Seal Beach council adopts federal-funded Safety Action Plan aiming for Vision Zero by 2040

The Seal Beach City Council voted to adopt a federally funded Safety Action Plan, ratifying Resolution 7,599 as part of the consent calendar.

The plan, prepared under a U.S. Federal Highway Administration Safe Streets For All grant, identifies the city’s top 15 intersections and 10 high-priority street segments, provides engineering plans for each location and estimates a total implementation cost of about $5,400,000. Fred Menigar, the project manager, told the council the work covered five years of collision data (Jan. 1, 2019–Dec. 31, 2023) and multiple independent data sources including Seal Beach Police Department records, UC Berkeley datasets and California Highway Patrol records.

Why it matters: adopting the plan makes Seal Beach eligible to apply for implementation grants and aligns the city with a Vision Zero target year of 2040, Menigar said. The council’s action is intended to help the city secure federal and state funding before using local general funds.

The plan’s recommendations include engineering designs, cost estimates and policy/process suggestions intended to support future grant applications. Menigar said the plan includes equity analyses required by federal funding rules and that staff prepared engineering exhibits for the top locations so the city may apply for partial or full project funding.

Key details and constraints - Funding and grant source: the report was prepared using a Safe Streets For All grant from the Federal Highway Administration; the plan itself recommends applying for FHWA and other grant cycles. Menigar said the grant paid for the study phase; construction would require separate grants or local funding. - Cost estimate: the grand total of proposed improvements is $5,400,000; the team built in a 20% contingency to reflect current Southern California construction costs. Menigar said the contingency “stands for if the cost of living goes up 2 years from now…if inflation goes up 2 years from now.” - Priority sites: the worst intersection was identified as Westminster Boulevard at Seal Beach Boulevard (more than 90 collisions across the five-year window). The report ranks 39 intersections and highlights the top 15 and 10 segments with engineering sheets ready for funding submittals. - Implementation notes and coordination: several project locations require additional coordination before construction, including meetings with Caltrans District 12 and Orange County Fire Authority for emergency-vehicle preemption near a fire station; meetings with the Golden Rain Foundation and Leisure World for projects affecting those communities; and a technical review with the U.S. Navy for measures near military gates. The plan also includes an engineered proposal for retractable roadway bollards at Main Street and Ocean Avenue to support events and security operations; Menigar noted federal procurement rules required sourcing vendors manufactured in the U.S.

Council questions and next steps Council members asked about the underlying data, how many public outreach meetings were held and the extent to which the plan looks forward to proposed land use changes. Menigar said the study used five years of collision data and three independent datasets and that stakeholder outreach included meetings at Forest Station 43, the Marina Community Center and sessions with the U.S. Navy, Golden Rain Foundation, bicycle advocates and other residents.

Because the plan was on the consent calendar the council did not debate the item at length on the dais; the consent calendar passed unanimously. City staff said the next step is to pursue implementation funding and to use the provided engineering documents to apply for FHWA and other grant cycles.

Ending: With the vote, Seal Beach will seek implementation grants and move from planning to funding steps; staff said they will return with project-specific grant applications and construction contracts as funding is secured.