REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: ANDREW J. BENELLI, PE, City Engineer/Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Traffic Operations and Planning Division
JILL GORMLEY, TE, City Traffic Engineer/Traffic Operations & Planning Manager
Public Works Department, Traffic Operations and Planning Division
MARY C. CHURCH, Grants Administrator
Public Works Department, Administration Division
SUBJECT
Title
RESOLUTION - Authorizing the Submission of a Grant Application to the United States Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All Discretionary Grant Opportunity for a Vision Zero Action Plan Project Totaling Up to $1 Million in Request for Funding; and Authorizing the Execution of Grant Application and Grant Agreement Documents by the Public Works Director or Designee (Citywide)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the submission of a grant application to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All Discretionary Grant Opportunity for a Vision Zero Action Plan project totaling up to $1 million in request for funding; 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 Discretionary Grant Opportunity (SS4A) for the purpose of developing a citywide Vision Zero Action Plan. SS4A is a new grant program created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” or “BIL”. The purpose of this grant is to improve roadway safety by significantly reducing or eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries through safety action plan development and implementation. An action plan, also known as Vision Zero plan, is a traffic safety policy that sets a jurisdictional goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by facilitating safer streets, safer travel behaviors, and safer vehicles. The development and implementation of an action plan will help the City highlight current efforts and results and identify opportunities for continuous improvement with a focus on engineering, enforcement, education, technology, and policy.
BACKGROUND
Vision Zero is a strategy that strives to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all. Vision Zero is a commitment to approach traffic safety in fundamentally different ways through systemic changes. The concept of Vision Zero was first introduced in Sweden in the late 1990s. There are currently more than 50 Vision Zero cities across the United States. In California, 13 cities have adopted Vision Zero Policies. Five of the six most populated cities in California (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento) have adopted Vision Zero policies and are designated Vision Zero cities.
Vision Zero is guided by core principles that build on the belief that everyone has the right to move safely in their communities and that system designers and policy makers share the responsibility to ensure safe systems for travel. The core principles are:
1. Traffic deaths are preventable and unacceptable.
2. Human life takes priority over mobility and other objectives of the road system. The street system should be safe for all users of all ages and abilities, for all modes of transportation, and in all communities.
3. Human error is inevitable and unpredictable. The transportation system should be designed to anticipate error, so the consequence is not severe injury or death. Advancements in vehicle and roadway design and technology are a necessary component toward avoiding the safety impacts of human errors and poor behaviors.
4. People are inherently vulnerable and speed is a fundamental predictor of crash survival. The transportation system should be designed for speeds that protect human life.
5. Safe human behaviors, education, and enforcement are essential contributors to a safe transportation system.
6. Policies at all levels of government need to align with making safety the highest priority for roadways.
In 2015, the City of Fresno was designated a Pedestrian Safety Focus City by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for a high rate of collisions involving pedestrians. FHWA considers the 50 cities with the largest number of pedestrian/bicycle-involved fatalities, or those with an annual average of approximately ten or more fatalities for the designation. Cities are designated a Pedestrian/Bicycle Focus City if they are among the top 20 cities for number of fatalities, or if the fatality rate per population is greater than the average of the top 50 cities.
Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths have been on the rise in the United States. According to the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the number of pedestrians killed on California roadways increased by 26% between 2014 and 2018. California ranks number one in pedestrian fatalities on its roadways, almost 25% higher than the national average. The City of Fresno saw similar trends between 2014 and 2018 as shown in the following table.
|
Citywide Collisions 2014-2018 |
|
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Total Collisions |
2,825 |
3,017 |
3,523 |
3,261 |
3,208 |
|
Injury Collisions |
1,158 |
1,131 |
1,305 |
1,138 |
1,063 |
|
Fatal Collisions/Deaths |
33/35 |
29/30 |
33/33 |
49/52 |
41/42 |
|
Total DUI Collisions |
443 |
405 |
415 |
360 |
391 |
|
Injury DUI Collisions |
93 |
95 |
91 |
82 |
70 |
|
Fatal DUI Collisions/Deaths |
6/8 |
11/12 |
8/8 |
13/15 |
8/8 |
|
Fatal Vehicle vs. Vehicle |
8 |
5 |
6 |
17 |
5 |
|
Vehicle vs. Pedestrian Collisions |
161 |
160 |
228 |
206 |
204 |
|
Pedestrian Fatalities |
17 |
12 |
16 |
25 |
25 |
As a next step toward implementing a Vision Zero strategy for the City of Fresno, staff proposes to apply for a SS4A grant to prepare a Vision Zero Action Plan. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established the new SS4A discretionary grant program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over the next five years. The goal of SS4A is to help agencies develop the tools to strengthen a community’s approach to roadway safety and save lives. Funding supports local initiatives to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets. A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was published on May 16, 2022, with up to $1 billion available in funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2022. SS4A provides funding for two types of grants: Action Plan Grants and Implementation Grants. Action Plan Grants develop, complete, or supplement a comprehensive safety action plan. These strategies and countermeasures focus on a Safe System Approach, effective interventions, and consider multidisciplinary activities. Implementation Grants seek to implement strategies and/or construct projects that are consistent with an existing action plan. 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 proposed grant application would request funding for up to $1 million for the development of a comprehensive, citywide action plan. The components of an action plan, as defined by DOT, include leadership commitment and goal setting; planning structure (i.e., committee, task force, or similar body charged with oversight of action plan development); safety analysis; engagement and collaboration; equity considerations; policy and process changes; strategy and project selections; and progress and transparency.
The grant applications are due on September 15, 2022. The expected period of performance for Action Plan Grant agreements is between 12 and 24 months.
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 item is not a project for the purposes of CEQA.
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. Preparation of the Vision Zero Action Plan may identify future costs to implement infrastructure and enhance current traffic safety programs.
Attachments:
Resolution
Vision Zero Network
FHWA Pedestrian-Bicycle Safety Focus Cities/States
Vision Zero Fresno BPAC Power Point