TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Rick Otto, City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cash, Public Works Director
1. Subject
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Acceptance and appropriation of $27,900 of grant funding from the California Department of Transportation for development of a Local Roadway Safety Plan, and appropriation of $3,100 in City matching funds.
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2. Summary
The Local Highway Safety Plan will make the City of Orange eligible to participate in future Highway Safety Improvement Program calls for projects. $72,000 of grant funds and $8,000 of local matching funds have already been appropriated. Additional state funding of $27,900, with a required match of $3,100, will be appropriated bringing the project total to $111,000.
3. Recommended Action
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1. Accept into the City’s revenue budget a $27,900 grant from the California Department of Transportation, into revenue account number 550.5031.45290.30150, Reimbursable Capital Projects - Local Roadway Safety Plan.
2. Authorize the appropriation of $27,900 into expenditure account number 550.5031.56670.30150, Reimbursable Capital Projects - Local Roadway Safety Plan.
3. Authorize the appropriation of $3,100 from the Traffic Improvement - Measure M2 unreserved fund balance to expenditure account number 263.5031.56002.30150, Traffic Improvement - Measure M2 - Local Roadway Safety Plan.
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4. Fiscal Impact
The total expenditure for this project is $111,000 and will be funded in Local Roadway Safety Plan (30150) through:
Reimbursable Capital Projects (550) $99,900
Traffic Improvement - Measure M2 (263) 11,100
Total: $111,000
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 1: Provide for a safe community
d: Assure the development of the City occurs in a fashion that maximizes public safety.
6. Discussion and Background
Background:
Over the past decade, the City has had tremendous success applying for federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. Since 2010, the HSIP program has provided Orange with over $6.5 million, funding 24 different safety projects over the years. However, future HSIP calls for projects will require that applicant agencies have adopted a Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP).
A Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) defines goals, objectives, and strategies to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on local roads. An LRSP also provides a framework to identify, analyze, and prioritize roadway safety improvements and offers a proactive approach to addressing safety needs while demonstrating agency responsiveness to safety challenges.
Specifically, the City of Orange LRSP will focus on identifying opportunities to improve traffic safety on roadways in the City using solutions from the engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency services toolboxes. The LRSP development will include the following key tasks: state of the system review, crash history assessment, countermeasure development, implementation program, and local roadway safety plan. The LRSP process will help the City chart a course towards significantly reducing traffic deaths, addressing behavioral factors along with engineering measures.
Discussion:
In October 2019, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced a call for applications to encourage local agencies to prepare LRSPs and seek assistance with funding. In response to the call, the Public Works Department submitted an application requesting the maximum allowable $72,000 (with an $8,000 local match), which Caltrans approved in January 2020. Council subsequently accepted and appropriated the project funds in July 2020.
In August 2020, Caltrans announced the availability of additional LRSP funding for larger cities, increasing the total amount that Orange was eligible to receive. In response, the Public Works Department submitted a request that Caltrans adjust the City’s award to $99,900 in state funding (with an $11,100 local match), for a project total of $111,000. Caltrans reviewed and approved this request for additional funding in November 2020.
Staff recommends appropriating $3,100 from Fund 263 unreserved fund balance to provide additional matching funds for the LRSP project.
7. ATTACHMENTS
None.