CC - Item 5A - SB 10 - Safe Routes to School Construction - Internal Files box 069TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS
ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL
FROM: FRANK G. TRIPEPI, CITY MANAGEZ-
DATE: APRIL 24, 2001
RE: SB 10 (SOTO)- SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM;
EXTENSION - SUPPORT
Attached for the City Council's review are copies of SB 10 (Soto), current bill status, complete bill
history, and Senate committee analysis. SB 10 would extend the Safe Routes to School Construction
Program, which is due to expire and be repealed on January 1, 2002. Senator Nell Soto, who
authored the original Safe Routes to School bill (AB 1475), has requested the City Council's support
of SB 10. A copy of her letter requesting Rosemead's support is also attached.
A total of 85 projects were funded throughout the state under the first funding cycle. Of the $130
million requested, only $20 million worth of projects were funded due to funding limitations.
Rosemead received $120,000 in funding to install a traffic signal at Hellman and Jackson and replace
school-zone traffic signage and markings.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council support SB 10 (Soto) and authorize the Mayor to send
letters of-eppusitien. S UP f0 /'2 J -
(~UNO L AGEfI~DA
APR 2 4 2001
ITEM No.
SB 10 Senate Bill -AMENDED
this state. The commission, the department, boards of supervisors,
and city councils are authorized to do ail things necessary in their
respective jurisdictions to secure and expend federal funds in
accordance with the intent of the federal act and of this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 2331 of the Streets and Highways Code, as added by
Section 2 of Chapter 663 of the Statutes of 1999, is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 2333 of the Streets and Highways Code, as amended
by Section 3 of Chapter 663 of the Statutes of 1999, is amended to
read:
2333. In each annual proposed budget prepared pursuant to Section
165, there shall be included an amount equal to the estimated
apportionment available from the federal government for the programs
described in Sections 2331 and 2333.5. The commission may allocate a
portion of those funds each year for use on city streets and county
roads. It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission
allocate the total amount received from the federal government for
all of the programs described in Sections 2331 and 2333.5 in a manner
that, over a period of five years, makes not less than one million
dollars ($1,000,000) of those funds available for use pursuant to
Section 2333.5 and the remaining funds available for use in
approximately equal amounts on state highways, local roads, and the
program established under Section 2333.5. In addition, it is the
intent of the Legislature that the commission shall apportion for
use, in financing the railroad grade separation program described in
Section 190, a substantial portion of the funds received pursuant to
the federal rail-highway crossings program. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the share of any railroad of the cost of
maintaining railroad crossing protection facilities funded, in whole
or in part, by funds described in Section 2331 shall be the same
share it would be if no federal funds were involved and the crossing
protection facilities were funded pursuant to an order of the Public
Utilities Commission pursuant to Section 1202 of the Public Utilities
Code; and in case of dispute, the Public Utilities Commission shall
determine that share pursuant to this section.
SEC. 4. Section 2333 of the Streets and Highways Code, as added by
Section 4 of Chapter 663 of the Statutes of 1999, is repealed.
SEC. S. Section 2333.5 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
2333.5. (a) The department, in consultation with the Department
of the California Highway Patrol, shall establish and administer a
"Safe Routes to School" construction program pursuant to the
authority granted under Section 152 of Title 23 of the United States
Code and shall use federal transportation funds for construction of
bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic calming projects.
(b) The department shall make grants available to local
governmental agencies under the program based on the results of a
statewide competition that requires submission of proposals for
funding and rates those proposals on all of the following factors:
(1) Demonstrated needs of the applicant.
(2) Potential of the proposal for reducing child injuries and
fatalities.
(3) Potential of the proposal for encouraging increased walking
and bicycling among students.
(4) Identification of safety hazards.
(5) Identification of current and potential walking and bicycling
routes to school.
(6) Consultation and support for projects by school-based
associations, local traffic engineers, local elected officials, law
enforcement agencies, and school officials.
(c) With respect to the use of funds provided in subdivision (a),
prior to the award of any construction grant or the department's use
of those funds for a "Safe Routes to School" construction project
encompassing a freeway, state highway or county road, the department
shall consult with, and obtain approval from, the Department of the
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SB 10 Senate Bill - AMENDED
California Highway Patrol, ensuring that the "Safe Routes to School"
proposal compliments the California Highway Patrol's Pedestrian
Corridor Safety Program and is consistent with its statewide
pedestrian safety statistical analysis.
(d) (1) The department shall study the effectiveness of the
program established under this section with particular emphasis on
the program's effectiveness in reducing traffic accidents and its
contribution to improving safety and reducing the number of child
injuries and fatalities in the vicinity of the project.
(2) The department shall submit a report to the Legislature on or
before December 31, 2003, regarding the results of the study
described in paragraph (1).
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SB 10 Senate Bill -Bill Analysis
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Senator KEVIN MURRAY, ChairMAN
Analysis by: Steve Schnaidt
SUBJECT:
Bill No: SB 10
Author: Soto
VERSION: 3/14/01
Fiscal:yes
Safe Routes to School construction program: extension.
DESCRIPTION:
This bill would repeal the sunset date on the Safe Routes
to School Program and extend the grant program
indefinitely. It would also delay for two years a required
evaluation of the program.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in
consultation with the Department of the California Highwav
Patrol, to establish and administer a "Safe Routes to
School" construction program under authority granted under
federal law and to use specified federal transportation
funds for construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety and
traffic calming projects. The law requires the department
to make grants available to local governmental agencies
under the program based on the results of a statewide
competition that requires submission of proposals for
funding and rates those proposals on specified factors.
These provisions became effective in 2000 and are due to
expire and be repealed on January 1, 2002.
Prior to the establishment of the Safe Routes to Schools
Program last year, approximately $60 million annually was
received by the state through the federal transportation
Hazard Elimination/Safety Program. The funds were
authorized to be used for projects to improve highway
safety and reduce traffic congestion through the addition
of guardrails, median barriers and railroad grade crossing
improvements. Half of the annual funding amounts were
allocated to the state and half were allocated to local
transportation agencies.
SB 10 (Soto)
Page 2
AB 1475 (Soto, 1999), in establishing the Safe Routes
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SB 10 Senate Bill -Bill Analysis
Program, redirected 1/3 (approximately $20 million) of the
annual Hazard Elimination/Safety funds to the new program,
with the state and local transportation agencies sharing
equally the reduced funding effects of the redirection.
This bill would repeal the January 1, 2002 sunset, or
termination, date on the Safe Routes to School Program,
thereby making the program permanent.
The bill would delay the submission date of the Department
of Transportation's study of the program's effectiveness
for two years, resulting in a new reporting date of
December 31, 2003.
COMMENTS:
1.According to the author and sponsors, the intent of AS
1975's Safe Routes Program was to make streets and roads
near schools safer for children walking and biking to
school. Proponents noted that pedestrian accidents are a
leading cause of fatal injuries among 5-12 year olds,
while many school areas lack crosswalks or even
sidewalks. The program funds can be used for
improvements such as crosswalks, pedestrian and bicycle
paths, bike lanes, sidewalks and other traffic calming
measures.
Sponsors report that the Safe Routes program attracted far
more applications than available funding in its first
year (2000), with applications totaling $130 million for
the approximately $20 million available.
The current bill is intended to continue the Safe Routes to
School grant program indefinitely.
2.The Senate Transportation Committee approved the Safe
Routes program legislation in 1999 with the conditions
that there be a 3-year sunset on the program and that the
Department of Transportation would study the program's
effectiveness and report to the Legislature. The
Committee's action was intended to review the
effectiveness of the program before determining whether
to extend its operation and authority.
AS 1975 was amended to be a 4-year program after the bill
SB 10 (Soto)
Page 3
left the Transportation Committee. The Senate
Appropriations Committee's action scaled the term of the
program back to 2 years, however, and set the study
reporting date for December 31, 2001.
3.Policy issues/suggested amendments .
Proponents of the program and bill seek to make the program
permanent before any evaluation of the program's
effectiveness is completed. It would seem prudent to
retain a reasonable sunset date on the program to foster
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SB 10 Senate Bill -Bill Analysis
the Legislature's evaluation of the program's funding
allocations and results, including whether the
redirection of the funds from other safety programs has
produced increased safety benefits overall.
A reasonable sunset date would be January 1, 2004, which
would give the new program four full years of operation
and would facilitate retention of the department's
original December 31, 2002 effectiveness study date.
Under these timelines, the department would have up to 3
years of program operations and results to review, and
proponents would have a full year after submission of the
study to seek legislation further extending the program
if warranted.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
3/28/01)
SUPPORT: Surface Transportation Policy Project
California Bicycle Coalition
Brookside Elementary School Parent Faculty
Club
California School Employees Association
California Council of the Blind
California State Parent Teachers Association
Cities of Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga,
Claremont, Oakland.
Clovis and Fresno
Counties of Alameda and Marin
Bay Area Pedestrian Education Group
Latino Issues Forum
Planning and Conservation League
Walk San Jose
Santa Barbara AREA Council of PTA's Safety
SB 10 (Soto)
Page 4
Committee
Coalition
Commission
and Safety
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
San Diego Bicycle Touring Society
Los Angeles County PTA
Bay Area Transportation and Land Use
Culver City PTA
Santa Cruz Regional Transportation
Walk Sacramento
Stanislaus County Health Services Agency
California Coalition for Children's Health
ACORN
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Bicycle Civil Liberties Union
Bike for A Better City
Oakland Pedestrian Safety Project
Safe Routes to Schools, Marin
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SB 10 Senate Bill -Bill Analysis
Pedestrian Safety Task Force
Santa Clara/San Mateo SAFE KIDS
Bikestation Coalition
Safe Paths of Hillsborough
Peninsula Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition of
San Mateo County
Local Government Commission
Walk & Roll Berkeley
Woodacre Improvement Club
Fresno Cycling Club
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Ventura County Bicycle Coalition
Merin County Bicycle Coalition
Children's Advocacy Institute, University of
San Diego
Board of Supervisors, Marin County
Center for Civic Partnerships
Letters from 99 individuals
OPPOSED: None received.
3/29/01
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STATE CAPITOL
ROOM 4074
SACRAMENTO. CA 95814-4900
(916) 445-6868
(916) 445 0128 FAX
822 N. EUCLID AVENUE
SUITE A
ONTARIO, CA 91762
(909) 9847741
(909) 984-6695 FAX
215 NORTH"D"STREET
SUITE 106
SAN BERNARDINO. CA 92410
(909) 381-3832
(909) 381-0739 FAX
505 S. GAREY AVENUE
POMONA, CA 91766
(909) 4699935
(909) 469-9206 FAX
March 23, 2001
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SENATOR
NELL SOTO -
THIRTY-SECOND SENATORIAL DISTRICT
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Mr. Donald Wagner, Director of Public Works
City of Rosemead
P.O. Box 399
Rosemead, CA 91770
Dear Mr. Wagner:
COMMITTEES:
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND
RETIREMENT (CHAIR)
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
INSURANCE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
TRANSPORTATION
VETERANS AFFAIRS
SELECT COMMITTEES:
DEFENSE CONVERSION,
RETENTION AND SPACE
FLIGHT INDUSTRIES (CHAIR)
ALAMEDA CORRIDOR EAST
Each year 5,000 child pedestrians are killed or maimed in California; one of the highest in the nation. Pedestrian
accidents are the second leading cause of fatal injuries among 5-12 year olds statewide. Many school areas do not
have crosswalks or sidewalks, which creates a more dangerous situation for students that walk or bike to school.
In 1999 I authored AB 1475, Safe Routes to School, to address this problem. This bill, which was signed by
Governor Davis, made $20 million available from federal transportation safety funds to be used by local
governments to improve school area safety. Last year, along with your project, a total of 85 projects were funded
throughout the state. The projects included making new crosswalks, pedestrian and bicycle paths, bike lanes,
constructing sidewalks, and other "traffic calming" measures.
This program has been very successful in finding projects, such as yours, that will make it safer for children that
walk or bike to school. However, there were not enough funds available to serve the need. In the first round of grant
applications, there were $130 million worth of applications. Only $20 million was funded. There is a second round
of grants beginning; however, after the second round the bill will sunset. It is clear that with $130 million in
applications, and only $40 million available through the program, it is necessary to extend Safe Routes to School and
make it a permanent program.
This year I have introduced SB 10, which will remove the sunset from the statutes and allow the program to
continue. This is important because of the great need to create a safer pedestrian environment for our children. I am
asking for your support for this bill, to ensure that we continue towards our goal of creating a safer environment for
all children. I have enclosed a sample resolution that your council can adopt in support of the bill. The first hearing
in Senate Transportation Committee will be Tuesday, April 3 at 1:30. Thank you for your interest in child pedestrian
safety.
Sincerely'
NE LL SOTO
Senator, 32nd District