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STAFF REPORT
Development Services Department
DATE: November 15, 2011
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director
Philip A. Wray, Deputy Director of Development Services/City Engineer
Prepared by: Linda Hui, Transportation Services Manager
SUBJECT: FEDERAL SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT FUND
Recommendation: Accept the Grant Fund
SUMMARY
The City has been awarded a grant of $647,000 through a competitive process from the
Federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program. The SRTS grant will fund pedestrian
improvements in the Hugo Reid Elementary School area. The grant fund is 100%
reimbursable. It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to
accept the grant fund.
BACKGROUND
Authorized by Section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the Federal Safe Routes to School
Program provides funding to projects that remove barriers that prevent students from
walking or bicycling to school. These barriers include lack of infrastructure, unsafe
infrastructure, and lack of programs that promote walking and bicycling. The ultimate
goal of the Safe Routes to School Program is to reduce childhood obesity.
The Federal SRTS program funds are 100% reimbursable, which means a local match
is not required. They are programmed and administered by Caltrans. A total of $66
million is available statewide in the current 2011 (Cycle 3) Federal SRTS Program.
Caltrans received a total of 332 applications statewide. Of the total received, 139
applications were selected for funding. Arcadia's application is one of the 27 selected
applications from Los Angeles and Ventura Counties (Caltrans District 7).
Staff Report
November 15, 2011
Page 2
DISCUSSION
The City, in coordination with the Arcadia Unified School District, conducts annual
school traffic evaluations at the beginning of each school year. At these traffic
evaluations, safety improvements were recommended by the evaluation panel and
implemented mostly by the City. The cumulative improvements over the years include
simple restriping, warning signs, street-parking relocations/restrictions, traffic
enforcement, and curb and sidewalk addition. Only areas immediately adjacent to
school sites have benefited from these improvements. In recent years, several schools
expressed an interest in encouraging students to walk to school. When the opportunity
for funding arose, the City worked with the School District to nominate candidates for
potential project application. Principals from two schools expressed interest. After site
analysis and user interest evaluation, Hugo Reid Elementary School was selected for
the project application.
An application was submitted in July 2011, proposing pedestrian infrastructure
improvements such as sidewalk, crosswalk and street corner enhancements as well as
pedestrian warning signs and pedestrian signal modifications in the general vicinity of
Hugo Reid Elementary School. These improvements will help achieve the goal of the
SRTS program which is to decrease childhood obesity by increasing the number of
children who walk. The project will help improve pedestrian safety and infrastructure to
encourage more pedestrian activities by students.
The funding is available as soon as the project is amended into the Federal Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program (FSTIP). The FSTIP process takes up to four
months. Within six months of the FSTIP amendment, the City will be required to start
the design and subsequently start construction within 30 months.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to accept the
Federal Safe Routes to School Program grant funding.
Approved By: 31=19-1-1.0-40 Pe A,..,,
Donald Penman, City Manager
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