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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-28 - SR-55 Safety Improvements to Newport BlvdRESOLUTION N0. 2025-28 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO IMPLEMENT PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ALONG NEWPORT BOULEVARD (SR-55) IN THE CITY OF COSTA MESA THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY' OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY FIND AND DECLARE AS FOLLOWS: WHEREAS, Costa Mesa Freeway (State Route (SR) - 55) currently terminates at j9th Street and continues south through Downtown Costa Mesa as Newport Boulevard; and WHEREAS, Newport Boulevard south of 1 9'h Street is under the jurisdiction of the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the roadway serves local traffic needs within Costa Mesa; and WHEREAS, The current configuration of Newport Boulevard creates significant barriers to bicycle and pedestrian access in Downtown Costa Mesa; and WHEREAS, University of California at Berkeley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) has identified six of nine pedestrian collision fatalities within the City of Costa Mesa occurred on Newport Boulevard (between Igth Street and Industrial Way) in the 10-year period between 2009 and 2018; and WHEREAS, SafeTREC has identified five of nine pedestrian collision fatalities within the City of Costa Mesa occurred on Newport Boulevard (between Igth Street and Industrial Way) in the 4-year period between 2021 and 2024; and WHEREAS, SafeTREC has identified bicycle collisions within the City of Costa Mesa are concentrated on Newport Boulevard (between Igth Street and Industrial Way) in the 5-year period between 2014 and 201 8; and WHEREAS, the City of Costa Mesa prioritizes safety in all transportation projects and works to incorporate pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements in all roadway projects; and WHEREAS, in 2020, the City of Costa Mesa was selected by the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training (CPBST), a statewide project of California Walks and SafeTREC for community engagement and field review to improve safety for people Resolution No. 2025-28 Page 1 of 5 walking and bicycling in Costa Mesa and to create a community vision for improvements on three roadways including Newport Boulevard; and WHEREAS, the City of Costa Mesa adopted an Active Transportation Master Plan in 2018 and a Pedestrian Master Plan in 2024, and is actively developing a Safe Routes to School Action Plan; and WHEREAS, Newport Boulevard is in a Pedestrian Opportunity Zone in the City of Costa Mesa General Plan; and WHEREAS, Caltrans is currently embarking on a SR-55 Improvement Project between SR-I in Newport Beach and SR-91 in Anaheim; and WHEREAS, the current Caltrans project includes limited measures aimed at addressing pedestrian and bicycle safety needs; and WHEREAS, in 20'l4, Caltrans adopted a Complete Streets policy through Deputy Directive 64 (DD-64-R2), which directs Caltrans to provide "for the needs of travelers of all ages and abilities in all planning, programming, design, construction, operations, and maintenance activities, and products on the State Highway System. Caltrans views all transportation improvements as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all travelers in California and recognizes bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes as integral elements of the transportation system."; and WHEREAS, the Caltrans Highway Design Manual Chapter 400 states 'Jntersections should accommodate all users of the facility, including vehicles, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit. Bicycles have all the rights and responsibilities as motorist per the California Vehicle Code, but should have separate consideration of their needs, even separate facilities if volumes warrant. Pedestrians should not be prohibited from crossing one or more legs of an intersection, unless no other safe alternative exists."; and WHEREAS, the 2014 Caltrans Design Flexibility in Multimodal Design Memorandum states "This guidance allows for flexibility in applying design standards and approving design exceptions that take the context of the project location into consideration, which enables the designer to tailor the design, as appropriate, for the specific circumstances while maintaining safety"; and Resolution No. 2025-28 Page 2 of 5 WHEREAS, in 2021, Caltrans published Director's Policy on Complete Streets (DP-37), which establishes an "organizational priority to encourage and maximize walking, biking, transit, and passenger rail as a strategy to not only meet state climate, health, equity, and environmental goals but also to foster socially and economically vibrant, thriving, and resilient communities. To achieve this vision, Caltrans will maximize the use of design flexibility to provide context-sensitive solutions and networks for travelers of all ages and abilities."; and WHEREAS, in 2022, Caltrans published Director's Policy on Road Safety (DP-36), which establishes an agency "expectation to prioritize safety in order to achieve its goal of zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050. All Divisions shall align their programs, plans, policies, procedures, and practices with the Safe System approach as appropriate to their division."; and WHEREAS, Caltrans utilizes the Complete Streets Decision Document (CSDD) "to verify that complete streets elements are included in Caltrans projects and to justify non- inclusion decisions through a project waiver, and track at each phase"; and WHEREAS, in 2022, AB-2264, the Pedestrian Crossing Signals Bill, was signed into law, requiring "a traffic-actuated signal to be installed and maintained to have a leading pedestrian interval, and to include the installation, activation, and maintenance of an accessible pedestrian signal and detector, upon the first placement or replacement of a state-owned or operated traffic-actuated signal"; and WHEREAS, in 2024, SB-960, the Transportation: Planning: Complete Streets Facilities: Transit Priority Facilities Bill, was signed into law, mandating Caltrans to "incorporate Complete Streets (CS) elements, like pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities, into asset management plans, setting specific performance targets for these features"; and Resolution No. 2025-28 Page 3 of 5 WHEREAS, Newport Boulevard contains crossings that include Routes to School for Middle and High School Students; and WHEREAS, in 2023, the City of Costa Mesa worked successfully with Caltrans to provide a crosswalk used by school children at Newport Boulevard/Industrial Way along the west leg after students and parents raised safety concerns; and WHEREAS the SR-55 Improvement Project offers a critical opportunity to improve safety conditions consistent with Costa Mesa's transportation safety goals and Caltrans Complete Street policies and responsibilities, and WHEREAS, the City of Costa Mesa Staff and Community have identified several key safety improvements, detailed in the attached Exhibit A, that should be incorporated into the current project. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY' COUNCIL OF THE CITY' OF COSTA MESA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Caltrans should take immediate steps to incorporate measures identified in Exhibit A to address pedestrian and bicycle safety in Downtown Costa Mesa as part of the current project. Caltrans should engage with the City of Costa Mesa on a routine basis to review and address traffic safety concerns of pedestrians and bicyclists in Downtown Costa Mesa. Caltrans should collaborate with the City on a safer multimodal corridor consistent with policies and statements identified above; and Caltrans should design and construct a corridor that should include, but not be limited to, safe and protected pedestrian crossings, crosswalks at each crosswalk leg, improved bikeways, and transit improvements. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Clerk is directed to send a copy of this resolution to Caltrans, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, Senator Choi, and other relevant state, regional, or local agencies. Resolution No. 2025-28 Page 4 of 5 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 5'h day of August, 2025. ATTEST:APPROVED AS TO FORM: \3arenda Gree'n, City Clerk Kimbe":bw A' STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) CITY OF COSTA MESA ) SS 1, BRENDA GREEN, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is the original of Resolution No. 2025-28 and was duly passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa at a regular meeting held on the 5'h day of August, 2025, by the following roll call vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: GAMEROS, MARR, REYNOLDS, CHAVEZ, AND STEPHENS. NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: PETTIS. ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: BULEY. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal of the City of Costa Mesa this 6'h day of August, 2025. ''rGArey Clerk Resolution No. 2025-28 Page 5 of 5 EXHIBIT A The following additional safety features desired by the City of Costa Mesa staff and community should be considered by Caltrans as part of current SR-55 project: * Provision of a new crosswalk at the Newport Boulevard/Rochester Street-18fh Street intersection north leg. @ Provision of a new crosswalk at the Newport Boulevard/Harbor Boulevard intersection south leg. * Installation of additional lighting along corridor and at crosswalks for improved pedestrian visibility. Upgrade all existing high pressure sodium lighting fixtures to brighter LED fixtures. * Reduction of travel lane widths to reduce pedestrian exposure in crosswalks, manage speeding behavior, and facilitate other safety improvements such as bulb-outs. * Installation of Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) with supplemental No Right-Turn blank-out signs. * Inclusion of advance stop bars at crosswalks. * Provision of quick build (striping) or permanent (concrete) curb extensions where feasible to reduce pedestrian crosswalk crossing distances across Newport Boulevard or across cross-streets. @ Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) features to reduce potential conflicts (e.g., extended yellow for dilemma zone issues, delayed green for unfinished pedestrian crossings, "rest-on-red" at strategically-selected intersections during off-peak hours to discourage excessive speeding when traffic is light, and video monitoring systems and analytics to detect near-miss incidents for proactive safety management, etc.). * Ensure that all video detection cameras proposed to be installed along Newport Boulevard are capable of detecting bicyclists in order to provide adequate green time to safely cross the intersection from side streets. * Adaptive Signal Timing system to dynamically respond to real-time vehicular, bicyclist, and pedestrian flow (e.g., extend walk signals when more pedestrians are detected, shorten vehicle green time during low traffic conditions, etc.). * Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V21) and Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) technologies to alert motorists and pedestrians of potential conflicts and enhance safety of vulnerable road users. * Other safety corridor improvements and features to address traveler safety.