3 3
6 3
CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: June 17, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Lynn Merrill, Director of Public Works.
Department: Public Works
Subject: Accepting the Baseline Street Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety Study Report (Wards 1,2, 6)
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2026-084 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, accepting the Baseline Street Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety Study Report and authorizing staff to utilize the study findings and recommendations in support of future transportation safety improvement projects and grant funding applications.
City Manager's Comments
City Manager recommends approval.
Executive Summary
The City of San Bernardino received federal funding through the United States Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program to prepare the Baseline Street Safety Study. The study developed corridor-wide safety recommendations and conceptual improvement alternatives focused on reducing severe and fatal collisions for all roadway users. The study evaluated historical collision data, traffic operations, and pedestrian and bicycle activity to develop its recommendations. Additionally, extensive public outreach, including community meetings, pop-up events, and online engagement, helped identify key safety concerns and informed the recommended improvements and implementation strategies.
Adoption of the study positions the City to pursue future state and federal funding opportunities for implementation of identified safety improvements and supports the City’s ongoing commitment to improving transportation safety and quality of life.
Background
In 2021, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) established the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program to support communities in improving 3 3
6 3
roadway safety and reducing traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. The City of San Bernardino successfully secured federal SS4A grant funding for the preparation of the Baseline Street Safety Study through a competitive application process. The study focuses on improving roadway safety along the Baseline Street corridor between Meridian Avenue and Tippecanoe Avenue. The Baseline Street Safety Study builds upon the City’s Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP), which was adopted by the Mayor and City Council in 2023. The LRSP identified Baseline Street as the highest-priority corridor for safety improvements due to the significant number of collisions, including fatal and severe injury crashes, occurring along the corridor.
The purpose of the SS4A Baseline Street Safety Study is to identify existing roadway safety concerns, evaluate crash patterns, conduct stakeholder and community engagement, and develop corridor-wide conceptual safety improvements and implementation strategies that align with the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach.
On January 15, 2025, the Mayor and City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation in the amount of $280,500 to prepare the Baseline Street Safety Study under the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program. The project was funded through a $240,800 federal SS4A grant and a $60,200 local match from Regional Circulation Fund 263.
Discussion
Baseline Street is a major east-west corridor serving residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, businesses, transit users, pedestrians, bicyclists, and regional traffic.
The corridor experiences significant traffic volumes and has historically experienced a high number of traffic collisions, including collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Due to the corridor’s importance within the City’s transportation network, the City initiated the Baseline Street Safety Study to evaluate existing conditions and identify potential safety improvements.
The study included a comprehensive review of historical collision data, roadway geometry, intersection operations, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit accessibility, speed trends, and traffic patterns throughout the corridor. The analysis utilized Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) methodologies, including crash severity weighting and systemic safety evaluation approaches, to identify high-risk locations and corridor- wide safety needs. The study corridor extends approximately seven miles along Baseline Street between Meridian Avenue and Tippecanoe Avenue and serves as one of the City’s primary east-west transportation corridors. The corridor provides access to schools, businesses, residential neighborhoods, transit routes, employment centers, and community destinations.
The safety analysis identified a total of 722 crashes between 2019 and 2023 along the corridor, including 43 fatal and severe injury crashes. Signalized intersections accounted for approximately 71 percent of all collisions. Vulnerable roadway users, including pedestrians and bicyclists, represented a disproportionately high percentage 3 3
6 3
of severe injury and fatal crashes. The study identified the following primary emphasis areas for safety improvements:
Intersection Safety
Speed Management and Aggressive Driving
Impaired Driving
Pedestrian Safety
Bicycle Safety
The study also identified several recommended safety countermeasures and conceptual improvements, including:
High-visibility crosswalks
Protected bicycle facilities and Class IV bikeways
Leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs)
Signal timing and signal visibility improvements
Intersection Bulb-outs
Road Diet
Class II Bike lanes
Scrambled xwalks
Installation of High Intensity Activated Crosswalk Signal (HAWK) The study further developed a prioritization methodology to identify high-priority intersections and segments for future funding and implementation. The report also includes conceptual cost estimates, implementation strategies, and potential funding opportunities through federal, state, regional, and local grant programs.
Extensive stakeholder and community engagement was conducted between August 2025 and April 2026, including public workshops, online surveys, stakeholder meetings, social media outreach, and interactive mapping tools. Community Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement. Public outreach and stakeholder engagement were critical components of the Baseline Street SS4A Safety Study. The City’s consultant Outreach Team coordinated multiple community engagement efforts throughout the study process to ensure that residents, businesses, schools, transit users, and corridor stakeholders had the opportunity to provide input regarding existing safety concerns and desired improvements along the corridor. The Outreach Team also coordinated with neighborhood organizations, local schools, community members, and other corridor stakeholders to gather feedback related to pedestrian safety, speeding concerns, bicycle connectivity, accessibility improvements, traffic operations, and overall corridor safety.
The outreach process helped identify community priorities including improved pedestrian crossings, enhanced lighting, traffic calming measures, safer access to schools and transit stops, improved bicycle connectivity, and roadway improvements intended to reduce speeding and collision severity along the corridor.
The study provides both corridor-wide recommendations and location specific conceptual 3 3
6 3
improvements intended to reduce fatal and serious injury collisions while improving multimodal access and mobility. Recommendations contained within the study may be implemented incrementally as future funding opportunities become available. The Baseline Street Safety Study identified a series of recommended safety improvements at the ten highest-priority intersections along the corridor. The proposed improvements include pedestrian safety enhancements, traffic signal modifications, ADA-compliant curb ramps, sidewalk and curb improvements, upgraded lighting, enhanced striping and signage, pedestrian scramble operations, a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK), and other traffic calming measures intended to improve safety and accessibility for all roadway users. Based on the conceptual engineer’s cost estimate prepared by the consultant, the total estimated construction cost for the recommended improvements at the top ten intersections is approximately $2.32 million, including construction, contingency, construction engineering, mobilization, and traffic control. The estimate is preliminary and will be refined during future design and project development phases.
Acceptance of the study does not commit the City to immediate construction of all proposed improvements. Individual projects identified within the study will require additional engineering analysis, environmental review, public outreach, design development, and future City Council approval prior to implementation. However, adoption of the study will allow the City to pursue future federal, state, and regional grant funding opportunities for eligible transportation safety projects identified within the study.
The Baseline Street SS4A Safety Study also supports the City’s broader transportation safety, active transportation, and infrastructure improvement goals by identifying strategies intended to improve pedestrian safety, bicycle connectivity, accessibility, traffic operations, and overall quality of life for residents and corridor users. 2021-2025 Strategic Targets and Goals
This project consists of Key Target No 3e: Improved Operational and Financial Capacity, and Economic Growth & Development by minimizing risk and litigation exposure. The study supports the City's efforts to reduce transportation-related safety risks and position the City for future infrastructure investment.
Fiscal Impact
There is no impact to the General Fund associated with the acceptance of the study.
The study was previously funded through a combination of federal SS4A grant funds in the amount of $240,800 and local match fund (fund 263) in the amount of $60,200.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2026-084 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, accepting the Baseline Street Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Safety Study Report and authorizing staff to utilize the study findings and recommendations in support of future transportation safety improvement projects and grant funding applications.
3 3
6 3
Attachments
Attachment 1 Resolution No. 2026-084
Attachment 2 Baseline Safety Study Report
Attachment 3 Corridor-Wide overview and concept plans Attachment 4 Cost estimates
Ward: 1,2,6
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
January 15, 2025. Mayor and City Council authorized an award for Professional Services Agreement for Safe Streets and Roads for all (SS4A) for Baseline Street Study analysis to KOA Corporation.
June 5, 2024 Mayor and City council adopted Resolution 2024-137 accepting Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant.
CC: Eric Levitt, City Manager