Transportation commission recommends local projects for funding
Central Coast ‘did particularly well’ this cycle, according to report
– California Transportation Commission staff recently released their ranked list of projects recommended for the 2023 funding cycle for the Active Transportation Program in the Statewide and Small Urban and Rural categories, according to a report by StreetsBlogCal.
A large team (98 people) with a wide range of active transportation experience evaluated the project applications against criteria established in the program’s guidelines. There were 434 applications requesting a total of $3.1 billion, which is more than any other cycle so far.
Staff recommended 93 of the projects for a total of a little over $1 billion: 67 in the statewide competition, and 26 in the small urban and rural category. A third category of regionally prioritized projects, submitted by the ten largest Metropolitan Planning Organizations, will be released next spring. There will be about $680-some million available for those projects, and some projects that applied in the statewide category but did not score high enough could be considered within those lists. This year’s one-time augmentation of $1 billion for the ATP made it possible to fund more projects than otherwise would have been feasible.
The recommended projects are distributed throughout the state. This cycle, the Central Coast did particularly well, including Santa Cruz projects as well as projects in Lompoc (Walkability, Community Safety, and School Investments), three projects in Santa Barbara (Westside and Lower West Neighborhood Active Transportation Plan, Cliff Drive Complete Street Transformation, and Milpas Street Crosswalk Safety and Sidewalk Widening) as well as Santa Maria (Safe Routes to School Corridor Improvements), Monterey (San Ardo Community and School Connections), Watsonville (Safe Routes to Downtown), San Luis Obispo (South Higuera Complete Streets and Niblick Road Complete and Sustainable Bike and Pedestrian Streets).
In Paso Robles, four recent grant awards will enhance traffic circulation, and student and bicycle safety:
- The Niblick Road Complete and Sustainable Streets Project is recommended for $13.8 million in funding for paving, crosswalks, sidewalk gap closure from Rambouillet to Country Club, signage, and a Class I bike path on the North side of Niblick. This project stretches from Spring Street to Creston Road.
- The Creston Corridor Project, which starts construction in 2023, received $3 million in state funding for paving, corridor enhancements, new signals at Bolen and Walnut, and sidewalks.
- The Flamson Middle School Safe Routes to School Project was awarded a $750,000 Community Betterment Grant from SLOCOG. The project includes crosswalk enhancements, signal upgrades at 24th Street, striping, crosswalk lighting, flashing pedestrian signage, and enhanced student drop-off zones.
- North River Road Class I Bike and Pedestrian Path was awarded a $350,000 Community Betterment Grant for the design of a Class I path that will link Union/Creston Class I path with River Oaks Drive. This project will further the city’s goal to construct a class I pedestrian and bicycle path that will circle the city. The city will seek grant funding for construction once the design for this segment is complete.
Click here to view projects by county.
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