Lake County Board approves letter backing SS4A planning grant for corridor safety studies

The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a letter of support for the county's application to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) planning and demonstration grant program and authorized the board chair to sign the amended letter.

The letter, amended during the meeting to correct the grant program name and remove a typographical line, was moved by Supervisor Spatje and seconded; the motion carried after the chair called for the vote. The board's action was to support a planning-stage application rather than funding construction.

County Public Works Director Glenn March introduced David Bingham, the county's newly promoted capital project manager, and explained the request. Bingham told the board that the county established a Local Roadway Safety Plan (LRSP) in 2022 to remain eligible for state Highway Safety Improvement Program funds and that Lake APC (the Lake Area Planning Council) recently received a SS4A award to update the LRSP for Lake County, the city of Lakeport and the city of Clearlake to the level required for SS4A implementation eligibility.

Bingham said the planning-and-demonstration grant the county seeks would fund corridor studies where the county has recorded fatalities and serious injuries, and a demonstration project in Lucerne to test traffic‑pattern changes that would inform LRSP updates. "We're committing toa goal in the future of 0 fatalities, 0 severe injuries," Bingham said.

Board and staff described the planning grant as distinct from implementation funding. Staff said the county is not currently eligible for SS4A implementation grants until it has a safety action plan that meets SS4A eligibility requirements. The planning work would develop corridor studies and 10% to 15% conceptual designs so the county can produce better cost estimates and benefit‑cost ratios for future implementation grant applications; staff noted federal evaluators have historically used a benefit‑cost ratio cutoff of about 4 when awarding implementation funds.

Supervisors raised local priorities for the corridor work. Supervisor Owen congratulated Bingham on his promotion and asked that Morgan Valley, which she said is failing and poses safety issues, be prioritized. Glenn March said a geotechnical consultant visited Morgan Valley last week and the county expects a geotechnical report within about a month; staff said temporary solutions are expected to follow and that the county already has a grant for a permanent construction solution but provided no construction timeframe.

Before the vote, staff proposed two edits to the draft letter: correcting the grant program name to Safe Streets and Roads for All and removing a typographical line at the bottom of the draft. Supervisor Spatje moved approval "as amended" and the chair authorized the signature.

The board's endorsement covers only the planning-and-demonstration grant application; it does not commit county funds to construction. If the planning work identifies candidate projects, those projects would be listed in the updated LRSP to support future SS4A implementation grant applications.

Next steps described by staff include submitting the county's planning-and-demonstration application, completing corridor studies to a conceptual design level, and using those studies to refine cost estimates and benefit‑cost analyses ahead of potential future implementation grant applications.