REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Al Zelinka, City Manager
VIA: Chau Vu, Director of Public Works
PREPARED BY: John Nguyen, Senior Traffic Engineer
Subject:
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Approve and authorize execution of a Cooperative Agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for the implementation of the Countywide Signal Synchronization Baseline Project
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Statement of Issue:
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has submitted a Cooperative Agreement to the City of Huntington Beach to build and reset the coordination or “synchronization” baseline of traffic signals for the Orange County’s Signal Synchronization Network (SSN) through the Countywide Signal Synchronization Baseline Project (Project). This agreement clarifies the roles and responsibilities of OCTA, the County, and the cities with respect to execution and delivery of the project funded by OCTA’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Funding Program. There is no funding obligation for the City to participate, apart from in-house resources (staff time) as needed.
Financial Impact:
OCTA will be responsible for all project costs. City permit fees will be waived in an annual amount estimated at $300 total.
Recommended Action:
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Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute “Cooperative Agreement No. C-3-2417 Between Orange County Transportation Authority and City of Huntington Beach for Countywide Signal Synchronization Baseline Project”.
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Alternative Action(s):
Deny approval of the project, and forgo participation in the project.
Analysis:
OCTA’s Measure M2 Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Program (Project P) has been successful in re-timing over 2,000 signals in Orange County. These efforts have been limited to the major roadways in the County and typically does not include the network of secondary arterials. Over the past decade, ten major corridors within the City of Huntington Beach have been selected for competitive Project P grant funding to facilitate the synchronization of the traffic signals and update the traffic signal timing parameters. Most of the corridors have been updated multiple times over the past decade.
The Baseline project expands the number of corridors to receive regularly updated signal coordination within the City. Previous projects funded through Project P have improved travel times, reduced delays and congestion, and increased the number of successive green lights drivers experience in their daily commutes. However, an arterial corridor experiences the most benefits immediately following a re-timing effort, as it was optimized for the current traffic conditions. With traffic patterns and volumes fluctuating throughout the years since the re-timing efforts, these timing plans become less effective, especially when adjacent, crossing corridors are retimed, resulting in impacts to the progression along the major arterial corridor. Therefore, it is best practice to periodically re-synchronize traffic signals to ensure operational efficiency and adjust for changes in traffic.
After a decade of re-timing regional corridors through various individual projects, OCTA aims to build and reset the synchronization baseline for Orange County’s Signal Synchronization Network (SSN) through the Countywide Signal Synchronization Baseline Project (Project). This project would help ensure that the timing of all signals that are part of the SSN are reevaluated on a consistent basis rather than relying on a corridor to be nominated by participating agencies. This effort will also add some corridors that have not been previously eligible for funding because they were essentially secondary arterials. As part of this effort, OCTA has engaged all 34 local cities within the County, the County of Orange, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) as participants in this countywide project.
The project will achieve the following:
1. Set a countywide signal synchronization baseline by re-timing approximately 2,500 Orange County signals along regionally significant corridors to avoid any crossing coordination. conflicts and ensure signal timing are based on current traffic volumes.
2. Separate Orange County into zones with signals and corridor segments grouped based on traffic progression and to facilitate implementation.
3. Transition from a corridor-based to zone-based approach that is re-timed on a regular basis to minimize conflicts with crossing corridors. Monitor the performance of the signals in the interim and enhance upcoming re-timing efforts to maximize the benefits of the zone-based approach.
It should be noted that OCTA will continue to offer annual calls for corridor projects that offer opportunities for signal synchronization (timing changes) and signal capital improvements (equipment and hardware upgrades) under Project P to help ensure that Orange County signals continue to be current with transportation technology.
The cooperative agreement describes the duties and responsibilities between OCTA and the City of Huntington Beach on the Project for the next five years. By entering into the cooperative agreement, the City of Huntington Beach would be agreeing to support OCTA’s countywide efforts by providing requested existing traffic signal data and plans, committing staff time to review recommended timing plans, and overall participation to implement the Project. OCTA will be the lead and implementing agency for the Project and as part of this effort, will be procuring and managing a consultant to collect any traffic data necessary and develop and implement synchronized timing plans. OCTA has secured Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds for the implementation of the project. There is no funding obligation for the City to participate other than in-house resources (staff time) as needed.
Public Works Commission Action:
None required for this action.
Environmental Status:
No impact with the approval of the agreement. Any California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and environmental analysis will be processed by OCTA.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non Applicable - Administrative Item
Attachment(s):
1. “Cooperative Agreement No. C-3-2417 Between Orange County Transportation Authority and City of Huntington Beach for Countywide Signal Synchronization Baseline Project”
2. Presentation