To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Works
Agenda Section: Departmental
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Local Road Safety Plan
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive the staff report on the completed Local Roadway Safety Plan;
2. Accept and File the Local Roadway Safety Plan; and
3. Direct Public Works to incorporate the recommendations in the Local Roadway Safety Plan for future safety projects within the County of Humboldt Roadway System.
Body
STRATEGIC PLAN:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Plan.
Area of Focus: Safe & Healthy Communities
Strategic Plan Category: 1007 - Improve the transportation network to be multi-model, safe, sustainable and equitable
DISCUSSION:
On Jan. 30, 2024, the Humboldt County Department of Public Works received grant funding from the California Department of Transportation to develop a Local Roadway Safety Plan (“LRSP”). The LRSP is identified in the Humboldt County Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2028 to be an area of focus for Safe and Healthy Communities. Public works contracted with on-call professional design engineering consultant, GHD Inc. to develop the LRSP by the completion deadline of September 2024.
The LRSP provides a framework for organizing stakeholders with the purpose to identify, analyze and prioritize roadway safety needs. This plan followed these steps: establish leadership, analyze safety data, determine emphasis areas, identify strategies, prioritize and incorporate strategies, and evaluate and update. The LRSP development began by establishing a leadership team with Humboldt County Department of Public Works and GHD, Inc. The leadership team then formed the stakeholder working group with local agencies and community organizations representing the five E’s of traffic safety: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Emergency Services, and Emerging Technologies. The working group met to discuss the collision analysis findings, goals and priorities, and safety recommendations. This group was key in creating a safety plan for the traffic safety needs specific to Humboldt County, while contributing to the overall statewide goals outlined in California’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
The next step in developing the LRSP was analyzing the County’s traffic safety data for the five-year period between 2018 to 2022 and evaluating collision patterns and high-risk roadway characteristics. The working group then determined the following emphasis areas for the LRSP specific to Humboldt County’s safety needs: aggressive driving and speed management, intersections, distracted driving, and lane departures.
Identifying safety strategies was the next step to mitigate the county’s primary collision trends and reduce collision severity. Data analysis, public input, and working group feedback helped to determine the priority locations in the county. Specific safety strategies were then categorized, prioritized and identify the responsible stakeholders. Strategies also include systemic and non-engineering approaches to safety which consider broader areas of concern that may be overlooked if the focus is only on locations with the highest collision frequency. This holistic approach fosters partnerships between stakeholders with vision zero principles for local road safety. Vision zero is an international initiative that aims to eliminate roadway fatalities or serious injuries.
The LRSP is intended to be a living document. Once adopted and implemented, the LRSP outlines steps to evaluate the improvement strategies to determine their effectiveness, update the LRSP as the recommended improvements are installed and re-prioritize strategies as new traffic safety data is analyzed. The LRSP is intended to be updated every five years once new traffic data is available and analyzed through the LRSP process, encouraging ongoing participation from the public and local stakeholders. The next update will include 2023 to 2027 collision data.
On May 12, 2024, Public Works concluded public comment to the draft LRSP and now seeks Board of Supervisor acceptance of the proposed Final LRSP (Attachment 1).
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Road Fund (1200321), California Department of Transportation
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
|
Expenditures (1200321) |
FY23-24 |
FY24-25 Projected* |
FY25-26 Projected* |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$128,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Total Expenditures |
$128,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
|
Funding Sources (Fund, Budget Unit) |
FY23-24 |
FY24-25 Projected* |
FY25-26 Projected* |
|
State/Federal Funds |
$115,200 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
County Road Funds (1200321) |
$12,800 |
$0 |
$0 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$128,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
The total cost of developing the LRSP was $128,000. The Department of Transportation grant covered 90% or $115,200 with the remaining balance of $12,800 covered by the Road Fund (1200321). The expenses were included in the approved fiscal year 2023-24 budget.
There are no additional costs to accept and file the report. The cost to implement recommendations in the report depends upon the initiative, such as availability of grant funding, and whether the recommendation is an infrastructure or non-infrastructure project. Future projects would be budgeted in the appropriate fiscal years for Board of Supervisor approval.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impact:
The LRSP plan development was a combined effort of both consultant and County staff. Acceptance of the LRSP and future projects will provide work opportunities for both consultants and county staff and should not negatively impact current staffing levels.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Humboldt County Association of Governments, Humboldt Bay Fire, Humboldt County Sheriff, Humboldt County Office of Education, Humboldt County Health and Human Services, Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services, California Highway Patrol, Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, Hoopa Tribe, Wiyot Tribe, Trinidad Rancheria, Blue Lake Rancheria, Bear River Rancheria, Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association, Redwood Community Action Agency, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, McKinleyville Community Services District, McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee, City of Eureka, City Ambulance Company, Hospitals, City of Arcata, City of Fortuna, City of Ferndale, City of Trinidad, City of Blue Lake, Shelter Cove RID, Humboldt Transit Authority, California Department of Transportation District 1,
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The LRSP is complete, so there are no alternatives. Continued support by the Board will be necessary to apply for state and federal safety grants to implement the recommendations of the LRSP.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Local Road Safety Plan
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A