City of Gonzales
PUBLIC WORKS / CITY ENGINEER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 20, 2023
FROM: Patrick Dobbins, Public Works Director/City Engineer THROUGH: Carmen Gil, Acting City Manager
SUBJECT: Update Report on Fifth Street Pilot Bike Lane Project
RECOMMENDATION
Receive a final progress report on the Separated Bike Lane Pilot Project on Fifth Street between Rincon Road and Elko Street and provide feedback and direction to staff.
BACKGROUND
The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) and their consultant, Ecology Action are working with staff from the cities of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, and King City on a Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan. The Safe Routes to School Plan will include recommendations to improve walkability to/from La Gloria Elementary, Fairview Middle School and Gonzales High School. This program is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning Grant and local Measure X matching funds.
School audits occurred on October 26, 2022, when city staff, Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Ecology Action and the members of the Gonzales Youth Council observed students arrive and leave La Gloria Elementary, Fairview Middle School and Gonzales High School.
The program includes implementing a Pilot Project for the community to experience a recommended improvement and provide feedback should the city decide to make the improvement permanent. These pilot projects are being used in all four Salinas Valley cities to provide data on how the recommendations work in practice, collect community input, and support future grant applications for Safe Routes to Schools infrastructure improvements.
AGENDA
ITEM
18 The next step in the planning process is to form a Stakeholder Committee comprised of Gonzales residents which will lead a Participatory Budgeting process for the city. TAMC has committed $250,000 for each of the four cities to construct one or several high-priority recommendations from the Safe Routes to Schools Plan, and the Steering Committee will identify high-priority projects and design a voting process to collect input from all city residents. Applications for the Steering Committee are open now, and the first meeting is expected to be held in September. Spanish translation will be available for all Steering Committee meetings. Community members are encouraged to apply by visiting the project website: https://saferoutesmonterey.org/evaluation-salinasvalley/ .
REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
A Separated Bike Lane on Fifth Street between Rincon Road and Elko Street was selected by the project team as the Pilot Project and presented at the March 20, 2023 City Council Meeting. With the Council’s authorization, in early April the project team striped the bike lanes, and installed the associated delineators, and high-visibility crosswalks on Fifth Street.
The design of the pilot was initially adjusted to provide more parking on Fifth Street in front of the American Legion, and alternative event parking locations such as the parking lot on Gabilan Court and the angled parking on Elko Street across from Fairview Middle School have been identified.
Ecology Action collected survey data from the community on the pilot project. The survey link has been shared through mailers to all City residents, fliers that have been sent out to families through the schools, banners and hard copy surveys placed along 5th Street, and in-person outreach to parents and students before and after school. As of June 8, 179 survey responses have been received.
The majority of respondents (71%) reported a positive experience with the high-visibility crosswalks.
Fifty-five percent of respondents reported a positive experience with the separated bike lanes and 24% reported a negative experience. Nearly one-third of respondents reported that they walked or biked more because of the pilot project. Half of respondents said that they would like to see the temporary changes made permanent, while 29% would not like to see the changes made permanent and 20% were undecided.
The survey also included space for open-ended responses about the pilot project. The primary comments were:
Positive comments:
1. Easier to walk and bicycle along Fifth Street as it feels safer
2. Motorists are driving slower
3. Liked the high visibility crosswalks
4. Liked the student art, increases vibrancy of 5th Street
5. Desire to extend the pilot project across the 5th Street bridge and to La Gloria Elementary on Elko St.
Concerns:
1. The narrow lanes can slow down the response time of emergency vehicles
2. Parking spaces were eliminated along Fifth Street. This affects evening and weekend events at the High School and the American Legion Hall
3. Some comments called for the white delineators to be removed, and some requested that they be replaced with a sturdier barrier to protect people walking and biking from cars.
At the May 1 Council meeting, as part of a progress report on the pilot project, staff was directed to remove the “wave delineators” to allow for additional space for fire trucks and wide agricultural equipment to safely drive along that section of Fifth Street. The “wave delineators” were removed the next morning.
City staff and TAMC staff will make a presentation at the Council meeting as part of this report.
The Council can direct city staff to:
1. Make the pilot project permanent and direct staff to install green paint within the bike lanes.
2. Make the pilot project permanent and direct staff to modify the striping, markings or signage.
3. Stop the pilot project and restore the striping to the pre-pilot project condition.
How Recommendation Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small-town charm.
Explain: Installing a Separated Bike Lane Pilot Project along a portion of Fifth Street will enhance the quality of life of Gonzales residents through increasing the opportunities for biking and walking.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community. X Yes ____ No____ N/A
Explain: Please see explanation above for the Mission.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful and friendly manner to insure the safety and well-being of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. X Yes ____ No ____ N/A Explain: See Vision explanation above.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety X Yes No N/A
• Housing Yes X No N/A
• Recreation X Yes No N/A
• Environment X Yes No N/A
• Education X Yes No N/A
ALTERNATIVES
As stated in the staff report, the Council could direct city staff to:
1. Make the pilot project permanent and direct staff to install green paint within the bike lanes.
2. Make the pilot project permanent and direct staff to modify the striping, markings or signage.
3. Stop the pilot project and restore the striping to the pre-pilot project condition.
BUDGET IMPACT
There is no budget impact to this evening’s presentation as the costs for the pilot project are covered by the TAMC grant funding.
CONCLUSION
Receive a progress report on the Separated Bike Lane Pilot Project on Fifth Street between Rincon Road and Elko Street and provide feedback and direction to staff.
Attachments:
1. Ecology Action Powerpoint