Title
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF COMMERCE CITY AND THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMERCE CITY SAFETY ACTION PLAN
Body
Summary & Background
The purpose of this resolution is to authorize the City to enter into an IGA with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for development of a Commerce City Safety Action Plan.
In 2022, Commerce City applied for funding through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program. The SS4A program is administered by the Federal Highway Administration that provides Federal funds to develop, complete, or supplement a comprehensive safety action plan.
A Safety Action Plan will be similar in purpose to a “Vision Zero” safety plan. Vision Zero is the strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries on roadways. Vision Zero emphasizes a Safe Systems approach, which acknowledges that people make mistakes, and focuses on influencing system-wide practices, policies, and designs to lessen the severity of crashes.
In alignment with Vision Zero, the goal of a Safety Action Plan is to develop a holistic, well-defined strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries in a locality. The comprehensive Safety Action Plan that a SS4A grant funds, will include the following required components:
• Leadership commitment and goal setting that includes a goal timeline for eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
• Planning structure through a committee, task force, implementation group, or similar body charged with oversight of the Safety Action Plan development, implementation, and monitoring.
• Safety analysis of the existing conditions and historical trends that provides a baseline level of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries across a jurisdiction or region.
• Engagement and collaboration with the public and relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and community groups, that allows for both community representation and feedback.
• Equity considerations developed through a plan using inclusive and representative processes.
• Policy and process changes that assess the current policies, plans, guidelines, and/or standards to identify opportunities to improve how processes prioritize transportation safety.
• Strategy and project selections that identify a comprehensive set of projects and strategies, shaped by data, the best available evidence and noteworthy practices, as well as stakeholder input and equity considerations, that will address the safety problems described in the Safety Action Plan.
• Progress and transparency methods that measure progress over time after a Safety Action Plan is developed or updated, including outcome data.
The Safety Action Plan will complement the work already begun between the City and Adams County in an effort to improve safety on the streets in and around the City. A Traffic Safety Planning Committee has been created comprising of staff members from the leadership and traffic engineering teams of the City and Adams County. The committee meets monthly to discuss ways to collaborate with the stakeholders and develop/enhance programs to improve traffic safety. The committee is also in the process of planning a Traffic Safety Summit to be held later this summer. Adams County Public Works received a grant from DRCOG to create a Safety Action Plan for Adams County. Therefore, the consultant selected for the City’s Safety Action Plan will coordinate with the consultant Adams County Public Works selects during the development of the City’s Safety Action Plan.
The City’s SS4A application was approved by FHWA, and the City was awarded federal funding in the amount of $120,280. The total estimated cost of the Safety Action Plan development is $150,350. The SS4A program requires a 20% local match, which equates to $30,070 for the City.
Once the agreement is in place and FHWA has authorized the City to proceed, a Request for Proposals will be developed and released to prospective consultants. The selected consultant will assist City staff in the development and completion of the Safety Action Plan. It is anticipated that a consultant could be in place by the end of 2023. The development and completion of the Safety Action Plan is anticipated to occur in 2024.
Following completion of the Safety Action Plan, projects will be identified to improve traffic safety and these projects will then be eligible for federal, state, and DRCOG grant funding since they are an outcome from the Safety Action Plan. It is the goal of staff to apply for all eligible grant funding as much as possible to fund traffic safety projects.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Shawn Poe, Interim Director of Public Works/City Engineer
Staff Presenting: Shawn Poe, Interim Director of Public Works/City Engineer
Financial Impact: $150,350 - Commerce City portion is $30,070
Funding Source: The City’s cost share amount of $30,070 will be funded from the General Fund - Public Works Engineering budget.
Staff Recommendation: Approve the Resolution Authorizing Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement by and Between the City of Commerce City and the Federal Highway Administration for Development of a Commerce City Safety Action Plan.
Suggested Motion: Motion to Approve the Resolution Authorizing Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement by and Between the City of Commerce City and the Federal Highway Administration for Development of a Commerce City Safety Action Plan.