Item 17 - Agreement for McFadden Ave. Transit Signal Priority Pilot Project

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CITY OF SANTA ANA SCOPE OF WORK McFadden Avenue Transit Signal Priority Pilot Project INTRODUCTION The City of Santa Ana is one of the largest and most densely populated cities in Orange County. Santa Ana has a population of over 310,000 and serves as the county seat. With many large industries and firms, Santa Ana is also a family-friendly city, with rich culture on display in the city’s museums and many tourist attractions. The City of Santa Ana is centrally located in the heart or Orange County and is bounded by Interstate-5 to the north, Interstate-405 to the south and State Route-55 to the east. The City has over 100 miles of roadway including 15 major arterials that move over 500,000 vehicles per day. Within the City of Santa Ana, McFadden Avenue is a four-lane arterial with average daily traffic volumes ranging from 12,000 to up to 22,000 vehicles per day. The corridor is primarily four-lane arterial divided by a striped median that serves as a two-way left turn lane, except for a brief residential section between Bristol Street and Standard Avenue where it is mostly reduced to a two-lane undivided roadway. In 2022, McFadden Avenue between Harbor Boulevard and Grand Avenue was reclassified from a secondary (4-lane, undivided) arterial to divided collector (2-lane, divided) to make way for active transportation improvements for improved pedestrian and bicycle safety and mobility. In December 2024, the City of Santa Ana began construction of active transportation improvements along the 4-mile segment of McFadden Avenue between Harbor Boulevard and Grand Avenue to prioritize pedestrian and bicycle safety and promote transit use. The improvements include a Class II buffered bicycle lane, bulb outs at intersections, bus stop improvements, enhanced signage and striping and traffic signal intelligent transportation systems. In order to make space for the active transportation improvements, the removal of one thru lane in each direction was required to accommodate the bicycle lanes and associated amenities along McFadden Avenue within the City. Construction started December 2024 and will continue through 2025. McFadden Avenue is a multi-modal corridor with many motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians using this busy route to commute to work and school. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) also operates OC Bus Route 66 along the corridor, which has one of the highest ridership rates in the County transit system. In 2022, with the proposed capacity reductions under design, an evaluation of potential impacts on traffic flow and transit operations was conducted to evaluate the severity of the impacts and identify solutions that could reduce or reverse the impacts. OCTA, in partnership with City of Santa Ana, prepared the Santa Ana Transit Cooperative Study (Attachment A) which provided a list of suggested transit improvements to help reduce the traffic impacts of the capacity reduction and further encourage ridership. From the study, Transit Signal Priority was identified as a key upgrade to help mitigate the impacts. This project seeks to alleviate the impacts by planning, assessing, deploying, and testing Transit Signal Priority on McFadden Ave between Harbor Boulevard and Grand Avenue within City of Santa Ana. EXHIBIT I SCOPE OF SERVICES