REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 23, 2020
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
THROUGH: ANDREW J. BENELLI, PE, City Engineer/Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Traffic Operations and Planning Division
BY: JILL GORMLEY, TE, City Traffic Engineer / Traffic Operations and Planning Manager
Public Works Department, Traffic Operations and Planning Division
SUBJECT
Title
Safer Routes to School Program (Resolution 2020-012) - 90-day check-in report regarding school related sidewalk project selections and prioritization, funding options, and buildout timelines. (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council review and accept the 90-day check-in report outlining sidewalk project selections, prioritization, funding options, and timelines by the Public Works Department, Traffic Operations and Planning Division.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On January 16, 2020, the City Council (Council) adopted the Safer Sidewalks to School Program (Resolution 2020-012). Council expressed a desire to address the safety of students and residents around neighborhood schools. To that end, the Resolution directed staff to (1) identify, develop plans to, and improve vacant property along routes to neighborhood schools with sidewalks; (2) seek reimbursement from property owners for the cost of the sidewalk at the time the property is developed, to the extent legally permissible; and (3) receive proposed projects from Councilmembers. Further, staff was directed to provide a report, within 90 days, outlining: (1) how potential properties shall be selected and prioritized under this program; (2) funding options; and (3) a timeline for buildout.
Council has taken previous action through the Active Transportation Plan and Prioritization Tool to adopt a plan to improve vacant property along routes to neighborhood schools with sidewalk. Furthermore, a mechanism has been in place and regularly utilized for decades to require reimbursement from property owners of costs previously incurred for frontage improvements built by others, through the notice of potential lien process. Lastly, staff continues to work actively with Council district offices regarding community-identified needs for sidewalks, which have been proposed for funding through Federal and State grant applications, and adopted into the City’s annual budget.
BACKGROUND
On January 16, 2020 the Council adopted the Safer Sidewalks to School Resolution (Resolution 2020-012) addressing improved and complete sidewalk networks, increasing walkability, and safety of students and residents. The Resolution directed staff to (1) identify and develop plans to improve vacant property along routes to neighborhood schools with sidewalks; (2) seek reimbursement from property owners for the cost of the sidewalk; and (3) receive proposed project locations from Councilmembers. The Resolution directed staff to develop a report detailing the prioritization, funding and timeline for buildout of potential projects and return within 90 days with the report.
Project Selection and Prioritization
The Council adopted the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) in March 2017. The ATP is a comprehensive plan outlining the vision for active transportation in the City of Fresno (City). Goals outlined in the ATP include increasing walking and bicycling trips, creating safe, user friendly facilities, improving geographic equity of access to walking and bicycling facilities, and filing key gaps in the walking and bicycling networks.
The ATP includes priority and buildout networks for pedestrian facilities. The networks were initially selected and prioritized using several criteria: proximity to key destinations, including schools with a high share of students eligible for free or reduced priced meals; pedestrian collision density; population and employee density; low household income; low vehicle ownership; high CalEnviroScreen 2.0 score; proximity to arterials and collectors; and public comment. Additional criteria were considered to identify the priority networks: disadvantaged and underserved neighborhoods with large sections of missing sidewalks; high levels of pedestrian activity; and high frequency of pedestrian collisions.
The City also uses the following when prioritizing the installation of sidewalks: priorities identified in the City of Fresno ADA Transition Plan; public complaint of gaps in the existing circulation system; unlikelihood of future development of the adjacent property; absence of an alternative accessible path; the availability of right-of-way; and the impact of the adjacent community based on proximity to government offices and facilities, transportation, and public accommodations and employers.
The ATP priority networks were identified through an extensive community engagement process conducted during the preparation of the ATP and consist of three types of priority areas: (1) underserved neighborhoods with missing sidewalks; (2) pedestrian activity areas; and (3) pedestrian safety enhancement corridors.
Nineteen underserved neighborhoods were prioritized in the ATP. These underserved neighborhoods were found to have one or more of the following characteristics: (1) located in a disadvantaged community (based on socioeconomic data shown in the ATP); (2) identified as needing sidewalks during the community and stakeholder outreach process; and (3) located near a school or transportation corridor where additional sidewalk would better support walking for students and residents as well as improve pedestrian safety. The nineteen neighborhoods identified were as follows: (1) Ashlan/41 neighborhood; (2) Calimyrna neighborhood; (3) Chestnut/Olive neighborhood; (4) Chestnut/Belmont neighborhood; (5) Church/Elm area; (6) Del Mar neighborhood; (7) Florence Avenue to Balderas Elementary School; (8) Herndon/41 neighborhood; (9) Hidalgo Elementary School neighborhood; (10) Jane Adams neighborhood; (11) Maple/Church area; (12) Muir Elementary School neighborhood; (13) Norseman Elementary School neighborhood; (14) North Avenue neighborhood; (15) Pinedale; (16) Roeding Park neighborhood; (17) Scandinavian neighborhood; (18) West of Edison; and (19) Yosemite Middle School neighborhood. Sidewalks in the Pinedale area were recently completed through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project.
Pedestrian activity areas were identified based on their existing or planned development patterns and higher pedestrian activity. These areas include a well-connected grid network of streets with a mix of uses that generate pedestrian activity, as well as streets with commercial establishments oriented toward the sidewalk and street as opposed to the parking lot or streets that are proposed for redevelopment into mixed-use, multi-modal corridors. These areas also experience some of the highest frequencies of pedestrian collisions. Five areas were identified as priority pedestrian activity areas in the ATP: (1) Downtown Fresno; (2) Tower District - Olive Avenue: Palm Avenue to Van Ness Avenue; (3) Van Ness Avenue - near Fresno City College: Olive Avenue to McKinley Avenue; (4) Blackstone Avenue/Abby Street: Divisadero Street to Shaw Avenue (BRT corridor); and (5) Ventura Avenue: Downtown Fresno to Cedar Avenue (BRT corridor).
Pedestrian safety enhancement corridors experience a higher frequency of pedestrian collisions and the following characteristics: (1) high vehicle traffic volumes and speeds; (2) large commercial centers and/or educational campuses; and (3) long spacing (1/4 mile or more) between controlled crosswalks. The ATP identified the following 11 areas as priority pedestrian safety enhancement corridors: (1) Blackstone Avenue: Alluvial Avenue to Sierra Avenue (BRT corridor); (2) Shaw Avenue: Brawley Avenue to Marks Avenue; (3) Shaw Avenue: Blackstone Avenue to Maple Avenue; (4) West Avenue: Ashlan Avenue to Shields Avenue; (5) First Street: Dakota Avenue to Ventura Avenue; (6) Cedar Avenue: Dakota Avenue to Belmont Avenue; (7) Cedar Avenue; Kings Canyon Road to California Avenue; (8) Kings Canyon Road: Cedar Avenue to Clovis Avenue (BRT corridor); (9) Chestnut Avenue: Tulare Street to Butler Avenue; (10) Clovis Avenue: Tulare Street to East Park Circle Drive; and (11) Butler Avenue: First Street to Chestnut Avenue.
In March 2017, the Council also adopted the Active Transportation Project Prioritization Tool. The tool assigns an objective score to prioritize active transportation projects using variables related to access and equity, connectivity, and traffic control, mode shift and user comfort and was developed with community stakeholder input. Up to 100 points can be awarded to an active transportation project using the Prioritization Tool. Project scores are compared against other projects to help aid in seeking grant funding. Active transportation projects providing direct connectivity to two or more schools within a ¼ mile of the project can be awarded up to 15 of the 100 points. The Prioritization Tool is used to evaluate the merits of all proposed active transportation projects. Projects proposing sidewalks along developed and undeveloped/vacant parcels with routes to schools are projects considered and prioritized using the tool and eligibility requirements of the funding source.
The Complete Streets Policy was adopted by the Council in October 2019. The policy aids in the planning, design, and construction of transportation facilities that balance safety, access, and mobility for users of all abilities and ages. Sidewalks are a major component of a complete street. The policy shall be implemented in all neighborhoods with attention to areas identified previously as priority areas in the ATP and areas identified as a priority using the Active Transportation Project Prioritization Tool, which considers the connectivity to schools a priority. All projects, public and private, construction and maintenance projects, since the policy’s adoption in October 2019 are approached as an opportunity to create a complete street per the Implementation section of the policy. Exceptions to the policy may be authorized by the Public Works Director and/or the Council.
Funding
Staff regularly applies for and is awarded grant funding for the installation of sidewalks. Funding sources include Active Transportation Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ), and Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). All of these sources fund the construction of sidewalks to improve availability and connectivity, safety, and air quality.
Grant sources fund the majority of the sidewalk projects throughout the City. Projects are identified by using the following resources: (1) public complaints and/or requests to fill a gap in the existing sidewalk network; (2) adopted plans; (3) community outreach processes; (4) Councilmember requests; (5) school requests; (6) staff observations; and (7) grant funding eligibility. Potential projects are reviewed for funding source eligibility, vetted through the prioritization process, presented to the appropriate Council district, and finally submitted as a resolution for Council support. Funded projects are included as capital improvement projects in the annual budget process.
The City utilizes the notice of potential lien mechanism to provide reimbursement to the original party constructing frontage improvements, if it is someone other than the property owner. This party constructing the improvements could be another developer or the City. In order to require reimbursement, these improvements need to be permanent in nature. While often utilized for curb and gutter improvements, it occurs far less often for sidewalks. Installation of permanent sidewalks generally involves additional right-of-way dedications or acquisitions, utility relocation, determination of where future local street connections and driveways will occur, along with installation of planned dry utilities under the sidewalk. A much more common solution is a temporary asphalt pathway to provide for connectivity and improved safety. Additionally, the City can only be reimbursed once for costs incurred on infrastructure projects. As such if the project is funded through Federal or State grants, the City is fully reimbursed through those sources and as a condition of the grants and governmental accounting standards, and cannot seek a second reimbursement from the property owner. In order to have the property owner reimburse the City for the expense, it would require the use of local funds which would be invested, and then wait some period of years for the property to develop before the City’s investment was recovered.
Timeline
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a list of upcoming projects to be designed and constructed in the City. The current CIP includes the following funded projects that will construct new sidewalks near schools and the construction status of each project:
• Tulare Avenue - Sixth Street to Cedar Avenue, Rowell Elementary School, Jackson Elementary School, Roosevelt High School - Construction Summer 2022
• Polk Avenue - Shaw Avenue to Gettysburg Avenue, Teague Elementary School - Construction Spring 2022
• Floradora Avenue - 9th Street to Cedar Avenue, Yosemite Middle School - Construction not yet scheduled
• Blythe Avenue - Weldon Avenue to McKinley Avenue, McKinley Elementary School and El Capitan Middle School - Construction not yet scheduled
• McKinley Avenue - Cecilia Avenue to Blythe Avenue, McKinley Elementary School and El Capitan Middle School - Construction not yet scheduled
• Gettysburg Avenue, west of Polk Avenue - Teague Elementary School - Construction Spring 2022
• Ashlan Avenue - Effie Street to State Route 41, Pyle Elementary School - Construction Summer 2020
• Barton/ Avenue Florence Avenue sidewalks - Balderas Elementary School - Construction Spring 2021
Projects identified below are projects constructing sidewalks along vacant parcels:
• McKinley Avenue - Marks Avenue to Hughes Avenue, Jane Addams Elementary School - Construction Summer 2023
• Clinton Avenue - Marks Avenue to Brawley Avenue, Hanh Phan Tilley Elementary School - Construction not yet scheduled
• Ashlan Avenue - Polk Avenue to Cornelia Avenue, Central High East Campus - Construction Summer 2022
• Thomas Avenue, Dudley Avenue, Elizabeth Street, Dennett Street, Broadway Avenue - John Muir Elementary - Construction not yet scheduled
The above projects were identified and selected based on the previously described process. These projects all propose to construct new sidewalks to provide routes, where none currently exist, and/or fill gaps for students walking to the identified schools. As funding sources become available additional projects will be identified for inclusion in future year CIP.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the 90-day check-in report does not qualify as a “project” as defined CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because the 90-day check-in report does not include a bid or award of a construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
The 90-day check-in report has been accomplished within the operating budget of the Public Works Department. There will be no additional impact on the General Fund.
Attachments:
PowerPoint Presentation