Title
Authorizing City staff to apply for and accept Safe Streets for All funding to implement transportation safety improvements entitled “Safe and Equitable Streets: Systemic Improvements for Saint Paul & Ramsey County Roads Project.”
Body
WHEREAS, Mayor Carter’s Administration and the Saint Paul City Council value innovation, resilience, equity, and safety in our transportation system and in creating a city that works for all; and
WHEREAS, the federal government in January 2022 introduced the National Roadway Safety Strategy to outline a comprehensive approach to significantly reduce serious injuries and deaths on the nation’s highways, roads, and streets; and
WHEREAS, the National Roadway Safety Strategy promotes the employment of a Safe Systems Approach to reducing and eliminating crashes, including strategies to provide for safer people, vehicles, roads, speeds, and post-crash care; and
WHEREAS, the federal government established as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over five years to plan for and implement changes that will reduce and prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council in June of 2023 passed and Mayor Carter signed RES 23-875, Adopting the City of Saint Paul Vision Zero Transportation Safety Commitment, wherein the city committed to a goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries on all surface streets in Saint Paul by 2045, with an interim goal of 50 percent reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes by 2033; and
WHEREAS, RES 23-875 also resolves that the city will work with partner agencies including the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Ramsey County to achieve its ambitious Vision Zero goals; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) program requires eligible applicants to have a transportation safety action plan; and
WHEREAS, Public Works staff and partners are engaging communities across Saint Paul and working with partner agencies to complete the Safe Streets for All: Transportation Safety Action Plan in 2024 to identify and eliminate fatalities and serious injuries from traffic crashes for everyone; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Streets for All: Transportation Safety Action Plan helps prioritize roadway and infrastructure projects that address safety challenges for residents of the city and support future funding opportunities for safety projects, while centering people and communities most affected by traffic-related injuries and fatalities; and
WHEREAS, having analyzed crash data citywide, the city intends to submit the Safe and Equitable Streets: Systemic Improvements for Saint Paul & Ramsey County Roads Project for consideration for the Safe Streets for All program, which focuses on improvements on some of Saint Paul’s most challenging streets and intersections, and where more than 60 percent of project funds would be used for improvements within priority areas comprised of historically disadvantaged census tracts as designated by the US Department of Transportation; and
WHEREAS, the Safe and Equitable Streets: Systemic Improvements for Saint Paul & Ramsey County Roads Project will include a variety of proven safety countermeasures targeted to reduce and eliminate fatal and serious injury traffic crashes; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the city represents that this project meets the requirements of the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) transportation grant, thereby allowing the project to receive SS4A implementation grant funding; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city has the resources required to provide the cost participation match required for the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) transportation grant program; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city agrees to comply with all applicable laws and regulations as stated in the notice of funding opportunity and a future grant agreement, and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the city has the necessary capabilities to adequately develop and manage this transportation improvement effort, and, be it
FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council authorizes staff to apply for and accept funding from the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) transportation grant program for the Safe and Equitable Streets: Systemic Improvements for Saint Paul & Ramsey County Roads Project.