Public Works Agency
www.santa-ana.org/public-works
Item # 27
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
June 4, 2024
TOPIC: Harbor Boulevard Innovative Corridor Project
AGENDA TITLE
Cooperative Agreement with Orange County Transportation Authority and Participating Agencies for the Harbor Boulevard Innovative Corridor Project (Non-General Fund)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a Cooperative Agreement with Orange County Transportation Authority and the Cities of Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, and Garden Grove, identifying the City’s role and responsibilities to implement the Harbor Boulevard Innovative Corridor Project, effective upon full approval of the agreement by all parties through December 31, 2028, with the option to be extended (Agreement No.
A-2024-XXX).
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: Yes
DISCUSSION
In the City of Santa Ana, Harbor Boulevard is the most heavily traveled corridor. The corridor experiences over 50,000 vehicles per day, along with high volumes of pedestrians and bicyclists who use the corridor daily to commute to work or en route to the many destinations along the corridor. Harbor Boulevard connects Santa Ana residents to many key destinations in Orange County, including Disneyland, California State University, Fullerton, medical facilities, parks, places of worship, and many recreational options. Additionally, Harbor Boulevard provides access to four major freeways in Orange County: State Route 91, Interstate 5, State Route 22, and Interstate 405.
For Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), the Bravo! 543 and 43 bus routes operate on Harbor Boulevard and are among the highest-use transit routes in Orange County. The 12-mile Harbor Boulevard bus routes have a combined average of more than 10,000 daily boardings. Eight percent (8%) of all OCTA’s bus ridership takes place on this corridor. A 2018 OCTA transit study identified Harbor Boulevard corridor as needing high-quality transit in OCTA’s Long Range Transportation Plan. This corridor was also identified as a high priority corridor in Orange County’s Transit Master Plan, a 20-year plan for enhancing and expanding public transit service for the third most populous county in California.
Harbor Boulevard Innovative Corridor Project
June 4, 2024
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To help improve travel flow and provide reliable transit along this busy corridor, the Harbor Boulevard Innovative Corridor Project will implement multi-modal corridor improvements that will enhance signal operations by deploying innovative advanced transportation technologies to improve bus operations, safety monitoring, and traffic flow along Harbor Boulevard. The project will leverage existing investments made by OCTA and participating agencies to deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) equipment, Transit Signal Priority, optimized signal timing, and conduct infrastructure maintenance, monitoring, and assessment. These technologies are known to be cost- effective in reducing congestion and increase person throughput for all modes without the need for roadway expansion. The proposed technology improvements are intended to decrease travel time, improve travel time reliability and safety, and reduce traffic congestion and emissions along the corridor.
In November of 2022, OCTA, in cooperation with City of Santa Ana and the Participating Agencies, submitted grant applications for Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART), Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0), and Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). OCTA has since received funds to administer and deliver this project. While OCTA will fund and act as lead agency for the project, a cooperative agreement (Exhibit 1) is necessary to identify the roles and responsibilities of each participating agency to maintain transit signal priority during the project period.
City of Santa Ana will participate as a member of the project development team and support the project implementation and continued operations and maintenance of the project improvements.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. Staff will return to the City Council with a request for approval of further actions and will indicate the fiscal impact of any such awards and associated expenditures at that time.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Cooperative Agreement
Submitted By: Nabil Saba, P.E., Executive Director – Public Works Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, Acting City Manager