PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BANNING DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND COMPLETE STREETS PLAN

The City of Banning is seeking a qualified land use, transportation planning/engineering consultant to provide a Planning document for the revitalization of the downtown area of Banning along with a Complete Streets Plan in the project ½ mile corridor perimeter: Ramsey Street, Hays Street, Livingston Street between Alessandro Street (east limit) and 8th Street (west limit), as shown is Attachment 1. All work will be required to meet California Department of Transportation and City of Banning Standards. The Caltrans “Complete Streets Elements Toolbox” shall be used as this project is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant of about $297,000. The City anticipates entering into a Professional Services contract after negotiations with the selected firm, based on the selection committee’s ranking of the firms. The City of Banning (City) is soliciting proposals from consulting firms to provide planning and engineering design services for the development of a Downtown Revitalization and Complete Streets Plan. The purpose is to prepare an important blueprint to guide future improvements in the downtown area guiding the City of Banning’s goals and priorities for the next five to ten years.. A Complete Street provides safe mobility for all users, bicyclists, pedestrians, transit vehicles, trucks and motorists. It is important to identify ways to create complete streets downtown to facilitate walking, biking, ride-share, electric vehicles, transit, and parking to support a reinvigorated downtown. Revitalizing an economically depressed area and creating sustainable transportation infrastructure to support it are the overarching goals of this project. The City’s Economic Development Manager estimates there are 14 acres of undeveloped land and a vacancy rate of 30-35% in downtown Banning. The City’s core is ripe for redevelopment to enliven it with mixed uses, public art, and infrastructure to support new multi-modal transportation. The downtown commercial district is also a regional civic center with City Hall, Riverside County Superior Court, Banning Police Department, and Social Services buildings. As the home to Banning’s only movie theater, the renovated historic Fox theater, it has potential to be an entertainment and dining destination.