For Economic Development Committee [February 25, 2020]
TO: Honorable Economic Development Committee Members
APPROVAL: Rod Foster, City Manager
FROM: Savat Khamphou, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Title
Request Economic Development Committee to Recommend Approval of the Rialto Active Transportation Plan to the City Council.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Senate Bill 1 (SB1) - The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, is a transportation funding bill that provides a reliable source of funds to maintain and integrate the State’s multi-modal transportation system. This transportation funding provided approximately $25 million in Sustainable Communities Grants during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2018 grant cycle. On September 14, 2017, Caltrans released the guidelines and called for applications for the Sustainable Communities grant program for a competitive program open to municipal entities. Staff submitted a grant application to develop a City-Wide Active Transportation Plan (ATP). On December 15, 2017, Caltrans notified staff that Rialto was awarded a grant in the amount of $200,000. On January 9, 2018, City Council accepted the grant for $200,000 with a Local Match of $25,912 using budgeted Measure I funds, for a total project amount of $225,912.
On December 11, 2018 the City Council awarded a Professional Services Agreement with KTU&A Corporation in the amount of $199,040 for the Development of a City of Rialto ATP.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
The ATP provides a comprehensive framework for non-motorized transportation options throughout the City. The plan will identify non-motorized routes and recommended improvements for bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, expanding bicycle networks, improving pedestrian circulation, reducing vehicle trips, creating complete streets, and prioritizing transit access with first and last mile consideration.
The goal of the project is to develop a plan with the following objectives:
• Establish an Active Transportation Network throughout the City of Rialto consisting of safe and comfortable walking and bicycling facilities to access work, schools, and recreational uses.
• Promote use of non-motorized travel to increase physical activity and improve health.
• Promote use of non-motorized travel to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases related to transportation.
In order to provide context-specific, locally informed input, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) comprised of local stakeholders and City staff was formed to provide recommendations on the ATP. Four TAC meetings, held between March 2019 and January 2020, covered a range of information including; determining the most appropriate community engagement methods, events to participate in to gather feedback, development of recommended bicycle infrastructure network, pedestrian projects for Safe Routes to Parks, First & Last Mile planning, project prioritization and funding opportunities. The following is a brief summary of the topic discussed at each TAC meeting. Details can be found in Attachment 1.
• TAC # 1 - March 12, 2019. The presentation covered topics such as objectives of an active transportation plan, scope of work, analysis, products and community engagement ideas. It was discussed and confirmed that outreach through pop up engagement / special events would be the most effective for this project.
• TAC # 2 - June 18, 2019. Coordination regarding the Bike Rodeo on August 17, 2019 was discussed. A brief summary of the comments and surveys collected was presented that highlighted access to schools, parks and retail were destinations that were important for walking and biking access. A mini charrette was conducted with the TAC members to highlight the corridors and projects they felt were important to make connections within the City and regionally. Existing bicycle facility gap closure projects were also highlighted.
• TAC # 3 - October 3, 2019. Upon compiling all the comments from the outreach events and TAC meetings preliminary corridor projects, First & Last Mile and Safe Routes to School assessments were presented and distributed for feedback. The project prioritization criteria were also presented and discussed for feedback.
• TAC # 4 - January 7, 2020. The ATP team presented the draft plan for feedback. Upon compiling all the comments from the outreach events and TAC meetings preliminary corridor projects, First & Last Mile and Safe Routes to School assessments and programs were presented and distributed for feedback.
The three primary community engagement strategies utilized for the ATP consisted of community workshops, Technical Advisory Committee and flyers and social media announcements. These strategies informed the public about the ATP while actively engaging community members and stakeholders in the process, allowing them to provide meaningful input.
A total of six community workshops were conducted throughout the ATP planning process:
• Workshop #1: Spring Eggstravaganza
• Workshop #2: Inland Empire 2019 Walk Like MADD
• Workshop #3: Seamless BBQ Kickoff
• Workshop #4: Pump It Up BBQ Event
• Workshop #5: National Night Out
• Workshop #6: Bike Rodeo at the Pacific Electric Bike Trail
At these events, table maps and surveys were available to gather input on walking and bicycling issues. The survey was prepared to determine satisfaction levels of current pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, along with desired improvements. The surveys were distributed during the six community workshops, both in English and Spanish. A total of 371 people completed the survey and provided comments. A summary of events is included in Attachment 2.
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was a key component of the community engagement process. These members represented various community neighborhoods, businesses, school district, city departments and regional agencies. Participating organizations included:
• Various City Departments
• Omnitrans
• Police and Fire Department
• Rialto Unified School District
• San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA)
• Transportation Commission
• Recreation and Parks Commission
• Planning Commission
• Caltrans
• Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC)
• Inland Empire Bicycle Alliance (IEBA)
• San Bernardino County Public Health
• Safe Routes to School Partnership
The TAC met four times to share information, collaborate, and guide the ATP process and guidelines. Because of Rialto’s diverse population, the project needed to have a variety of outreach methods, including printed media and an online presence. Bilingual flyers were created to promote the six community workshops that took place at various parks and community centers. In addition to this, the project team developed social media messages, including Facebook, to reach out to interested members of the community.
ATP Development:
Project prioritization is data-driven using available data and criteria from regional and national best practices and approved by the Technical Advisory Committee. Some criteria were modified according to the knowledge of deficiency and need based on community feedback. The following list includes the various inputs used for the prioritization scoring process.
• Number of Attractors
• Number of Schools
• Level of Bike Comfort
• Walk to Work
• Bike to Work
• Public Transportation to Work
• Transit Stops
• Households Without Vehicles
• Reported Collisions
• 2010 Population Density
• 2010 Employment Density
• CalEnviroScreen 3.0
• Completes the Corridor
• Cost-Benefit
• Public Input
• Consistent with Previous Planning Efforts
• Pavement Condition Index
• Micro Mobility Opportunities
All projects were ranked according to cumulative scores derived from the mentioned criteria that addresses both geographic and demographic characteristics.
The Final Active Transportation Plan includes a summary of existing conditions, community engagement results and analysis that drove the project recommendations. Recommendations includes a citywide bikeway network that connects to regional existing and planned bikeways. Pedestrian projects were focused around Safe Routes to Parks and First/Last Mile to improve access to parks and transit. Parks, schools, transit and retail were the top destinations residents wanted to see pedestrian improvements. For consistency, the best practices strategies used in the City’s Safe Routes to School Plan was emulated for the pedestrian projects. The Top 20 priority projects, Safe Routes to Parks and First & Last Mile improvements provided more detail such as missing sidewalks, curb ramps and bus shelters due to their level of analysis. The remaining 27 future bikeway projects used planning level estimates by estimating the length of designated bicycle facility multiplied by a general per-mile cost. All the bikeway projects resulted in a cost estimate of $56 million, Safe Routes to Parks projects, $5.8 million and First/Last Mile projects, $9 million, for a total $70.8 million infrastructure improvements recommended in the Rialto ATP. See Attachment 3 for a cost estimate summary of all the projects.
To provide the City with more detail on priority projects for grant pursuits, a set of top 20 priority projects were selected for further analysis. These top projects were a combination of the priority list and staff input. A series of detailed maps, metrics, cost estimates and summaries were developed for these top 20 projects. The remaining projects remain in the plan and are categorized by bicycle facility type. The top 20 priority projects were estimated at $50.5 million and the remaining 27 future bikeway projects were estimated at $5.5 million. An additional implementation strategy was included to tie in the City’s Pavement Management Plan and the on-street bikeway projects. A chapter on funding sources, programs, bicycle and pedestrian treatments and a summary of the state of active transportation planning is also included.
With the completion of the Rialto ATP included as Attachment 4, the City can use this plan for future active transportation and transit improvements citywide. The projects identified can be used to coordinate existing and future infrastructure needs for developers to condition into their projects. By utilizing the list of projects identified through the Pavement Management Plan, the City can also provide efficiencies and cost savings for implementing bikeways by coordinating high priority resurfacing projects. The plan can also be coordinated with existing and future CIP projects for implementation. The top 20 projects provide information to pursue feasibility study and complete streets grants to further evaluate the recommendations and develop more detailed engineering concepts and studies. Upon completion of these feasibility studies, construction grants can then be pursued to implement the projects.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Rialto Active Transportation Plan was funded through the Special Grant Fund Account No. 223-500-4427-2011-180809 in the amount of $200,000 from the State’s Sustainable Communities Grants and from Measure I Fund, Account No. 201-500-4310-2011-180809 in the amount of $25,912 as a local match.
RECOMMENDATION:
Request Economic Development Committee to Recommend Approval of the Rialto Active Transportation Plan to the City Council