Agenda Item #13.5
For Council Meeting of: August 6, 2024
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DAN HENNESSEY, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL GRANT PROGRAM – SONOMA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY APPLICATION AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council, by resolution, support the City’s participation in the Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s (SCTA) application to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) as part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In July 2022, the Council adopted the Sonoma County Vision Zero Action Plan and the City’s Local Roadway Safety Plan which target zero deaths from traffic-related violence by 2030. The federal government, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), has provided $5 billion dollars through five annual cycles (FY22 to FY26) for roadway safety projects. The City, in partnership with SCTA, has an ideal opportunity to tap into those funds to make Santa Rosa safer in accordance with our adopted plans. The next application deadline is August 29, 2024.
BACKGROUND
From 2012 to 2022, 74 people lost their lives to traffic-related violence on streets owned and maintained by the City of Santa Rosa. An additional 535 people were seriously injured in crashes. National guidance exists to help local transportation agencies quantify the estimated economic and quality of life impacts of a crash in financial terms. The 440 crashes that led to these 74 deaths and 535 serious injuries have a $1,280,000,000 comprehensive cost. These crashes disproportionately affect non-white, non-male, and low-income community members.
The SS4A program supports the development of a comprehensive safety action plan that identifies the most significant roadway safety concerns in a community and the implementation of projects and strategies to address roadway safety issues. The SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants.
In the 2022 funding cycle, $800 million was allocated for funding. Almost $590 million was provided to 37 communities for implementation of safety projects and another $212 million was provided to 474 communities for planning activities. In the 2023 funding cycle, just over $895 million was provided to 385 communities for 48 implementation applicants and 337 planning and demonstration activities. In both funding cycles, the State of California was given the maximum amount of funding possible for implementation projects and all money identified for implementation projects was distributed. Similarly, in both funding cycles, the State of California was not given the maximum amount of funding possible for planning and demonstration projects and all the money identified for implementation projects was not distributed.
Staff is recommending a joint application with SCTA, in partnership with neighboring jurisdictions. This multi-jurisdictional approach is supported by the USDOT; they are also asking for a consistent set of projects supported by the adopted action plan. The projects among the Sonoma County jurisdictions, including projects in the application, are consistent with one another and with the adopted action plan. The projects put forward by the City of Santa Rosa include speed management techniques at intersections and crosswalks along the entirety of our 49-mile High Injury Network (HIN), which includes roadways in every City Council District.
Santa Rosa has previously submitted the Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing (BPOC) to the Implementation Grant portion of the program; the application was unsuccessful in FY22 and FY23. We are still waiting to hear back regarding FY24 submitted May 16, 2024. The FY24 application from the City for the BPOC makes us ineligible to submit an individual application for the Planning and Demonstration Grant deadline; however, we are eligible to be a partner in SCTA’s application.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
On July 26, 2022, the Santa Rosa City Council adopted the Sonoma County Vision Zero Action Plan (VZAP) by a vote of 7-0. The VZAP set a target goal of zero traffic deaths and severe injuries on roadways within Santa Rosa by 2030. The Council also approved the Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) for citywide corridors including those identified in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update 2018 by a 7-0 vote on the same date.
ANALYSIS
The projects put forward by the City of Santa Rosa include speed management techniques at intersections and crosswalks along the entirety of our 49-mile High Injury Network (HIN), which includes roadways in every Council District. Because they are part of the Planning and Demonstration Grant portion of the program, they will not be permanent in nature; however, many of these improvements will have a similar effect as an approach featuring concrete and steel.
The City’s portion of the proposed application features speed management techniques at intersections and crosswalks to tighten curb radii to both slow drivers and shorten pedestrian crossings, narrowing lane widths where they exceed those required by our design standards and Fire Department requirements, and changing signal operations to support safer intersections. We will focus on those streets identified on the HIN as part of the VZAP adoption. This type of systemic treatment is supported by the USDOT’s preferred approach to solving safety issues in communities; it also allows us to set expectations for drivers in our community by showing a consistent treatment citywide. These treatments will all be done with temporary materials (i.e., not concrete) that can be modified, adjusted, or removed quickly as necessary.
The City’s portion of the application totals nearly $4.5 million of the maximum allowable $10 million request. Additionally, in the Planning and Demonstration portion of the application, the USDOT can select elements of the application that they would like to approve if they are unable or unwilling to fund the entire proposal. Our proposal is broken into many elements identifying exactly how it is compliant with their requirements and gives us a number of opportunities to be successful in pursuit of this award and allow us to meaningfully improve the transportation network for community members traveling by all modes.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. Any matching or supporting funds would be allocated through Capital Improvement Funds.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) and 15378 in that there is no possibility that the implementation of this action may have significant effects on the environment, and no further environmental review is required.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
PRESENTER
Dan Hennessey, Director of Transportation and Public Works Department Rob Sprinkle, Deputy Director-Traffic Engineering
SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL GRANT PROGRAM – SONOMA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY APPLICATION PAGE 3 OF 3