REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: JILL M. GORMLEY, TE, Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Traffic & Engineering Services Division
CHERYL L. BURNS, MPA, Business Manager
Public Works Department, Traffic & Engineering Services Division
SUBJECT
Title
***RESOLUTION - Authorizing the Submission of a Safe Streets and Roads for All Planning and Demonstration Grant Application to the United States Department of Transportation and Authorizing the Public Works Director or Designee to Accept and Execute All Application and Grant Agreement Documents on Behalf of the City of Fresno. (Citywide) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the submission of a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant application to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for a project totaling up to $600,000 and authorize the execution of all grant application and grant agreement documents by the Public Works Director or designee.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is requesting authorization to submit an application to the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Discretionary Grant Opportunity for the purpose of conducting Intersection Safety Audits. SS4A is a grant program authorized under Section 24112 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The purpose of this grant is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through the development of Action Plans and refinement and implementation focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, and commercial vehicle operators. The Fiscal Year 2025 SS4A program provides funding for two types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants.
The proposed Public Works Department application for a SS4A Planning and Demonstration Grant would request funding for up to $600,000 for the purpose of continuing the work of the Vision Zero Action Plan, currently under development, to conduct Intersection Safety Audits (Project) of approximately 15 locations across the City of Fresno. The Project will utilize the same methodology used by the Vision Zero Action Plan to analyze and develop recommended safety countermeasures for the intersections that are ranked 6 to 20 on the priority intersection list. The recommendations would be finalized and adopted as a supplement to the Vision Zero Action Plan.
BACKGROUND
Section 24112 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized and appropriated $1 billion to be awarded by the Department of Transportation for Fiscal Year 2025 for the SS4A discretionary grant program. The purpose of the SS4A program is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through the development of Action Plans and refinement and implementation focused on all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, and commercial vehicle operators. The program provides funding to develop tools to strengthen a community’s approach to roadway safety and save lives.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was published on March 28, 2025, with nearly $1 billion available in funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2025. SS4A provides funding for two types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants.
Implementation Grants fund projects and strategies identified in an Action Plan that address roadway safety problems. To be eligible for an Implementation Grant, applicants must have an adopted eligible Action Plan. To determine eligibility, applicants could submit a pre-application for an Implementation Grant Eligibility Review, consisting of a Self-Certification Eligibility Worksheet and links to any referenced plan(s) to determine whether the applicant has an existing plan or plans that are substantially similar to an Action Plan.
Staff submitted a Self-Certification Eligibility Worksheet using currently adopted plans (the 2020 Systemic Local Roadway Safety Plan and the 2016 Active Transportation Plan) to meet the eligibility requirements. DOT staff completed the pre-application review and determined that the City’s current plans do not meet all eligibility requirements. Therefore, the City is not eligible to apply for an SS4A Implementation Grant.
Planning and Demonstration Grants have three types of eligible activities: a) develop or update an Action Plan, b) conduct supplemental safety planning to enhance an Action Plan, and c) carry out demonstration activities to inform the development of, or an update to, an Action Plan. Applicants applying to conduct supplemental planning and/or demonstration activities must either a) have an existing Action Plan, b) have received SS4A funding in a previous round to develop or update an Action and are in the process of competing or updating an Action Plan, or c) use a higher-level jurisdiction’s Action Plan.
In the FY 2022 funding cycle, the Public Works Department was awarded an SS4A grant for the development of a citywide Vision Zero Action Plan. Vision Zero is a strategy that strives to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and equitable mobility for all. Vision Zero is a commitment to approach traffic safety in fundamentally different ways through systemic changes.
In April 2024, the City Council approved an agreement with TDG Engineering, Inc., an affiliate of Toole Design Group, LLC, to prepare the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan. The consultant began their efforts with an existing conditions analysis, reviewing all relevant plans, policies, and procedures to create a baseline to build upon. The consultant also collected data and conducted a thorough analysis to identify the High Injury Network within the City. The fatal injury and severe injury data was then used to identify the Top 10 Corridors and the Top 10 Intersections that would benefit from additional safety analysis. The consultant will further narrow the lists to the Top 5 Corridors and Top 5 Intersections to analyze within the Vision Zero Action Plan and the final Plan will include recommendations of safety countermeasures that would be appropriate for each location. The final Action Plan is expected to be presented to City Council for adoption in Fall 2025.
The proposed SS4A Planning and Demonstration Grant application would request funding for up to $600,000 for the purpose of continuing the work of the Vision Zero Action Plan to conduct Intersection Safety Audits (Project) of approximately 15 priority locations across the City of Fresno.
The Project will utilize the same methodology used by the Vision Zero Action Plan consultant to analyze and develop recommended safety countermeasures for the intersections that are ranked 6 to 20 on the priority intersection list. The recommendations would be finalized and adopted as a supplement to the Vision Zero Action Plan. The safety countermeasures recommendations from both the Vision Zero Action Plan and the supplemental planning activities of the proposed Project would be considered as projects for future funding opportunities.
Grant applications are due on June 26, 2025. The expected period of performance for Planning and Demonstration Grant agreements is between 12 months and 5 years. Federal share of the SS4A grant may not exceed 80% of total activity costs. Therefore, recipients are required to provide a 20% non-Federal matching share.
The City Attorney’s office has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this action is not subject to CEQA at this time.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not included because this resolution does not include a bid or award of a construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
This resolution will have no immediate impact on the General Fund. Should the grants be awarded, local matching funds will be identified through future fiscal year capital budgets.
Attachment:
Resolution