To: Board of Supervisors
From: Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Report Title: Grant Agreement #78-024-1 with the California Department of Office of Traffic Safety
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County Standard Agreement #78-024-1 (State #PS24010) from the California Department of Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), to pay County an amount not to exceed $202,692 for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program for a countywide Vision Zero roadway safety education campaign, for the period from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this agreement will result in funding in an amount not to exceed $202,692. No County match is required.
BACKGROUND:
Unlike those traveling in vehicles with seat belts, air bags and other safety features, bicyclists and pedestrians do not have the same level of protection and are more vulnerable every time they are on the road. In California, pedestrian fatalities rose 26% between 2014 and 2018. California’s pedestrian fatality rate is almost 25% higher than the national average. There has been a greater than 60% increase in bicyclists killed per year since 2010. OTS provides grant funding made available to California by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for innovative, evidence-based education and enforcement programs and technologies designed to make California’s roadways safer.
On February 7, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved Submission of Application #78-024 to apply for OTS grant funds, for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program for a countywide Vision Zero roadway safety education campaign, for the period October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
Approval of this Agreement #78-024-1 will allow the County’s Public Health Division to receiving for funding for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program for a countywide Vision Zero roadway safety education campaign, through September 30, 2024, including agreeing to indemnify and hold the State harmless for claims arising out of the County’s performance under this Agreement.
This action was delayed because the Division did not receive the agreement from the State until November 2023.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this Board Order is not approved, the Health Services Department will not be able to apply or receive the funding from OTS to provide a countywide Vision Zero roadway safety education campaign that will result in safer roadway behaviors, reducing risk of serious injuries and deaths.