Punta Gorda planning board 4-1 to recommend adoption of Safe Streets plan to seek federal grant

The City of Punta Gorda Zoning and Planning Board voted 4-1 on a recommendation that the City Council adopt a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan so the city can pursue federal Safe Streets for All grant funding.

Rick Lemkoop, grants coordinator for urban design, told the board the plan — prepared under the Safe Streets for All campaign with the Department of Transportation and the local Metropolitan Planning Organization — sets a target of “0 fatalities and 0 serious injuries by 2045.” He said adoption by the council is required before Punta Gorda can be included in the grant application the city plans to submit by June 26.

The board’s recommendation would allow staff to use the adopted plan as part of a grant application for audible pedestrian signals, rapid flashing beacons and other pedestrian and bicycle countermeasures at signalized intersections and high-injury corridors. Lemkoop said the immediate grant focus is audible pedestrian beacons for visually impaired people and other pedestrian-focused signal and signing improvements at roughly 20 signalized intersections downtown.

Board discussion focused on the plan’s recommendations, the grant’s funding structure and long-term obligations. Board members reviewed county crash trends presented by staff showing 132 fatalities countywide between 2016 and 2020 and an increase in serious injuries and deaths in recent years; staff said Punta Gorda accounted for about 10 of those fatalities. Lemkoop identified 14 county “high injury” nodes, four of which are inside Punta Gorda and listed four city corridors under consideration: Retta Esplanade to Carmelita Street, Cooper Street (Olympia to Berlin), Marion Avenue (Henry to Chastain) and Tamiami Trail (Bridal to Airport Road).

Several members pressed staff about costs and long-term maintenance. Lemkoop said the Safe Streets for All grant is typically 80% federal funding and 20% local match and that the city has not yet identified match funding. He explained that if the city wins a grant it would enter into procurement and a grant agreement that would obligate the city to complete funded work and to participate in ongoing maintenance: “If we get the grant for this project right here in particular, we’re obligated after we go into agreement to complete this project for audible pedestrian signals only,” he said.

Board members also asked about opt-out language and contingencies if the city does not win funding. Charles Lucas, board member, asked for explicit written language that would allow Punta Gorda to avoid committing to work if the city cannot secure the necessary funding, saying, “I just felt like there should have been an out for Punta Gorda to be able to opt out of a program or a grant because of non funding and I think it should be in writing.” Lemkoop and other staff representatives said adoption is a prerequisite for applying for the federal grant and that adopting the plan does not itself obligate the city to build projects without grant funds.

On the motion to recommend adoption to the City Council, the board voted 4 to 1 in favor. The board chair recorded the outcome as a recommendation that the City Council adopt the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan at its June 4 meeting so staff can finalize and submit the Safe Streets for All grant application by the June 26 deadline.

The board asked that staff continue refining cost estimates with Public Works and that any required maintenance or matching costs be identified for the City Council review during the Capital Improvement Plan discussions scheduled later in the year.