SBCTA about the RFI, as well as providing responses to questions as they were received rather than waiting until February 27, 2025. Staff made these modifications to allow for maximum opportunity to ask questions and to minimize the delay in response time to member jurisdictions.
To execute the geographical equity included in the July 2021 allocation of Valley TMS funds by the Board, project nominations were grouped into East and West Valley application pools.
The East Valley was defined as Rialto and cities to the east. The West Valley was defined as Fontana and cities to the w est. The County of San Bernardino was also eligible, and Bloomington will be considered as part of the East Valley.
The RFI generated strong interest from jurisdictions in both the West and East Valley.
By March 17, 2025 the following proposals were received by SBCTA for a total request of $8,593,042:
East Valley Proposals Received – Total Valley TMS Requested - $3,850,042 • Colton – Pepper Avenue & Valley Boulevard
• Highland – Base Line Street & Greenspot Road
• Rialto – Riverside Avenue
• San Bernardino – Baseline Street
• San Bernardino – Highland Avenue
• San Bernardino – sbX
• Yucaipa – Oak Glen Road & Yucaipa Boulevard
West Valley Proposals Received – Total Valley TMS Requested - $4,743,000 • Chino – Philadelphia Avenue
• Ontario – Euclid Avenue
• Montclair (with Chino and County) – Central Avenue
• Montclair (with County) – Holt Boulevard & Mission Boulevard • Rancho Cucamonga – Base Line Road, Archibald Avenue, Carnelian Avenue & Etiwanda Avenue
Following receipt of the proposals, SBCTA convened a panel to review and evaluate the proposals on March 19, 2025. The proposals were evaluated on the criteria included in the RFI and included below:
Overall Quality and Clarity of Application 10
Project Purpose and Need 35
Project Delivery 25
Local Matching Funds 20
Location on SBVCTSS corridors and/or Omnitrans’ priority transit corridors and TSP-readiness
10 Total Possible Score 100
Board of Directors Metro Valley Study Session Agenda Item April 10, 2025
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
The RFI established a $1,000,000 per project proposal maximum award and established a minimum match of 20%. After review of the proposals by the evaluation panel, the following are recommended for award by the SBCTA Board (listed in alphabetical order, not by priority).
Project
T otal Project Cost
M easure I A ward
L ocal M atch
East V alley
Colton - Pepper Ave. & Valley Blvd. $825,500 $660,400 $165,100 Highland - Base Line St. & Greenspot Rd. $1,339,484 $1,000,000 $339,484 Rialto - Riverside Ave. $1,201,750 $976,750 $225,000
San Bernardino A – Baseline St. $465,470 $372,376 $93,094 Subtotal $3,832,204 $3,009,526 $822,678
West V alley
Montclair (with Chino/County) - Central Ave. $1,314,341 $1,000,000 $314,341 Ontario - Euclid Ave. $1,179,900 $943,000 $236,900
Subtotal $2,494,241 $1,943,000 $551,241
Grand Total $6,326,445 $4,952,526 $1,373,919
The RFI did not receive smart corridor proposals for the higher level, more sophisticated smart corridors anticipated by the SCMP. However, a stated goal at the outset of this RFI was to provide funding to local jurisdictions for signal technology and communications upgrades that will be needed for future TSP projects intended to improve the average speed for buses on the Omnitrans system.
A majority of the project investments provide enhancements to the north-south corridors feeding into the largely east -west transit system, both established and under construction . While not directly providing immediate premium transit improvements, the investments lay the foundation for further TSP investments that will improve speed and reliability on the Omnitrans routes , making them more appealing options when commuters look to connect to the Metrolink and BRT systems.
SBCTA staff advocated for local jurisdictions to collaborate with each other on smart corridor improvements that would provide for multijurisdictional benefit. The applications received demonstrated consideration of cross -jurisdictional collaboration. But it is worth noting that the City of Montclair’s application for Central Avenue provides for direct project benefits for three jurisdictions, including the City of Chino and the County of San Bernardino.
Financial Impact:
This item has no financial impact on the adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2024/2025.
Board of Directors Metro Valley Study Session Agenda Item April 10, 2025
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
Reviewed By:
This item is not scheduled for review by any other policy committee or technical advisory committee. Staff presented the Request for Information opportunity to the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee on January 6, 2025 and February 3, 2025 as well as to the City/County Managers’ Technical Advisory Committee on March 6, 2025.
Responsible Staff:
Ryan Graham, Planning Manager
Approved
Board of Directors Metro Valley Study Session
Date: April 10, 2025
Witnessed By: