City Council Meeting Date: September 8, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Jacob Ives, Graduate Engineer
Sean Simonson, Engineering Manager
David Bennett, City Engineer/Public Works Director
Title
Approve Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Planning RFP - Scope of Services.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council Approves the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Planning RFP and Authorizes staff to issue RFP.
Summary Report:
Staff have developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) (Attachment #1) for professional engineering and planning services to develop a Safe Streets and Roads for all Plan (SS4A) for the City’s road network. The City Adopted 2025-2028 Strategic Plan includes a strategic initiative to create a Safe Street for All Plan. Completion of the plan will help identify specific priorities for improved pedestrian safety. An Action Plan is required to become eligible for Federal Implementation grants. Typically, those grants provide 80% federal funding and a 20% local match.
Background
The City was successfully awarded $300,000 by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to develop a SS4A plan and is currently working on creating a grant agreement. Once the grant agreement is finalized and approved by council, and the FHWA, staff will be able to send the RFP to firms. Staff are requesting council’s approval of the scope of services to be provided; this scope will shape the contents of the final SS4A plan. The SS4A plan is meant to address and prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The components of a safety action plan consist of:
• Leadership Commitment and Goal Setting
o Commitment by Council to an eventual goal of zero roadway fatalities.
o Includes a target date for zero fatalities or a percent reduction by a certain date.
• Planning Structure
o A committee, or similar body, charged with the development of the action plan.
• Safety Analysis
o Analysis of existing and historical trends, crash locations and severity.
o Analysis includes all roadways within the city and identifies high risk locations.
• Engagement and Collaboration
o Robust engagement with the public, including businesses and community groups.
o Engagement with other transportation agencies (townships, cities, county, state).
o The plan is coordinated with other city plans.
• Policy and Process Changes
o Assessment of current policies, plans, guidelines, and standards.
o Identify opportunities to revise or develop new policies, guidelines, or standards.
• Strategy and Project Selection
o Identify a set of projects and strategies that will address safety problems.
o Projects and strategies are prioritized in a list that provides a time range of when the countermeasures are expected to be deployed.
• Progress and Transparency
o Develop a method to measure progress after the plan is developed.
o Develop a method to ensure transparency with the public on progress toward achieving zero roadway fatalities.
The items listed above are the minimum required by the FHWA for an approved SS4A plan. Additional local context can be added to this to help shape the plan more for a given community.
From 2018 - 2024 Northfield experienced 5 fatal and 14 serious injury crashes according to MnDOT crash reporting. The previous five years 2013 - 2017 experienced zero fatal and 8 serious injury crashes indicating a recent increase in crash severity. Developing a Safety Action Plan will allow the city to determine current and future crash prone locations and develop quick, low cost, and effective solutions to safety problems in these areas.
Once the grant agreement is signed staff will send a request for proposals (RFP) to engineering firms to assist city staff with the preparation of the Safety Action Plan.
Alternative Options:
None recommended.
Financial Impacts:
Grant Funds $300,000
Cash Match $75,000 - Was included in the 2026 requested budget. Staff is including the matching funds subject to grant award in the upcoming 2026-2028 Budget. Funding s from the General Fund.
Tentative Timelines:
Approve Grant Agreement September 2026
Send RFP September 2026
Council Approve RFP December 1, 2026
Project Start Winter 2026
Project Completion December 2028