DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William McManus
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Billboard Advertisement for Aggressive Driving Campaign
SUMMARY:
An ordinance accepting the offer from Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. to provide poster, rotary and digital billboard and bus wrap advertising for the San Antonio Police Department's traffic safety public information and education campaign for a total cost of $109,840.00, from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks grant. The acceptance of this grant has already been authorized under City Ordinance # 2013-08-29-0567.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) was awarded a Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) grant to decrease the fatality rate by making the general driving public more aware of the safe ways to interact with trucks and provide large vehicles with more room and maneuverability. The program is designed to enhance the City's efforts in reducing dangerous driving by and around commercial motor vehicles, as well as traffic accidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV). The first stage of the grant is to measure the public's awareness of TACT and driving behavior. The second stage of this grant is to conduct a high-visibility traffic enforcement education program to promote safe driving behaviors among car and truck drivers. The last stage will measure the public's awareness after the advertising campaign.
Public awareness efforts have been undertaken with the focus of promoting safe driving habits through a Public Information & Education ("PI&E") program consisting of an outdoor billboard advertising campaign, radio advertising, television advertising, movie theater advertising, distribution of educational materials, and community partnerships.
Dr. Durant Frantzen, a criminal justice professor at Texas A&M San Antonio, was contracted to perform studies analyzing the public's awareness of TACT and their driving behaviors during all three stages of the grant and the media advertising campaign. Dr. Frantzen's study indicated that "those who were aware of the key messaging were 42% more likely to report having adopted safer driving habits around CMV's." Furthermore, the study suggested that "the relationship between message awareness and reported changes in driving habits around CMV's, there is a need to increase the number of avenues for disseminating information about the TACT program to the public."
Each year new forms of public awareness efforts have been undertaken. This year, in addition to outdoor billboard advertising campaign, radio advertising, television advertising, movie theater advertising, distribution of educational materials, and community partnerships, social media outreach and bus wraps will be added to the awareness efforts.
Texas Local Government Code 252.022 exempts advertising from being solicited. In addition, the Small Business Economic Development Advocacy (SBEDA) Ordinance requirements were waived due to the lack of Small/Minority/ Woman Business Enterprise's (SMWBE) available to provide the goods or services. CCO was selected for the advertising campaign based on the number of available poster, rotary, and digital billboards, cost efficiencies, and continuation of the campaign.
ISSUE:
This proposed offer will enable the City to begin an advertising campaign on billboards placed on major traffic highways and streets to raise awareness. Poster, rotary, digital billboards and bus wraps will be used to educate the public on the TACT initiative. CCO presented the most comprehensive proposal and has over 20 digital billboards throughout the City's major interstate and road thorough fares which would provide the highest visibility for the campaign.
ALTERNATIVES:
An alternative to approving the purchase would be to reject the request, however, the San Antonio Police Department would have to request an amendment to the Grant Agreement and delay the final stage of the grant awareness campaign.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance authorizes the expenditure of funds not to exceed $109,840 for a traffic safety public information and education campaign to purchase billboard advertisement from Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc (CCO). This will be funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, under the aforementioned TACT grant. This amount is included in the approved grant budget and will have no impact on the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve this offer.