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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/15/2008, C3 - TRANSPORTATION GRANT FUNDING council. MR 7/15/2008 j AgenoA REpoat CITYOF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Jay D. Walter, Director of Public Works Prepared By: Jake Hudson, Engineer III -Traffic SUBJECT: TRANSPORTATION GRANT FUNDING CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Appropriate $120,000 in approved State Highway Account (SHA) grant funding for design and construction of the Bob Jones Bike Path Bridge Connections project budget(90670). 2. Appropriate $370,000 in approved Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant funding for design and construction of a traffic signal at the intersection of Grand and US'101 North Bound off ramp. 3. Appropriate $255,150 in approved Safe Routes to School (SR29) grant funding for pedestrian improvements at Hawthorne Elementary, Sinsheimer Elementary, and San Luis Obispo High School, and program $25,515 from the Capital Improvement Project Reserve Account for the required 10% local match. 4. Appropriate $1,642,000 in approved SHA grant funding for eligible traffic signal and congestion related improvements as identified in the following report. REPORT IN BRIEF During difficult fiscal times it is important to take advantage of outside funding sources. Over the past couple of years Transportation staff has been successful in applying for and receiving approximately 2.4 million dollars in grant funding for specific functions and projects such as traffic signal improvements & school zone pedestrian improvements. These grants included three different funding sources; SHA (State Highway Account), HSIP (Hazard Safety Improvement Program), and SR2S (Safe Routes to School). From these.three funding sources eight separate projects are eligible for funding; Bob Jones Bike Trail — Connections, General Traffic Signal System Improvements, Foothill & California Traffic Signal Reconstruction, Foothill & California Railroad Preemption improvements, Traffic Operations Report Implementation, Hwy 227 Relinquishment signal conversions and upgrades, Grand & Hwy 101 North Bound Traffic Signal Installation, pedestrian improvements at Sinsheimer Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, and San Luis High Schools. Although these grants have been awarded over the past couple of years SLOGOG has just recently released them for spending. These grants come at an excellent time, when staff would have otherwise been requesting this new funding from the general fund during the next Financial Plan; additional funds will now be available for other new projects. C3 - 2 Transportation Grant Funding Page 2 DISCUSSION Each year various grants become available for transportation purposes. City policy requires that the Council review grant submittals that are sought by the City for these purposes. The Safe Routes to School (SR2S) grant application was approved by Council in April 2003. Unfortunately, funding was not approved at that time. Staff resubmitted SR2S grant applications and received notice of award in November 2007. The Hazard Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and State Highways Account (SHA) grant applications were not provided to Council prior to the grant application. The HSIP grant was a joint grant application process, with Caltrans taking the lead and providing local match funding. The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) provided a very limited application timeline for the SHA grant program. In part by lack of staffing and an expedited application schedule delegated by SLOCOG, the SHA grant application was not provided for Council review prior to submittal. During this difficult fiscal time, staff feels it is essential that the City take advantage of any outside funding source to assist in delivering capital improvements. State takeaways and continued decreases in key General Fund revenues have made obtaining grant program funding increasingly more competitive. The Transportation Planning and Engineering staff has actively sought out grant revenues that will assist the City in achieving its goals and objectives, as well as play a key role in the City's overall financial health. The City has been successful in obtaining several State grants for various transportation improvement projects as noted above. It is important to note that each of these grants has been awarded for specific projects and functions related to transportation and safety improvements. Other than what is specified in this report there are currently no other Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) or operating programs which are eligible for these grant funds. Only one of the three approved State grants will require a 10% local match amount in order to access the funds. The City has been very successful in competing for and receiving various grants but due to the timing of grant submittals and various staffing issues experienced by the Public Works department, the programming of the grants into the City's budget was delayed. Notification of grant awards have been previously provided to Council via Council notes or as part of the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) Council representation updates. These approved grants are comprised of three different funding sources, State Highway Account (SHA), Hazard Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and Safe Routes to School (SR2S). From the SHA funding source, the City has been awarded four grants; City Wide Signal Improvements, Various Signal Operation Improvements, Signal Improvements at California & Foothill, & The Bob Jones Bike Path. From the HSIP funding source, the City has been awarded a grant for Signalization of Grand & Hwy 101 North Bound off-ramp. From the SR2S funding source, the City has been awarded a grant for various pedestrian improvements at Hawthorne & Sinsheimer Elementary and San Luis High School. C3 -2- Transportation Grant Funding Page 3 The following table indicates the incoming grant funding and the corresponding projects which qualify for the funding. Attachment 1 to this report contains a detailed description of the various grants and corresponding projects needing to be programmed in the City budget. GRANT I PRO1. GRANT FUNDING SOURCE AMOUNT JELIGIBLE PROJECTS ESTIMATE STATE HIGHWAY ACCOUNT(SHA) SHA ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Bob Jones Bike Path(90670) $120,000 Bob June Bike Trail Connection(90670)—Grant Augmentation $120,000 City Wide Signal Improvements $400,000 General Traffic Signal System Improvements $517,000 Signal Operations $1,/./5,000 Foothill Traffic Signal Reconstruction-Rail Road Safety Trail $250,000 Signa]Improvements California/Foothill $117,000 Foothill Traffic Signal Rail Road Preemption-Rail Road Safety Trail $500,000 Traffic Operations Report Implementation $165,000 Hwy 227 Relinquishment-Signal Conversions& Upgrades $200,000 SHA GRANT FUNDING TOTAL $1,762,000 IDENTIFIED ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TOTAL $1,762,000 HAZARD SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (HSIP) HSIP ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Grand&Hwy 101 North Bound $370,000 Grand&Hwy 101 North Bound Signalization $370,000 Si nalization SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL (SR2S) SR2S ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Hawthorne,Sinsheimer,&San Luis High $255,150 Hawthorne,Sinsheimer,&.San Luis High Ped $255,150 Ped Improvements Improvements FISCAL IMPACT Bob Jones Bike Trail (90670)—Bridge Connections (SHA) The Bob Jones Bike Trail — Bridge Connections CIP is identified in the FY 2007-09 Financial Plan, Appendix B pages 3-270 through 3-273, where $50,000 was appropriated for design and $170,000 for construction in 2007-08 fiscal year. Project carryover funds in the amount of $500,000 were combined with the 2007-08 FY funds, making the total project budget $720,000. Currently the project has a remaining account balance of$219,559. After receiving $120,000 in grant funding the project balance will be $339,559. This project is currently in progress and staff has identified that the construction phase is underfunded and supplemental funding will be needed to help support construction services. The additional grant funding will be used help supplement rising construction costs and contingencies associated with the project. C3 -3 Transportation Grant Funding Page 4 2007/09 FINANCIAL SHA GRANT NEW PROJECT PLAN AUGMENTATION BALANCE DESIGN $50,000 s0 $50,000 CONSTRUCTION $170,000 $120,000 $790,000 Transfer to CONSTRUCTION $500,000 TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET $720,000 $840,000 DESIGN EXPEND. ($48,400) $0 ($48.400) CONSTRUCTION EXPEND. ($452,041) $0 ($452.041) FUNDS AVAILABLE $219,559 $120,000 $339,559 General Traffic Signal System Improvements (SHA) In an attempt to simplify grant funding programs, SLOCOG has combined several grants with the same eligibility requirements into one large signal operation improvements grant. The Traffic Signal Improvements 97-99 (Specification No. 99813) was combined with several other grants recently released. Staff proposes to create a new project titled General Traffic Signal System Improvements and transfer the remaining funds from the existing project account to the new project account budget. The Traffic Signal Improvements 97-99 (99813) was identified in the 1997-99 Financial Plan, pages 104 and 105. A total of $650,000 was approved for eligible signal improvements from 1997 to 2001. Taking into account all expenditures and carryover balances to date, there is a remaining balance of $158,081. After the new project receives its appropriated budget of $527,000 and the remaining funds from the Traffic Signal Improvements 97-99 are transferred, the new project balance will be $685,081. Projects are expected to start immediately after receiving funding and will continue until all funds are exhausted. 1997/99 FINANCIAL ADDITIONAL SHA NEW PROJECT PLAN GRANT FUNDING BUDGET ALLOCATION $650,000 $527,000 $1,177,000 EXPENDITURES ($491,919) $0 ($491,919) FUNDS AVAILABLE $158,081 $527,000 $685,081 Foothill/California Traffic Signal Reconstruction—RR Safety Trail Improvements (SHA) This project was recommended as one of three smaller traffic signal reconstructions and included in the 2007-09 Financial Plan, Appendix B, Pages 3-241 through 3-243. Funding for the Traffic Signal Reconstruction Project is identified in an"out year",tentatively earmarked for funding in 2009-10 FY because it was dependent upon completion of another project. C3-� Transportation Grant Funding Page 5 The Foothill/California Traffic Signal Reconstruction will be completed as a key connection between Rail Road Safety Trail phase 4 and phase 4a. Staff proposes to remove this project from the overall 2007-09 Traffic Signal Reconstructions CIP. Staff recommends to program funding for the Foothill/California project. Staff will return to Council with a reduced CEP request for the remaining two signal reconstructions as part of the next Financial Plan. The total project is currently estimated at $250,000. Staff anticipates the project commencing within the next six months and project completion within the 2008-09 fiscal year. NEW PROJECT BUDGET (SHA GRANT) ENGINEERS ESTIMATE $190,000 CONTINGENCIES $28,500 PRINTING&PERMITS $3,000 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT $28,500 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS 5250,000 FUNDS AVAILABLE $250,000 Foothill/California Traffic Signal RR Preemption—RR Safety Trail Improvements (SHA) As part of the Rail Road Safety Trail Signal Reconstruction design, staff identified the need for Rail Road Preemption. This project is not currently identified in any Financial Plan. The Foothill/California Traffic Signal RR Preemption will be required in order to complete a key connection between Rail Road Safety Trail phases 4 &4a. Staff proposes to program the Foothill/California Traffic Signal RR Preemption project at this time so that work may be initiated immediately NEW PROJECT BUDGET (SHA GRANT) ENGINEERS ESTIMATE $430,000 CONTINGENCIES $64,500 PRINTING&PERMITS $5,500 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $500,000 FUNDS AVAILABLE $500,000 Traffic Signal Installation at Grand&Hwy 101 North Bound (HSIP) As part of the City of San Luis Obispo's 2006 Annual Traffic Safety Report, the intersection of Grand Avenue and the Highway 101 North Bound off-ramp was identified as the highest collision ranked intersection in the City of its class. Of those collisions, 90% were deemed correctable. As such, staff proposes to use the Hazard Safety Improvement Program funding for C3 - 5 l Transportation Grant Funding Page 6 these improvements. It is anticipated that this project will commence immediately after receiving funding. The traffic signal installation at Grand and Hwy 101 North Bound off-ramp and the associated HSIP grant funding is not currently identified in any Financial Plan. The total project cost is estimated at $370,000. In addition to the grant funding there is a required 10% local match. The California State Department of Transportation(DOT) has agreed to fund the required local match of $37,000. Therefore, no financial commitments from the City, other than miscellaneous reimbursable costs and staff resources are necessary. NEW PROJECT BUDGET (HSIP GRANT) ENGINEERS ESTIMATE $267,000 DESIGN $20,000 CONTINGENCIES $40,050 PRINTING&PERMITS $2,900 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT $40,050 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $370,000 10%Local Match(DOT) $37,000 FUNDS AVAILABLE $407,000 Hawthorne, Sinsheimer, & San Luis High School Pedestrian Improvements(SR2S) Pedestrian improvements at these three schools and the associated grant funding are not currently identified in any Financial Plan. A 10% local match of approximately $26,000 is required to receive this grant funding. Staff recommends the transfer of $26,000 from the CEP Reserve account to fund the local match and will prepare a Budget Amendment Request when the project specification number has been identified. The CIP Reserve account currently has a balance of $554,000. After this transfer, the CIP Reserves will have a balance of $528,000. There is sufficient funding in the CIP Reserves account to support the project's local match. The total project cost is estimated at $255,150. This project is expected to start immediately after receiving funding and will continue until all funds are expended. C3 - � Transportation Grant Funding Page 7 NEW PROJECT BUDGET (SR2S GRANT) ENGINEERS ESTIMATE $180,000 DESIGN $20,000 CONTINGENCIES $27,000 PRINTING&PERMITS $1,150 CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT $27,000 TOTAL PROJECT COST $255,150 10%Local Match(Transfer from CIP Reserve) $26,000 FUNDS AVAILABLE $281,150 CONCURRENCES Safe Routes to School: The San Luis Unified School District including representative faculty and parents at each of the schools identified in the grant have reviewed the proposed projects and contributed letters of support to the grant. MIR The State Department of Transportation initiated and supports this grant and associated project. In addition they will be providing the local match. ALTERNATIVES Deny approval of SR2S local match funding. The Council may choose not to appropriate the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) local match of$26,000. Staff does not recommend this alternative because the award of the SR2S grant funding is contingent upon the local match. If local match funds are not appropriated, reimbursement of the SR2Sgrant funds will not occur. With no grant funding available, the pedestrian improvements at Sinsheimer & Hawthorne Elementary and San Luis High school will not have the necessary funding to proceed. Deny appropriation of grant funding. The Council may chose not to appropriate the grant funding. Staff does not recommend this alternative. The above listed grants represent a total of $2,424,150 in funds available to the City of San Luis Obispo for eligible transportation and traffic safety projects. Without these funds, the projects will not have the necessary financial support to continue. Projects may need to be deferred until alternative funding can be identified. ATTACHMENT Description of Projects %Ndlstae2Ou61iagrksWaR-repodswpendas-rrinuto\nr120081hanspodabm\gmnt fundinftmnt funding.dot C3 -7 Transportation Grand t..ading Attachment 1 Description of Projects State Highway Account(SHA) Funding Bob Jones Bike Trail Connections As part of Council's decision to discontinue pursuit of the Montalban Street pedestrian Bridge (October 19, 2004), a State Highway Account (SHA) grant in the amount of $120,000 was left in project funding. Staff has worked with SLOCOG to reprogram this funding to augment current funding for the bridge connections on the Bob Jones Bicycle facility between Prado and Los Osos Valley Road. General Traffic Signal System Improvements Since the late 1990's the City has applied for and been awarded several SHA signal system grants, however this funding had been previously deferred by SLOCOG and can now be programmed by the City. Staff has proposed use of the funding to augment traffic congestion relief efforts to coincide with the major Council goal established in the FY 2007-09 Financial Plan. Staff proposes to use $400,000 for various upgrades to traffic signal systems, and $1,115,000 also for various upgrades to traffic signal systems to improve safety and operations. Staff has identified the following four projects which should be funded immediately from this grant allocation. Johnson & Marsh Vehicle Detection The intersection of Johnson & Marsh is currently operating on fixed time with essentially no vehicle detection. The lack of detection and variable traffic flows, most notably from pick up and drop off times at San Luis Obispo, High School, is causing unnecessary congestion and delays. The installation of vehicle detection will significantly improve signal operations by maximizing green time where it's needed and reducing delay on Johnson Avenue. This project has already been designed and has been awaiting funds. This issue has been identified as a priority by the residents of the Pismo-Buchon neighborhood. Traffic Video Detection Infrastructure Upgrades Since 2000, the City has utilized video cameras (in lieu of inductive loops) to detect the presence of vehicles and bicycles for the purposes of traffic signal actuation. With over 140 of these individual video detection devices it is time consuming for staff to identify problems and to efficiently correct them since adjustments require trips to the field and return to work if malfunctions occur during non-working hours. Until recently, these detection devices were only able to be accessed in the field, physically at the signal equipment enclosures. In November 2006, as a test case, equipment was installed at Los Osos Valley Road & Madonna so that these detection devices could be accessed remotely by authorized maintenance and engineering staff. This equipment offered a profound improvement in staffs ability to troubleshoot signal Page 1 of 5 C3 - 9 Transportation Grand 1t..ading Attachment 1 Description of Projects system issues, correct vehicle detection issues, and actively monitor and react to congestion levels. Staff is now pursuing the installation of this equipment at all traffic signals with video detection in order to bring traffic detection back to the signal control center and access the signal system from satellite locations. This added efficiency of this project will assist the City in meeting traffic operations and maintenance performance objectives and will set the stage for congestion relief efforts that may arise from the Traffic Operation Report currently being prepared. Foothill& California Traffic Signal Reconstruction & Rail Road Preemption Three grants in total have been requested so far. The first is allocation of$127,000 is for signal improvements at California & Foothill to coincide with Phase 4 and 4A of the Railroad Safety Trail project construction. The request for signal upgrade as part of the grant allocation is for improvements to comply with new requirements for railroad grade crossings at signalized intersections as well as install pedestrian and bicycle crossing signals on the west leg of the intersection that currently has no crossing. Currently two conditions exist at this intersection which will not comply with new federal regulations..First, the signal has historically operated in flash mode during preemption but: new regulations discourage this sequencing because this operation permits conflicting vehicle movements to proceed towards the tracks during preemption. The second condition is the lack of time for pedestrians to clear the crosswalk before vehicles queued over the tracks need to be released to clear preemptive operations. Reconstruction of this traffic signal was requested as part of the FY 2007-09 Financial Plan but was not proposed for funding until 'a later year (FY 2010). SHA funding is usually prioritized for operational improvements however, funding the rehabilitation and modification of this signal now allows for both long term maintenance and operational improvements to coincide with improvements to the Railroad Safety Trail. Staff continues to work with Union Pacific Railroad to determine additional costs associated with improving the preemption of this location. It is likely that additional funding may be necessary to complete these improvements and staff recommends holding SHA funding in reserve for use for the project. This traffic signal was installed in the late 1950's and no longer meets current structural specifications or Federal uniform traffic control device requirements. The existing rigid conduits and pull boxes are currently at or exceeding capacity and failing due to fatigue and rust. Also most of the wiring and within these conduits is failing due to aging, thin insulation, moisture intrusion, exposed wiring, and failure prone splices. Poles are suffering from metal fatigue and rust, with exposed internal wiring due to holes caused by rust& drilling. Page 2 of 5 C3 -9 Transportation Grand ,., ding Attachment 1 Description of Projects Hazard Safety Improvement Program(HSIP) Grand&Hwy 101 NB Signalization In coordination with Caltrans the City submitted, and was awarded As part of the 2006/07 HSIP Grant cycle the City & CalTrans submitted and was awarded a joint grant application of $370,000 to signalize this intersection. This grant funding includes allocations for design, construction and construction management. As part of the City of San Luis Obispo's 2006 Annual Traffic Safety Report, the intersection of Grand Avenue and the Hwy NB off-ramp was identified as the highest collision ranked intersection in the City of its class. Vehicles exiting the ramp to attend Cal Poly State University, back up on the main line during peak class times. The intersection meets Traffic Signal Warrant for collisions. Of the eleven collisions that occurred from April 1, 2001 through May 31, 2005, ten were broadsides and considered correctable. This location also meets the volume warrant for a traffic signal, which when installed,will significantly improve traffic flow. Pedestrians and cyclists crossing the NB-off ramp are not expected at the ramp exit and: vehicle versus pedestrian or bicycle conflicts occur daily. While queuing at the ramp. exit, motorists are typically focused to the right while trying to make the left turn. Pedestrians and bicycles are coming from the left however and usually at a high rate of speed due to the 5% down grade. Vehicles are also traveling at high rates of speed and are often not seen in time when approaching from the left. Safe Routes to School Pedestrian Improvements. As part of the Safe Routes to School Program the City Staff has identified three pedestrian safety improvement projects for routes to three different schools; Sinsheimer Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, and San Luis Obispo High School. As part of the 7t' cycle Safe Routes to School Program the HSIP submitted and was awarded a grant application of$255,150 to complete the projects identified at these schools. This grant funding includes allocations for design, construction management, and construction. Hawthorne Elementary The intersection of Upham and Broad Street has been chosen as the new School Route crossing location for the Hawthorne Elementary School. The project will remove the current school crossing at Chorro Street and Broad Street which spans approximately 87- feet across, and establish the new crossing at the northern side of Upham Street, across Broad Street, which will have a crossing distance of only 35-feet. Broad Street has a speed limit of 35mph with an 85 percentile speed of 40mph, and an ADT of approximately 14,000 VPD. Staff has identified establishing the new crosswalk, including one updated ADA approved ramp at the north east corner of the intersection to improve pedestrian safety. Since the speed is being lowered from 35mph to 25mph, this Page 3 of 5 C3 - (o Transportation Grand'hvnding Attachment 1 Description of Projects should also include the installation of the School Crosswalk Warning Assembly for both the north and southbound directions of Broad Street Sinsheimer Elementary The Johnson/Sydney crossing is a local street with a speed limit of 35mph. Children crossing Johnson are facing an 85 percentile speed of 44 mph, an Average Daily Traffic (ADT)of approximately 16,000 Vehicles Per Day (VPD), and 5 lanes to cross. This portion of Johnson Avenue is a candidate in the City's Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP). The program ranks neighborhoods using criteria that include traffic speeds, volume, presence or absence of continuous sidewalks, bicycle facilities, collisions, and presence of schools or other activity centers. The portion of Johnson Avenue included in the proposed project ranks 2nd out of twenty one NTMP's, and therefore is a high priority on the list for the City of San Luis Obispo. This project will install the School Crosswalk Warning Assembly for both the north and south directions of Johnson Avenue, and ADA approved ramps at all crossing locations. San Luis Obispo High School The intersection of San Luis Drive and California Boulevard is the major crossing location for students attending San Luis High School. The proposed project will channelize pedestrians and bicyclists to one side of the intersection. To shorten the crossing distance from 55- feet to 47-feet, a bulb-out will be installed on San Luis Drive, and the existing 68-foot crossing on the western side of the intersection will be removed. The existing curb ramp will also .be removed and replaced with a standard curb, and pedestrian barricades will be.installed;:.... Page 4 of 5 C3 - ll Transportation Grand .._ .riding Attachment 1 Description of Projects GRANT PROD. GRANT FUNDING SOURCE AMOUNT I ELIGIBLE PROJECTS ESTIMATE STATE HIGHWAY ACCOUNT(SHA) SHA ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Bob Jones Bike Path(90670) $120,000 Bob Jone Bike Trail Connection(90670)-Grant Augmentation $120,00 City Wide Signal Improvements $400,000 General Traffic Signal.System Improvements $52700 Signal Operations $1,115,000 oothdl Traffic Signal Reconstruction-Rail Road Safety Trail $250,00 Signal Improvements California(Foothill $127,000 Foothill Traffic Signal Rail Road Preemption-Rail Road Safety Trail 5500,00 Traffic Operations Report Implementation $165,00 Hwy 227 Relinquishment-Signal Conversions& Upgrades $200,00 SHA GRANT FUNDING TOTAL $1,762,000, IDENTIFIED ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TOTAL $1,762,0(1 HAZARD SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM(HSIP) HSIP ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Grand&H 101 NB Si zation $370,000 Grand&Hwy 101 NB Signalization $370,00 SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL(SR2S) SR2S ELIGIBLE PROJECTS TO BE PROGRAMMED NOW Hawthorne,Sinsheimer,&San Luis High Ped $255,15 Hawthorne,Sinsheimer,&San Luis High Ped Improvements lImprovements $255,15 Page 5 of 5 C3- 12