Item 14 - Appropriation Adjustment and Agreement for Safe Routes to Parks and Wheelchair Assesment Plan

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Safe Routes to Parks and Wheelchair Assessment Plan Grant Funds December 2, 2025 Page 2 5 4 4 1 The grant provides up to $651,200, with the City contributing $162,800 in local matching funds, for a total project cost of $814,000. The grant performance period is 42 months from the award date, ending no later than September 30, 2028. Santa Ana is a densely populated, walkable community where many residents rely on active transportation. Approximately 31% of residents are under 18, over 50% of students walk or bike to school, and 55% of households lack access to a car. Despite this, the City has limited pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The 2022 Mobility Element Update identified the need for a comprehensive Safe Routes to Parks and Wheelchair Assessment Plan to improve safety and accessibility for all users. The Plan will evaluate streets and neighborhoods surrounding the City’s 48 parks and recreation facilities, prioritizing improvements and programs based on criteria such as safety needs and disadvantaged community status. Community engagement will be a central component, with workshops and walking/biking audits conducted to identify key routes and safety concerns. Participants will include neighborhood associations, local schools, sports leagues, non-profits, the Orange County Health Care Agency, the Orange County Transportation Authority, and various City departments including Parks and Recreation, Traffic Engineering, Police, and Planning. The engagement process will build upon the Santa Ana Vision Zero Plan adopted in April 2024. Community input will be integrated with Vision Zero safety data to identify and document recommended improvements based on proven crash reduction factors. A second project component will include a citywide assessment of wheelchair ramps. This assessment will document locations where ramps are existing, missing, or non- ADA compliant. Results will be incorporated into the City’s GIS and asset management systems to track and prioritize future accessibility improvements. The Vision Zero Plan has identified 20 safety corridors citywide, many of which border or intersect routes leading to local parks. These high-volume, high-speed corridors present barriers to safe access. While Vision Zero focuses broadly on traffic safety, it does not specifically address routes to parks. The proposed Plan will fill this gap by identifying targeted improvements to make walking, biking, and wheelchair travel to parks safer and more accessible for all residents. The City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency Traffic Engineering Division intends to advertise a Request for Proposals (RFP) in December 2025 to solicit qualified consultant firms who specialize in providing transportation planning and traffic engineering professional services related to safe routes to parks and ADA accessibility. U.S. DOT requires that an RFP be released after the agreement is fully executed. Once completed, the Safe Routes to Parks and Wheelchair Assessment Plan and its recommended improvements will be leveraged to seek additional grant funding to construct the recommended improvements.