Item 19 - City Council Work Study Session Regarding the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study

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City of Santa Ana | First Street Multimodal Corridor Technical Memorandum 23 The City has a high proportion of renters, compared to Orange County, and the study area has an even higher proportion, over half of whom are cost-burdened by their housing costs (refer to Figure 11). This demonstrates a majority of study area residents that live in housing insecurity due to a high proportion of their income devoted to housing, which increases risk of defaulting on rent payments and potential eviction. Figure 11. Renter Households within First Street Equity Study Area The Origin-Destination Analysis conducted for the two-mile area around the corridor shows that the highest origin-destination pairs for people living within a half mile of the corridor also had notably high proportions of people walking, ranging from 24-38% of all travel modes. Further, trips from resident originating near the cluster of seniors living in poverty on the north side of the corridor and ending in the downtown civic center area had a relatively high proportion of transit trips (5%), although these areas are less than a half mile from each other. These travel patterns show that there are very high percentages of people walking to destinations near and on the corridor, as well as higher rates of people taking transit near senior housing. This demonstrates a vulnerable road user presence in and around the corridor that may benefit greatly from safe, accessible, and comfortable mobility options. Considerations for Community Engagement and Multimodal Concept Development These demographics, land uses, and road user findings overall provide important context for the advancement of the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study. The prevalence of marginalized demographics and vulnerable road users inform project approaches to community engagement, such as targeted outreach to include community members that are older and/or have limited safe and accessible mobility options, speak languages other than English, are more likely to experience housing insecurity, and are more likely to walk or take transit. Members of these key study demographics are typically not centered in traditional outreach methods but are likely to be disproportionately impacted by not having their needs considered in street design and operations, as they are likely to have fewer resources and alternatives to adapt to environmental changes. Figure 12 illustrates the relationship between residents over Age 65 and the poverty rate within the area.