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CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: November 5, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Lynn Merrill, Director of Public Works, Operations, and Maintenance;
Azzam Jabsheh, Deputy Director of Public Works/City Engineer Department: Public Works
Subject: Approve Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of San Bernardino and Southern California
Association of Governments (SCAG) for Technical
Assistance on the Planning for Main Streets Project –
Waterman Avenue (Route 18) between Arrowhead Road
and 30th Street to 40th Street (Ward 4 and 7)
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California:
1. Approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of San Bernardino and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for technical assistance on the Planning for Main Streets Project along Waterman Avenue (Route 18) from Arrowhead Road to 30th Street; and
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents with SCAG.
City Manager’s Comments
This Technical Assistance Grant for Planning for Main Streets is a unique opportunity for the City of San Bernardino. Route 18 is one of 4 planning projects included in this SCAG funding.
Executive Summary
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), in partnership with Caltrans, has secured $500,000 under the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program – Strategic Partnerships to implement the Planning for Main Streets Project.
The project will focus on State highway corridors within local jurisdictions, including Waterman Avenue (Route 18) from 30th Street to 40th Street in San Bernardino, and 2 9
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will assess existing conditions, engage communities, and develop conceptual plans and cost estimates for corridor improvements. The MOU formalizes the City’s role as a project partner, supporting SCAG and its consultant in outreach, technical guidance, and review of deliverables. This collaboration positions the City to leverage future state and federal funding for implementation of improvements along identified State highway main streets. The City has no financial obligation toward this project and all costs is borne by SCAG.
Background
Caltrans established the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program (STPG Program) to promote local and regional planning efforts that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance sustainability, and support multi-modal integration. As the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), SCAG received $500,000 in Strategic Partnership funds to implement the Planning for Main Streets Project. The project will evaluate State highway corridors functioning as main streets, identify community-driven priorities, and prepare conceptual design plans.
Background
Main Street, California: A Guide for People-Centered State Highway Main Streets highlights the special importance of California State Highways (State highways) that function as community main streets by supporting multimodal travel and community events and activities. The guide is shaped by five principles that reflect the State’s strategic goals: foster people-centered transportation infrastructure; improve safety and public health; elevate equity and livability; advance sustainability and climate action; and engage communities, partners, and stakeholders. State highway main streets, including those in the SCAG region, serve two purposes that typically have conflicting design principles: (1) community streets that provide access to a variety of land uses and function as gathering places and (2) distributor streets, also known as arterials or collectors, which are often higher-speed roadways that prioritize moving vehicular traffic by limiting access to local destinations.
SCAG will work with the Consultant and the City of San Bernardino on the development of the Planning for Main Streets project, which includes existing conditions analysis, stakeholder engagement, and project recommendations. The Consultant shall manage and oversee all administrative contractual and technical aspects of the Project and will ensure timely and integrated production of tasks and manage project partner input and collaboration necessary to achieve the Project objectives.
The Project shall contribute to regional goals identified to encourage and support the implementation of projects that facilitate multimodal connectivity, prioritize transit and shared mobility, and result in improved mobility, accessibility and safety; pursue the development of Complete Streets that comprise a safe, multimodal network with flexible use of public rights-of-way for people of all ages and abilities using a variety 2 9
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of modes; and integrate the assessment of equity into the regional transportation safety and security planning process.
The City of San Bernardino has been selected as a partner jurisdiction for this project, ensuring its direct involvement in shaping corridor improvements along Waterman Avenue.
Discussion
Through the MOU, the City of San Bernardino commits to actively participating in technical advisory committee meetings and community outreach activities, while also providing timely guidance, decisions, and access to necessary data and facilities. The City will review and approve project deliverables, including conceptual plans for corridors within its jurisdiction, and will coordinate with SCAG’s consultant to ensure that final deliverables are presented to the City Council. SCAG, in partnership with Caltrans Headquarters and Districts 7, 8, 11, and 12, identified several State highways in the SCAG region that function as main streets, given their multimodal travel patterns and community destinations, but also have gaps in accessibility, safety, and comfort to adequately meet the needs of all roadway users. The State highway main streets included in the Project are:
• State Route (SR) 1 in Caltrans District 7 from Pennsylvania Avenue in the City of Lomita to Harbor Avenue/I-710 ramps in the City of Long Beach (approximately 6.5 miles).
• SR 18 in Caltrans District 8 from Arrowhead Road to 30th Street in the City of San Bernardino (approximately 2 miles).
• SR 86 in Caltrans District 11 from Las Flores Drive to Legion Road in the City of Brawley (approximately 2 miles).
• SR 39 in Caltrans District 12 from Starr Street in the City of Stanton to Hazard Avenue in the City of Westminster (approximately 4.5 miles).
These corridors align with Federal Planning Factors and the State’s strategic goals to increase the safety, accessibility, and security of the transportation system for all roadway users while also advancing equity and livability for communities. Each Project corridor is in, or within a half-mile of, SCAG’s Priority Equity Communities. In addition, each Project corridor is part of the regional or local High Injury Network, which are intersections and roadway segments that have a disproportionate number of collisions, especially fatal and severe injury collisions, in the SCAG region or respective local jurisdiction. Each Project corridor is classified as a Tier 1 (highest) priority in the Caltrans Active Transportation Plan. This combination of factors illustrates the significant need for transformative multimodal projects to ensure each Project corridor is people-centered and effectively serves the surrounding community. The Project will 2 9
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assess existing conditions, engage with surrounding communities to define a vision and refine corridor priorities, and develop conceptual plans and associated cost estimates for sustainable transportation improvements to position the State highway main streets for future grant funding opportunities and/or incorporation into future workplans with the goal of implementing improvements. The City has no financial obligation toward this project and all costs is borne by SCAG. The estimated completion date for the project is spring 2027.
2021-2025 Strategic Targets and Goals
The MOU agreement with SCAG aligns with Key Target No. 2: Focused Aligned Leadership and unified community.
Fiscal Impact
There is no direct fiscal impact to the City of San Bernardino. SCAG has secured full grant funding for the project.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California:
1. Approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of San Bernardino and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for technical assistance on the Planning for Main Streets Project along Waterman Avenue (Route 18) from Arrowhead Road to 30th Street; and
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all related documents.
Attachments
Attachment 1 Draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SCAG Ward:
Fourth and Seventh Ward
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
N/A.
CC: Eric Levitt, City Manager