The council on Jan. 13 unanimously adopted the Seal Beach Safety Action Plan, which is a traffic safety plan. At the same time, the council authorized Interim City Manager Patrick Gallegos to act as the city’s agent in all negotiations, including agreements and payment requests required for future grants.
This was a Consent Calendar item. Consent items are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless a council member pulls one or more items for further discussion. Nothing was pulled from the Consent Calendar. The plan included a list of the intersections with the most traffic accidents in the city.
Background
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) established the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (‘SS4A’) discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over five (5) years, according to the staff report prepared by Deputy Director of Public Works/City Engineer Kathryne Cho.
“The SS4A program funds regional, local, and tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries,” Cho wrote.
“The SS4A program supports the United States Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and their goal of zero (0) roadway deaths,” Cho wrote.
“Additionally, the program supports the development of a comprehensive safety action plan that identifies the most significant roadway safety concerns in a community and the implementation of projects and strategies to address roadway safety issues,” Cho wrote.
According to Cho’s report, the council on June 12, 2023 approved an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation to help Seal Beach develop a Safety Action Plan.
As part of that agreement, the council accepted a $200,000 grant and approved matching funds up to $50,000 for the project.
“On January 22, 2024, City Council adopted Resolution 7478 entering into a Professional Services Agreement with Minagar & Associates, Inc. (“Minagar”) to prepare a SAP for the City,” Cho wrote.
“The SAP analyzed five (5) years of traffic collision data between 2019 and 2023, obtained from the Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD), Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), and UC Berkeley’s Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS), to identify collision patterns throughout the city,” Cho wrote.
“In addition to the collision data, the project team performed community outreach. The project team solicited input from the City Council through a project update presentation, engaged the community through two (2) evening meetings, and consulted with specific stakeholders, including the Seal Beach Police Department, the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, the Golden Rain Foundation, and bicycle advocates,” Cho wrote.
“Based upon the outreach meetings and Minagar’s technical analysis of the intersections and roadway segments, the project team carefully considered safety for all modes of transportation, including pedestrian and bicycle, traffic safety upgrades with the goal to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by 2040,” Cho wrote.
According to her report, once the Safety Action Plan is approved, staff will apply for state and federal funding.
The following is a list of the 15 intersections with the most trafficc accients in Seal Beach, based on information compiled when the city’s Saftey Action Plan was created. The council approved the plan on Jan. 13.
“Per the data received, and a very comprehensive safety analysis, the City’s intersections and roadway segments were ranked based on the total number of traffic collisions within the aforesaid timeframe. The City’s intersections and roadway segments ranked as follows,” according to the Jan. 13 report to the City Council by Deputy Director of Public Works/City Engineeer Kathryne Cho.
The “Top 15 Intersections,” as listed in the report are:
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue
- Seal Beach Boulevard and North Gate Road/I-405 On- & Off-Ramps
- Seal Beach Boulevard & Old Ranch Parkway/I-405 northbound on- and off-ramps
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Towne Center Drive
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Lampson Avenue
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Saint Cloud Drive
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Golden Rain Road
- Seal Beach Boulevard and Adolfo Lopez Drive
- Marina Drive and Fifth Street
10.Central Avenue & 8th Street
11.Seal Beach Boulevard and Saint Andrews Drive
12.Main St & Ocean Avenue
13.Westminster Avenue and Kitts Highway
14.Marina Drive and First Street
15.Golden Rain Road and St. Andrews Drive
