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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1977/12/20 Item 19CITY OF CHULA VISTA COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 19 For meeting of 12-20-77 ITEM TITLE Resolution Appropriating Funds to Conduct a Traffic Control Devices Inventory and Recommended Route to School Study ' r~, SUBMITTED BY Director of Public Works/City Engineer i/~"~ ~IJ ~. ITEM EXPLANATION (4/5TH'S VOTE REQUIRED YES. NO ) The City of Chula Vista applied for a grant from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to hire a consultant to conduct a Traffic Control Devices Inventory (TDCI) and Recommended Route to School Study. This grant in the amount of $30,000 has been approved. The City is presently requesting proposals to do the work outlined in the attached Project Description from several consultants in the San Diego- Los Angeles area. The consultant will review existing data from the files of the Police Department and Traffic Engineering Division, collect field data, develop maps, and use the above information to develop a program to correct deficiencies in the existing system of signs, striping, etc. and develop a maintenance/replacement schedule. The Recommended Route to School Study will produce information concerning existing traffic condi- tions near each school which can be distributed to parents, teachers and students. This project will increase both vehicle and pedestrian (especially school children) safety in Chula Vista. The staff will be interviewing consultants and making a selection in January 1978 (subject to City Council and OTS approval). This resolution sets up an account (Capital Improvement Program Account OTS-O1) in the grant amount of $30,000 from which the consultant will be paid and the City reimbursed from OTS. Grant funds will be received on a quarterly basis after a commencement of the project and will be repaid to the General Fund. However, in order to begin the project, it will be necessary to appropriate $30,000. GRH:ph cY-o23 EXHIBITS Agreement Resolution x Ordinance Plat Notification List Others G °~ ~t;~„) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT: Attached Submitted on FINANCIAL IMPACT The grant of $30,000 will cover all consultant costs for this project. It is estimated that $2,500-$3,000 in staff time will be spent in pro- ject review and support. The cost of the staff time is not reimbursable from OTS. The grant amount of $30,000 will reimburse the General Fund appropriation. STAFF RECOMMENDATION 1. Appropriate $30,000 from the unappropriated balance of the General Fund to Account 600-6000-OTS-Ol. 2. Authorize staff to proceed with the Traffic Control Devices Inventory Project. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION COUNCIL ACTION Form No. F-229 12/73 CERTIFICATE OF CITY/DIRECTOR OF FINANCE r! G` Certification of Unappropriated Balance 600 6000 OTS O1 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the money required for the appropriation of funds for the purpose set forth in the attached resolution is available in the Treasury, or is anticipated to come into the Treasury, and is otherwise unappropriated. Amount $ 30,000.00 Fund General Purpose Traffic Control Devices Inventory and Study Bidder N/A ~iC ~ ~~ - Director of Finance The City of Chula Vista Date 12/19/77 By Certification of Unencumbered Balance I HEREBY CERTIFY that the indebtedness and obligation to be incurred by the contract or agreement authorized by the attached resolution can be incurred without the violation of any of the provisions of the Charter of the City of Chula Vista, or the Constitution or the laws of the State of California, that sufficient monies have been appropriated for the purpose of said contract, that sufficient monies to meet the obligations of the contract are actually in the Treasury, or are anticipated to come into the Treasury to the credit of the appropriation from which the same are to be drawn, and that said monies now actually in the Treasury, together with the monies anticipated to come into the Treasury, to the credit of said appropriation are otherwise unencumbered. Amount Not to Exceed $ Director of Finance The City of Chula Vista Date Fund Purpose Bidder By Dept./Activity Certificate No. 54 TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES INVENTORY AND RECOMMENDED ROUTE TO SCHOOL STUDY PROJECT DESCRIPTION I. BACKGROUND A. General Characteristics - Chula Vista is primarily a residen- tial city of 76,000 people living within its 19.1 square miles. Chula Vista is bounded by national City on the north, San Diego Bay on the west and unincorporated San Diego County on the south and east. The terrain of the City is flat in the eesterly section and rolling in the easterly section. Southwestern College is in the eastern part of the City (ap- proximately 6 miles from Downtown). Projected growth in the near future will be from the older part of the City easterly towards the College. B. Streets and Highways - Chula Vista maintains approximately 200 miles of city streets. The older part of the City is served by a grid system of streets with an arterial/collector street on 1/4 mile spacing. The newer section (east) has streets which conform more with the rolling terrain. Two north-south freeways (I-5 and I-805) traverse Chula Vista. In the City, there are three major east-west arterial streets which connect the parallel freeways. C. Operating Departments - Two City departments and an advisory commission will be primarily involved in the proposed project: (1) Public Works Department - Traffic Engineering Division; (2) Police Department - Youth Bureau; and (3) the Safety Com- mission. The Traffic Engineering Division is responsib stallation and maintenance of traffic control Division Head is the Traffic Engineer who has Engineer and an Engineering Technician II for The traffic signing and striping crew reports Traffic Engineer. Le for design, in- devices. The an Assistant Civil staff support. directly to the The Police Department Youth Bureau has two full-time officers who coordinate safety activities at the elementary and junior high schools in Chula Vista. The Safety Commission is a citizen advisory group to the City Council made up of seven members who have liaison with the Traffic Engineer and the Police Department. Traffic Safety problems are the primary concern of this group. f 2 D. Existing Systems - There is no organizaed record of the traffic control devices in the City. An incomplete record of work orders issued to the Signing/Striping crew since 1974 is the only record of traffic control device installation. Signs are usually maintained/repaired/replaced as a result of staff observations while in the field or from citizen complaints. The City presently maintains traffic accident records through San Diego County's "Integrated Traffic Records System". This package has a "Traffic Sign File" program which will be activated by collected field data. Presently, several of the schools in Chula Vista distribute a letter and map to parents which advise them of the time and lo- cation of school crossing guards and which asks the parents to encourage their children to use those locations going to and coming from school. II. PROBLEM In order to maximize traffic safety, it is necessary to establish and maintain an effective system of traffic control devices in ac- cordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The first step towards this goal is to inventory the existing sys- tem, then to identify deficiencies and to develop a priority for correcting those deficiencies. The present workload for the Traffic Engineering Division leaves very little time to conduct a traffic control devices inventory. If staff were required to do this project, it would probably en- compass 3-5 years and this timespan would significantly diminish the value of the data collected. In order to maximize school pedestrian safety, it is necessary to inform parents, students and teachers of the existing traffic con- ditions (control devices, volumes, geornetrics, etc.) in the vicinity of schools. III. ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE PROBLEM The present system of installation, maintenance and repair of traf- fic control devices is inefficient and does not ensure maximum safety. Manpower and budget constraints limit the process to its current level of reaction rather than preventive action. IV. PROJECT OBJECTIVES The primary objectives of the proposed project are: 1. Gather information relative to the existing traffic control devices. 2. Enter data regarding signs into "Integrated Traffic Records System" County of San Diego. 3 3. Organize data regarding striping, curb painting, etc., into a system that can be maintained by City staff. 4. Identify those areas where changes in the existing devices are required and/or where new devices are recommended. 5. Establish a priority list of improvements based on items 1 and 4. 6. Develop maps showing traffic conditions in the vicinity of schools based on field inventory and input from the Safety Commission, Police Department and Traffic Engineering Divi- sion. V. METHOD OF PROCEDURE The project tasks are discussed as separate phases of work necessary to meet the established objectives. Phase 1 - Select and Retain Staff (1/1/78 to 2/15/78) Traffic Engineering firms will be contacted and invited to submit RFP's for the proposed work program. The intent of utilizing a consultant is to substantially eliminate involvement of City personnel except for review and policy decisions. Phase 2 - Review Existing Data and Develop Methodology (2/16/78 to 3/15/78) Existing information from the Police Department and Traffic Engineering Division will be reviewed by the consultant. After reviewing the input requirements of the "Integrated Traffic Records System" and preliminary field investigation, the consultant will develop detailed methodology for data collection. Phase 3 - Collect Field Data (3/16/78 to 8/30/78) This phase includes a complete field inventory of all traffic control devices including size and con- dition of signs. The data regarding signs will be processed by the consultant for entry into the existing computer program. The data regarding other traffic control devices will be organized into a sys- tem than can be maintained by the City. Phase 4 - Develop maps (9/1/78 to 10/15/78) The consultant shall take the information obtained in Phase 3 and supplement it with input from the Safety Commission, Police Department and Traffic Engineering Division to develop maps (on 8-1/2" x 11" paper) showing Traffic Control Device s,ADT, school crossing guards and any other pertinent data on the arterial and collector streets within the boundaries of each school district. 4 Phase 5 - Final Report and Recommendations (10/16/78 to 12/1/78) The final report shall be produced which will include the following: a. methodology used in the study b. results of study c. identification of deficiencies in Traffic Control Devices d. recommended priority for correcting deficiencies e. school district maps for all elementary and junior high schools in Chula Vista