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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5i Authorization to Apply for Grant Funding through the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program to Support the Foothill Complete Streets Project Item 5i Department: Public Works Cost Center: 5010 For Agenda of: 6/17/2025 Placement: Consent Estimated Time: N/A FROM: Scott Collins, Assistant City Manager Prepared By: Adam Fukushima, Active Transportation Manager SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR GRANT FUNDING THROUGH THE SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL (SS4A) GRANT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE FOOTHILL COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT RECOMMENDATION Adopt a Draft Resolution entitled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, approving the application for grant funding from the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program for the Foothill Complete Street Project” authorizing: A. Staff to prepare and submit an application for the SS4A grant program of up to $800,000 for the Foothill Complete Streets Project; B. The use of up to $258,090 of funding previously approved and/or planned for the Foothill Complete Streets Project in the 2025-27 Financial Plan as matching funds for this grant; C. The City Manager to appropriate grant funds and approve a budget amendment to reflect received grant funds, if awarded; D. The appointment of the City Manager, or their designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all grant documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, and payment requests which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project. POLICY CONTEXT The Foothill Boulevard corridor between the western city limit and California Boulevard is identified as primary barrier to mobility in the Safe Routes to School Plan for Bishops Peak and Pacheco Elementary Schools, and as a Tier 1 (highest priority) corridor for pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the City’s 2021 Active Transportation Plan. The Foothill Boulevard corridor has also been identified as experiencing an increased rate of Page 145 of 994 Item 5i traffic collisions, and is formally designated as part of the City’s High Injury Network 1 in the City’s Draft Vision Zero Action Plan. Each of these plans identify priority infrastructure improvement recommendations to enhance safety and mobility along this corridor. Per Section 740 of the City’s Financial Management Manual, staff is required to obtain Council approval prior to applying for grants over $5,000. The purpose of this staff report is to request City Council authorization to submit a grant application through the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to secure additional funding to support efforts to advance safety improvements along the Foothill corridor. DISCUSSION Background The Foothill Boulevard corridor between the western city limit and California Boulevard is identified as an important part of the Safe Routes to School Plan (SRTS) for Bishops Peak and Pacheco Elementary Schools as well as the Tier 1 Network of the Active Transportation Plan for planned bicycle and pedestrian improvements. During the public outreach for both of these plans, Foothill Boulevard was identified as a primary transportation barrier and as a focus area for future improvements to improve safe active transportation connections to Bishops Peak and Pacheco Elementary Schools, as well as Cal Poly University. Foothill Boulevard currently carries between 300 and 3,000 bicycle and pedestrian trips per day, depending on the location, and has experienced 97 collisions over the past five years (2019-2023), and at least 13 fatal or severe injury collisions over the past decade (including 5 community members on bike and 4 pedestrians). Foothill ranks as one of the top collision rate arterial streets in San Luis Obispo, with a particularly high concentration of severe crashes involving people walking and bicycling. As part of the 2023-25 Financial Plan, staff-initiated planning efforts to prepare a comprehensive corridor improvement plan for Foothill Boulevard, including presentation of preliminary findings and design concepts to the City Active Transportation Committee (ATC) on June 27, 2024, to gather comments to guide further development of the project. Staff plans to complete public outreach efforts and preparation of a final Complete Street Corridor Plan for public review in the first half of 2026. However, additional planning work is needed to evaluate feasibility of improvements and potential considerations for emergency evacuation and access needs. The draft 2025-27 Financial Plan recommends allocating $200,000 in FY 2026 -27 to advance design and pre-construction activities, with potential for $2.5 million in construction funding planned for FY 2028 -29 in the 10-year Capital Improvement Plan 1 The High Injury Network represents the 10% of city road miles where 75% of citywide fatal and severe injury crashes have occurred. Page 146 of 994 Item 5i slated for presentation to Council on June 17th . Receiving additional funding sooner via this grant will allow staff to advance pre-construction work, environmental review, and further public outreach to reach a “shovel-ready” state for priority improvement implementation. Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Congress has authorized the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program, which is administered by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), with $5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years, 2022-2026. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Almost $2 billion of the $5 billion appropriation is still available for future funding rounds and the program requires a 20% match of local funds. Given unsuccessful prior experience in applying for this grant to fund construction for other projects but success in securing $400,000 to fund planning for the South Broad Complete Street corridor, there may be an opportunity to secure planning funds for the Foothill Complete Streets project. The grant funding is split roughly evenly into two “buckets”, with one bucket funding planning initiatives and the other bucket funding implementation (construction) activities. The implementation funding is extremely competitive, while the planning funding bucket is much less competitive. If successful, the SSA4 grant funds for Foothill Boulevard Complete Street would fund planning activities such as stakeholder engagement, a comprehensive roadway safety audit, additional safety analysis, emergency evacuation analysis, and expanded data collection. These grant funds would also fund environmental review documentation, further development of design concepts for priority improvement recommendations, and potential to implement a quick-build demonstration project to advance and test low-cost safety enhancements before investing in permanent future improvements . The Foothill Boulevard Complete Street project’s anticipated timeframe is as follows: Task Anticipated Schedule Preliminary Analysis & Corridor Concept Planning In progress since 2024 Submit SS4A Grant Application Summer 2025 Grant Award Notification & Contract Authorization Fall 2025 Mobilize for Public Outreach and Expanded Corridor Planning Scope Funded by SS4A Grant Fall 2025/Winter 2026 Final Corridor Plan for Council Approval Winter 2027 Initiate Demonstration Project and Design Phase for Permanent Improvements Winter 2027 Initiate Construction of Permanent Improvements Fall 2028 The schedule above is preliminary and dependent on grant administration requirements and resources. Page 147 of 994 Item 5i Previous Council or Advisory Body Action On June 12, 2023, the City Council approved $200,000 as part of the 2023-25 Financial Plan for staffing and to advance early planning and preliminary design for the Foothill Complete Street project. On June 27, 2024, the Active Transportation Committee (ATC) received a first look at preliminary concepts for the Foothill Complete Street project and provided early input to guide further development. On November 21, 2024, the ATC recommended its goals for the 2025-27 Financial Plan. Advancement of the Foothill Complete Streets project was recommended as a top priority only behind the Higuera and South Broad Complete Streets projects. The Foothill Complete Streets project was also recommended as a top priority in the ATC’s goals for the 2023-25 Financial Plan, recommended on November 17, 2022. May 15, 2025, the Active Transportation Committee On May 15, 2025, the Active Transportation Committee expressed support for the City pursuing a SS4A grant. Staff recommended applying for the grant to advance the Foothill Complete Streets project, as the Foothill Boulevard corridor is identified as a Tier 1 (highest priority) project in the Active Transportation Plan (ATP), a key priority in the ATC’s 2025–27 Budget Recommendations, a priority in the 2017 Bishop Peak & Pacheco Elementary Safe Routes to School Plan, and already included in the City’s current work program. During the meeting, some committee members also expressed interest in using the grant to support a new effort—to develop a citywide Safe Routes to School plan—which, while aligned with adopted planning goals, has not been previously prioritized in the work program or in recent budget and public engagement processes. Staff acknowledged the value of this idea but also raised concerns that pursuing a new, unfunded initiative could divert limited resources away from existing commitments and high-priority projects. However, because there remains interest from the ATC in continuing the conversation around the potential development of a citywide SRTS planning effort, staff will add a SRTS action item to a future ATC agenda—potentially in September—to provide the ATC with the flexibility to make a formal recommendation on further steps. Staff would support the formation of a subcommittee to take a closer look at refining the purpose and need for the plan, and to help develop a clear scope of work. This would establish realistic expectations regarding the level of resources such an effort would require. Once the scope and resource needs are better defined, the next step would be to explore opportunities to move forward without compromising the City's existing commitments and priorities. This could include pursuing partnerships with Cal Poly, seeking grant funding Page 148 of 994 Item 5i to support consultant services, or reconsidering the timing of other projects —should priorities shift, and trade-offs be warranted. Public Engagement The Foothill Complete Streets project was identified as a high priority during public outreach for the Safe Routes to School Plan for Pacheco and Bishop Peak Elementary School as well as the Active Transportation Plan. CONCURRENCE The Public Works Department, Finance Department, and City Administration have reviewed this authorization request and concur with its con tents. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW There is no environmental review required for grant submittals. The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this report because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378. FISCAL IMPACT Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2024-25 Funding Identified: Yes Fiscal Analysis: There is currently $58,090 in the Foothill Complete Streets project account (Project: 2001058). An additional $200K is proposed in the draft 2025-27 Financial Plan in FY 2026-27. Staff recommends using the combination of these funds totalling $258,090 toward the required 20% local match for the $800,000 grant request for the SS4A funding program. Funding Sources Total Budget Available Current Funding Request Remaining Balance Annual Ongoing Cost General Fund $258,090* $0 $0 $ Federal: SS4A Grant $ $800,000 Total $258,090 $800,000 $ $ * Pending approval of $200,000 requested as part of the 2025 -27 Financial Plan ALTERNATIVES Deny authorization to apply for grant funding. The City Council could choose not to apply for the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant program. While this option would Page 149 of 994 Item 5i maintain the City’s current funding commitments, it would forgo an opportunity to secure supplemental funding that could enhance the Foothill Complete Street project. ATTACHMENTS A – Draft Resolution Authorizing Submittal of SS4A Grant Application Page 150 of 994 R ______ RESOLUTION NO. _____ (2025 SERIES) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL (SS4A) PROGRAM FOR THE FOOTHILL COMPLETE STREET PROJECT WHEREAS, Congress has authorized the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All SS4A) discretionary program, which is administered by the United States Department of Transportation ( USDOT), with $ 5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years, 2022-2026; and WHEREAS, the SS4A program funds regional, local, and tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries; and WHEREAS, the Foothill Boulevard corridor is identified as part of the Safe Routes to School Plan for Pacheco and Bishop Peak Elementary Schools and part of the Tier 1 Network of the Active Transportation Plan for planned bicycle and pedestrian improvements and has been identified as a High Collision Rate Roadway Segment, with a history of high frequency and severity of traffic collisions; and WHEREAS, the SS4A program requires a 20% match of local funds; and WHEREAS, $58,090 is remaining in the adopted 2023-25 Financial Plan and $200,000 is proposed in the draft 2025-27 Financial Plan for staffing and to advance early planning and preliminary design for the Foothill Complete Street. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. Authorizes staff to prepare and apply for up to $800,000 in grant funding through the Federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program for the Foothill Complete Street Project. SECTION 2. Approves the use of up to $258,090 in local funding programmed and proposed for the Foothill Complete Street project as matching funds for this grant, if awarded. SECTION 3. Authorize the City Manager to appropriate grant funds and approve a budget amendment to reflect received grant funds, if awarded. SECTION 4. Appoints the City Manager, or designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all grant documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, payment requests which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project. Page 151 of 994 Resolution No. _____ (2025 Series) Page 2 R ______ Upon motion of Council Member ___________, seconded by Council Member ___________, and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing resolution was adopted this _____ day of _______________ 20 25. ___________________________ Mayor Erica A. Stewart ATTEST: ______________________ Teresa Purrington City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: ______________________ J. Christine Dietrick City Attorney IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, on ______________________. ___________________________ Teresa Purrington City Clerk Page 152 of 994