City Council
MEETING DATE: 4/11/2018
TITLE:
Title
Signal Synchronization Participating Agreement
End
FROM:
Charlie McClendon, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council approve the Signal Synchronization Participating Agreement between the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG) and the City of Cathedral City.
Body
BACKGROUND:
At the February 26, 2018 meeting of the CVAG Executive Committee, the Signal Synchronization Participating Agreement was approved. Approval by the individual member cities' Councils is now required.
On December 13, 2017 staff from CVAG and the City Engineer provided an update on the project in study session. In addition to facilitating traffic movement, the report indicated that Cathedral City will benefit as older signal control equipment is replaced with current technology as required by the synchronization project.
DISCUSSION:
The Draft Agreement was presented on November 6, 2017 to the CVAG Transportation Committee, which approved the staff recommendation with the understanding that the language could be reviewed by individual jurisdictions before the Executive Committee voted on it. At the November 13, 2017, Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting, the City of Rancho Mirage requested a continuance of this item to allow time for their legal counsel to review the draft agreement. After discussion, the Committee recommended continuing the item to the January 2018 TAC meeting, allowing additional time for all jurisdictions to review the draft agreement and provide any recommended changes. Formal comments on the Participating Agreement were received from several jurisdictions. In most cases the comments requested clarifications in the draft language. Rather than providing formal comments on the draft Participating Agreement, the City of Rancho Mirage submitted a letter opting not to participate in the Signal Synchronization Program. That letter is included in the CVAG report attached to this item, along with a Transportation Committee staff report regarding the correspondence.
The non-participation of one Coachella Valley community, particularly in the central part of the urbanized Coachella Valley, negatively impacts the overall efficacy of regional synchronization and regional smart-city initiatives. While the City of Rancho Mirage’s letter states that they “will be cooperative in their efforts to solve traffic issues throughout the Valley,” it does not provide the same guarantee that traffic will move smoothly as it crosses from one city to the next. However, the City’s lack of participation still leaves a robust and exciting project for the eight remaining Coachella Valley cities and other partnering jurisdictions. This program is not only about signal synchronization; it also establishes a regional communications platform for future “Smart City” initiatives and supports connected and autonomous vehicles. The Program anticipates smart phone traffic “apps” as the technology is implemented. Some cities have expressed their intention to move forward with “Smart City” initiatives as the new infrastructure is installed.
A revised Participating Agreement was approved by the CVAG Executive Committee addressing the comments received. When the Master Plan and Participating Agreement are approved, Advantec will move forward with the remaining elements of the project (previously identified), including final design. Construction of Phase 1 includes three corridors (Highway 111, Ramon Road and Washington Street) and is anticipated to begin by the end of 2018.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Master Plan identifies a Phase I Signal Synchronization Infrastructure preliminary cost estimate of $16,709,910. CVAG has previously budgeted approximately $8 million in regional and federal funding toward this project. At the February 5, 2018 meeting, the Transportation Committee recommended funding the balance of Phase I and launching Phase 2 with $27 million in additional federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program funding. There is no local match required from Cathedral City.
ATTACHMENTS:
CVAG Staff Report
Signal Synchronization Participating Agreement