Report Prepared by: Jonnie Lan, AICP, Principal Planner, Development Services Department
Title
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution to Approve the Multi-Jurisdictional Local Road Safety Plan and Approval of Environmental Review #25-06 Statutory Exemption for Feasibility and Planning Studies Pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15262
REPORT IN BRIEF
Considers adopting a resolution to approve the Multi-Jurisdiction Local Road Safety Plan and approving Environmental Review #25-06 - Statutory Exemption for Feasibility and Planning Studies Pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15262.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion adopting Resolution 2025-16, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, adopting the Multijurisdictional Local Road Safety Plan.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt the Plan, as recommended by staff; or,
2. Deny; or,
3. Continue to a future City Council meeting (date and time to be specified in the motion).
AUTHORITY
City of Merced Charter, Section 200.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
2024/2025 Merced City Council Goals and Priorities, item entitled “Public Safety” mentions under Goal #1 to “Implement Traffic Management Initiatives”. Also, under the item entitled “Community Investment” a priority is to “Improve Mobility, Road Safety, and Public Transit”.
DISCUSSION
Overview
The City of Merced and the Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) are committed to prioritizing transportation safety and eliminating traffic-related deaths and serious injuries on their roadways. Last year, the City Council adopted the Multi-jurisdictional Merced County Active Transportation Plan. That plan focused on policies and projects related to supporting all types of safe active transportation including walking, biking, and the use of mobility devices. In addition to that plan, MCAG commissioned a Multi-jurisdictional Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP) from the same consultant, Fehr and Peers. This allowed for research, data, and policies to be consistent between the two plans. The LRSP, a copy of which is attached (Attachment 1), provides a framework for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing safety improvements on local roads with both engineering and non-engineering countermeasures. As part of the creation of the plan, City Engineering staff walked the roads and intersections that were being considered as priorities to address their safety issues. Those roadways and intersections with the highest number of negative interactions were listed with potential projects to decrease the negative interactions.
MCAG has taken a regional leadership role in roadway safety and will spearhead the implementation of this LRSP by directing the participating cities toward funding opportunities. As a regional plan covering six different communities, this LRSP is divided into two volumes. Volume One covers the regional and policy aspects of the plan, including project vision and goals, funding strategies, potential countermeasures, and a Safety Action Plan that will act as a roadmap for MCAG and its member agencies to implement this LRSP. Volume Two includes a collision analysis, collision profiles of emphasis, conceptual projects, and project lists for each of the six cities. Along with Merced the other participating cities included:
• Atwater
• Dos Palos
• Gustine
• Livingston
• Los Banos
The LRSP provides the following guiding principles:
• Safety is the highest priority. Deaths and serious injuries on our region’s public roadways are preventable.
• Safety is a shared responsibility. Everyone is a key partner in roadway safety, and we want to create a system where users, roadway designers, and others work together to create redundancy and reinforce safety.
• People make mistakes. We must anticipate human mistakes by designing and managing our road infrastructure in a way that lowers the risk of mistakes and, by reducing kinetic energy involved in collisions, lowers the risk of mistakes that do occur resulting in a fatality or serious injury.
• Our transportation network must be equitable. The effort to improve roadway safety outcomes in the region must be cognizant of and address the legacy of disinvestment in our communities and their transportation infrastructure.
• A data-driven approach. MCAG and the City of Merced will use ongoing evaluation to prioritize projects and programs that aim to eliminate fatal and severe injury collisions. They will work to proactively and reactively make data-driven engineering decisions to manage roadways and reduce the severity of collisions.
• Roadway safety will be accountable and transparent. MCAG and the City strive to be transparent in its communication of progress with stakeholders and the public. They also aim to be accountable to prioritizing safety and eliminating fatal and severe injury collisions when considering policy, programming, and project related decisions.
Need for the Plan
Having a current, structured plan increases the likelihood of project funding. This plan has been created to be used in competitive fundraising activities. In fact, to be considered eligible for some funding opportunities, the City would be required to adopt an LRSP. Funding provides the opportunity for implementation. Implementing some of the suggested projects will keep members of and visitors to our community safer.
Public Involvement
The LRSP has been developed with extensive assistance from the public and representative staff from the six subject agencies. Along with the public, staff from the City of Merced, as well as members of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission gave input on both the policies and potential projects. In addition to stakeholder work group meetings, and in-person outreach, participation was solicited through a community survey and interactive web map. Public review of the Draft LRSP took place from August 15, 2024, through September 15, 2024. The Final Draft of the plan was presented for consideration to the MCAG Governing Board on October 24, 2024, and was unanimously adopted. The City of Merced Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) has been regularly updated about the project and considered this item at their February 25, 2025, meeting where they recommended approval of the LRSP to the City Council.
Organization of the Plan
The LRSP, seen at Attachment 1, is organized into 2 Volumes with a number of appendices. Volume 1 has five Chapters including the following:
1. Introduction, Vision, and Goals
2. Existing Policy Landscape
3. Engaging the Community
4. Proven Safety Countermeasures
5. Taking Action for Roadway Safety
Volume II specifies the Jurisdiction-specific information of each participating city including Collision Data Analysis, Collision Profiles, Priority Locations and Project Concepts.
The Appendices include the following:
• Appendix A: Benchmarking Assessment Results
• Appendix B: Community Outreach Responses
• Appendix C: Cost and Benefits Documentation for Conceptual Projects
• Appendix D: Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program Criteria Checklist
Proposed Projects/Programs
Based on collision and accident data, the LRSP proposes 21 priority projects throughout the City of Merced; these recommendations have been combined to address issues along 4 major roadways: G Street, M Street, R Street, and Olive Avenue. The total of all proposed projects is estimated to be $76,505,268.00 dollars.
Just as with the Active Transportation Plan, staff will work to develop an implementation plan that integrates these recommended projects into the annual Capital Improvement Plan and budget. City staff will find ways to combine projects from both the Active Transportation Plan and the LRSP where possible. Staff will also seek other funding sources for project implementation.
In addition to projects, the LRSP also includes recommendations for updates to City of Merced policies and implementation of programs that would benefit the public. Staff will transfer over appropriate policies to the updated General Plan’s Circulation Element, once that effort is underway.
Environmental Review
The LRSP is exempt from CEQA per Section 15262 entitled Feasibility and Planning Studies. Staff has prepared a Notice of Exemption and has attached it to this report (Attachment 3).
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
No appropriation of funds is needed at this time. Implementation of the Plan and its proposed projects will be programmed through the use of competitive grant funding and as part of City infrastructure rehabilitation and Capital Improvements.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Multi-Jurisdiction Local Road Safety Plan
2. Draft City Council Resolution 2025-16
3. Environmental Review #25-06
4. Presentation