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Approve an amendment to the Solano Countywide Local Road Safety Plan
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X __
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X __
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve an amendment to the Solano Countywide Local Road Safety Plan.
SUMMARY:
Federal regulations and the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan require local agencies have a Local Road Safety Plan in place in order to seek a variety of federal, State, and regional transportation grants. In 2021, the Solano Transportation Authority partnered with Solano County and the seven cities to create a Countywide Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) to meet this requirement and provide broader funding opportunities to local agencies. The LRSP systemically identifies accidents, analyzes countermeasures, and prioritizes roadway safety improvements on specific roadway segments, highlighting opportunities to address unique safety needs in our local communities. The LRSP was completed and approved in 2022, which allowed Solano County to apply for the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Cycle 11 grants, of which the County received $4.5 million in project awards.
The LRSP requires intermittent review and updates to adapt to changing traffic accident profiles, traffic flow patterns, and funding priorities. The latest accident data from the last few years indicated that a new analysis was necessary to address the sharp increase in the number of severe accidents on County operated roadways. The Department of Resource Management (Department) retained a traffic engineering consultant, TJKM, to analyze five years of accident data and provide updated project lists to address the changes in accident generation. TJKM has prepared amendments to Chapters 3 and 4 of the LRSP (Attachment A) which, upon approval, will replace the previous chapters and provide the Department with an updated set of projects needing grant funds for improvements. The Department recommends the Board approve the amendment so that staff can seek grant funding opportunities for these projects for over the next few years.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The LRSP is funded through the County's Road Fund and the recommended amendment effort is included in the Department’s FY2024/25 Working Budget. The costs associated with preparing this agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the Department’s FY2024/25 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
The 2022 Countywide LRSP provides a full analysis of traffic safety issues across the seven cities and the County. The full plan is provided as Attachment B.
For County operated roadways, the 2022 LRSP provided detailed analysis of accidents that occurred during the 2016 - 2020 dataset period, which included 58 significant injury accidents and 19 fatal accidents on County roads. Typical safety countermeasures utilized to address these accidents include high visibility striping, high visibility signs, flashing beacons, audible warning strips, guardrails, and shoulder widening. The Department is currently designing these safety countermeasures which will be incorporated into the four HSIP Cycle 11 grant awarded projects from 2022, anticipated for construction in 2025 and 2026.
Beginning in 2021 and sharply increasing in 2022, the Department noted an uptick in fatal and significant injury accidents. An updated five-year review of accidents from the 2018 - 2022 dataset period showed 72 significant injury accidents and 30 fatal accidents. Department staff have been reviewing the accident reports and finding increased accident rates involving drivers under the influence of alcohol/drugs (DUI), as well as accidents involving motorcyclists. The Department has been working on DUI education and outreach materials for local community distribution starting in September.
The upcoming HSIP Cycle 12 grant applications allow for similar countermeasures as allowed in HSIP Cycle 11, with a few changes. Cycle 12 will not fund shoulder widening as those types of projects are difficult to obtain timely environmental and right of way clearance through the federal process. However, Cycle 12 will broaden funding opportunities for “vulnerable road users” (cyclists, pedestrians, and people with disabilities) and expand some funding categories to accommodate these demographics. The systemic analysis by TJKM for the LRSP amendment recommends new roadway segments in need of safety countermeasures that will include these new changes.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors may choose not to approve the amendment to the Countywide Local Road Safety Plan. This is not recommended as the amendment will expand funding opportunities for safety projects on the County’s roadways.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The California Office of Traffic Safety was consulted for funding opportunities and outreach materials as part of the LRSP process. The Solano Transportation Authority will work to incorporate the amendment into the countywide plan once approved.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION