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Home My WebLink About05/06/2003, C15 - SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT council °°°° -�-a3 j agenda Repont �N s CITY OF SAN LUIS OBI SPO FROM: Michael McCluskey,Public Works Director Prepared By: Hallie Holden, Engineering Assistant Transportation Division SUBJECT: SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT CAO RECOMMENDATION Authorize submittal of a Safe Routes to School grant application. DISCUSSION The Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program came into being through Assembly Bill 1475 in 1999 (AB 1475). In 2001 Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) extended the program for three additional years. It is now scheduled to lapse on January 1, 2005. (Information on both bills can be found at www.leginfo.ca.gov). Section 2333.5 of the Streets and Highways Code calls for Caltrans, in consultation with the California Highway Patrol, to "make grants available to local governmental agencies under the program based upon the results of a statewide competition that requires submission of proposals for funding and rates those proposals on all of the following factors: 1.) Demonstrated needs of the applicant. 2.) Potential of the proposal for reducing child injuries and fatalities. 3.) Potential of the proposal for encouraging increased walking and bicycling among students. 4.) Identification of safety hazards. 5,) Identification of current and potential walking and bicycling routes to school. 6.) Consultation and support for projects by school-based associations, local traffic engineers, local elected officials, law enforcement agencies, and school officials." Staff is proposing to submit an application to Caltrans for approximately $52,200.00 of Safe Routes to School grant money. The application requests 90 percent reimbursement for the purchase and installation of: 1.) Remotely programmable, solar powered flashing beacons to accompany the school speed limit signs on Los Osos Valley Road adjacent to Laguna Middle School.. 2.) Solar powered speed advisory signs on Los Osos Valley Road adjacent to Laguna Middle School. 3.) Touch sensitive pedestrian buttons at the signalized intersections throughout the Los Osos Valley Road corridor (Diablo Drive, Laguna Lane and Royal Way). 4.) LED countdown pedestrian heads at the signalized intersections throughout the Los Osos Valley Road corridor (Diablo Drive, Laguna Lane and Royal Way). Gs -� i / 1 Sate Routes to School Gram Application Page 2 oM The San Luis Coastal Unified School District, parents, and the staff have identified this section of roadway as an area of concern for pedestrian safety. If funded, the City's contribution to the project would be approximately$5,800.00. If the grant is not approved, staff will not pursue the project. Goal & Objective Programmable flashing school zone beacons can significantly reduce vehicle speeds through school zones on roadways with approach speeds greater than 35 mph. Providing programmable flashing beacons that operate only when the school zone speed limit is in effect will help to define the appropriate times of the special speed zone and provide for more accurate speed enforcement adjacent to the school. Didn't the City remove flashing school beacons that used to be located on Los Osos Valley Road in this area? Yes. Flashing school zone beacons were installed on Los Osos Valley Road in the 1970's when there were no signalized intersections for pedestrians to cross to get to Laguna Middle School. Due to equipment and electrical service constraints at the time, these beacons could not be installed in the most appropriate locations relating to the school grounds. Also, the beacons flashed not only during school commute times, but for the entire time school was in session. Most of the people driving along Los Osos Valley Road saw the beacons flashing when no school age pedestrians were present and the school speed zone was not technically in effect. This led to a lack of compliance in the school zone when it was needed. When traffic signals were installed at Laguna Lane and at Royal Way, providing improved pedestrian right-of-way at crossings, the need for the flashing beacons was further decreased, and they subsequently were removed. However, approach speeds along this corridor have remained high. The proposed new equipment will substantially improve the effectiveness of school zone notification and enforcement. So why is staff proposing to reinstall beacons here and how will they be more effective than previous efforts? The installation of flashing school zone beacons is no longer limited by costs associated with power source location. Solar powered beacons do not require a hard wire electrical source and therefore can be placed at locations that best define the school zone and reduce vehicle speed. Although the earlier flashing beacons were programmable, their remote locations made them difficult to program. Because of this limitation, they would turn on in the morning when children were going to school, remain on while school was in session and no children were present on the street, and then turn off after the children returned home. The earlier flashing beacons would even tum on when school was not in session, further contributing to disrespect for the system. The proposed system is programmable via a remote pager system. The school schedule is placed into a computer and remotely updated automatically to the beacon system on a weekly basis, or ,i CIS' �- r \ 4 \ l Safe Routes to School Grant Application Page 3 of3 as needed. The beacons will be programmed to flash only during school commute hours so that motorists observe the beacons flashing when it is necessary for them to slow down rather than during other times of the day. The increased flexibility of the new beacon systems will allow for the most effective placement and operation of a flashing school zone beacon system and will lead to speed reductions during the appropriate school times. Why is staff making this recommendation now? Staff is in the process of implementing the City Pedestrian Crossing Policy and the Safe Routes to School plans. As part of this implementation effort, staff has begun to review areas in the City where pedestrian safety concerns have been previously raised. Staff has received many requests to slow traffic on Los Osos Valley Road during the school commute times. Because of the volume and natural speed of traffic on Los Osos Valley Road, there are few options that would effectively result in reducing speeds during school commute hours. Staff shares the public's concern regarding the mixture of the high approach speeds of automobile traffic with the number of school age pedestrians in this area. The use of remotely programmable flashing beacons will allow staff to better differentiate the existing school zone and time it is in effect so that it is better defined for motorists as well as law enforcement personnel. FISCAL IMPACT Estimated Project Cost: $58,000.00 Sources of Revenue: State Grant: $52,200.00 General Fund: $5,800.00 If the grant application is successful, we will return to council with a recommended funding source. ALTERNATIVES Not apply for the grant and lose the opportunity to receive funds. Consequently, the project would not be pursued. ATTACHMENTS None. F:\USERS\EVERYONE\_council Agenda Reports\2003 agenda reports\SR2S Grant Application.doc C►s- 3 C 2MIcouncit m c m o na n o u m ;city of san lues oslspo, adminlstRatlon DATE: April 30, 2003 RECEIVED 1-1W U 1 2003 TO: City Council SLO CITY CLERK VIA: Ken Hampian el FROM: Mike McCluskey PREPARED BY: Hallie Holden SUBJECT: RED FILE FOR COUNCIL MEETING MAY 6, 2003 #c-15 COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT-SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT There is a correction to be made to the Safe Routes to School Grant council agenda report. The council agenda report (page c-15-1) states that the new pedestrian heads and buttons would be installed at the following locations: 1. Royal Way and Los Osos Valley Road 2. Laguna Lane and Los Osos Valley Road 3. Diablo Drive and Los Osos Valley Road This is incorrect; Diablo is not signalized. But Descanso is. The intersections where the new pedestrian head and buttons are to be installed are as follows: 1. Royal Way and Los Osos Valley Road 2. Laguna Lane and Los Osos Valley Road 3. Descanso Drive and Los Osos Valley Road Please substitute Descanso Drive in place of Diablo Drive in the council agenda report in the bottom two paragraphs on page C-15-1. .G000NCIL ZCDD [)IR ,fTCA0 ;/: FIN DIR RED FILE ACAO e PW E)CHIEF MEETING AGENDA ATTORNEY ZPWDIR .�CLERK/ORIG Z POLICE CHF DATE' k ITEM # L' 'S ❑ DUT HEAD ZFIEC DIR — t_C_� PJ'UTIL DIR 1-d'HR DIR F:\GROUPS\PWORKS\Transportation\tial spo""nation Projects\Pedestrians\Suggested Routes to School\SR2S 2003 cycle4\Red File.doc Red Fi(adoc