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Salem council authorizes application for up to $10 million Safe Streets grant, pledges local match and maintenance plan
Summary
City council authorized the city manager to apply for up to $10 million in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All funding, using up to $2.5 million from the 2022 safety and livability bond as local match; staff said ongoing maintenance for the proposed crossings is estimated at about $14,700 per year to be paid from gas tax revenues.
The Salem City Council authorized the city manager to apply for up to $10,000,000 in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) funding and to use up to $2,500,000 from the city’s safety and livability bond as a local match to build a series of pedestrian crossing improvements and to support high-visibility enforcement.
The authorization passed on a roll-call vote after staff described the application and representatives said the projects would focus on specific crossing locations that tie to the grant application. “If we were fortunate to get this grant, we would add these projects into our CIP,” Public Works Director Brian Martin said, noting the grant would allow the city to use bond funds as a match and thereby stretch local dollars to deliver more crossings.
Why it matters: the SS4A grant offers federal dollars to construct safety improvements that the city says would otherwise be slower to deliver. Councilors pressed staff about ongoing costs and geographic scope before voting to authorize the application.
Key details - Authorized action: city manager may apply for up to $10,000,000 in SS4A federal funds and use up to $2,500,000 in local bond funds as match; council also authorized the interim city manager to accept funds and enter agreements with U.S. DOT if awarded (as described in the staff report). (Staff reading of item: 3.3 c.) - Maintenance estimate: Brian Martin estimated roughly $14,700 per year to maintain the 12 proposed crossings; he said that maintenance would come from the city’s gas tax allocation for street maintenance. - Geographic scope: staff said the application ties to specific crossing locations clustered along Market Street and that the locations fall primarily within two wards (the staff report and council remarks identified the work as tied to two wards rather than a citywide program).
Council discussion and public comment Councilor Matthews asked whether funded crossings would automatically move forward or be scored with other CIP projects; staff replied that, if awarded, the projects would be added into the city’s Capital Improvement Program and evaluated under the CIP scoring process. Martin added that by requesting grant funding for specific locations the city would be obligated to construct those locations if the grant is awarded.
At public comment, Spencer Rosenau of the CANDU Neighborhood Association urged council approval, saying the grant could secure up to $10 million and extend the reach of local bond dollars; Rosenau cited pedestrian fatalities and called for pedestrian improvements such as refuge islands, curb extensions and crossing beacons.
Vote: The motion to authorize the application passed on the council floor by recorded vote (ayes recorded by roll call).
