City of Gonzales
PUBLIC WORKS / CITY ENGINEER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: November 18, 2024
FROM: Patrick Dobbins, Public Works Director/City Engineer THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Final Draft Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council receive a presentation on the final draft “Salinas Valley Safe Routes to Schools Plan” and provide staff with any changes or adjustments.
BACKGROUND
The Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Monterey County Health Department, Ecology Action, and the Cities of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, and King City partnered to develop the “Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan” (Plan). The three-year planning process identified barriers to safe access to 22 public schools in South Monterey County cities and recommended infrastructure and noninfrastructure improvements.
Recommendations included in the Plan are designed to help address school-based traffic congestion and improve student health by fostering increased biking, walking, and carpooling. The project team, comprised of staff from the Transportation Agency, County Health Department, Public Works staff from the four cities, School Districts, and non-profit Ecology Action, have engaged administrators, parents, and students in school bike/walk assessments, mapping activities, street demonstrations, and surveys.
The Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan kicked off in spring 2022 and started outreach in the City of Gonzales in fall 2022. The planning team conducted walking audits at each of the three public schools in Gonzales, gave six presentations at parent meetings and two presentations to the Gonzales Youth Council, and received 45 responses to an online parent survey. In 2023, the planning team drafted and received community input on a list of infrastructure and non-infrastructure recommendations around Gonzales schools. Starting in fall 2022, the planning team planned and implemented four pilot projects, one in each city, to demonstrate some of the recommendations included in the plan and get community AGENDA
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17 feedback. The Gonzales pilot project was held on 5th Street in spring 2023. The planning team also formed Steering Committees in each of the four cities. Steering Committees led a democratic process, called Participatory Budgeting, where community members voted to decide how public funds are spent.
TAMC is providing up to $250,000 to each city to implement the highest voted projects, and the City Council approved following projects for Gonzales in August 2024:
1. Pedestrian Improvements at the Fifth Street/Rincon Road intersection
2. Pedestrian Improvements along Fifth Street and the on and off ramps at the Fifth Street/US 101 Interchange.
REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
The project team is now seeking input on the Draft Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan, including infrastructure recommendations to improve access to the three public schools in Gonzales. The Executive Summary is included as an attachment to this report. The Final Plan is anticipated to be adopted by the TAMC Board in December 2024. Once the Plan has been adopted, the Cities of Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield, and King City and TAMC staff will pursue funding to implement recommendations in the Plan.
The Plan includes Citywide recommendations for bicycle and pedestrian corridor improvements, as well as recommendations around each school site and non-infrastructure recommendations for education and encouragement programs. All recommendations are planning level and require further analysis prior to design and construction.
The projects in this plan will be implemented as funding becomes available. With limited funding, the City of Gonzales must decide how to prioritize the recommendations. The Plan identifies a list of six high-priority corridors that were evaluated based on common grant criteria. These corridors were scored to help City staff and decision-makers prioritize projects and identify the most competitive projects for various grant opportunities. Grant programs often prioritize large-scale, corridor-wide improvements, and future grant applications are likely to focus on improvements to one or more streets in Gonzales rather than individual projects.
Some projects that are low cost and have community support can be incorporated into the City’s maintenance programs and installed as part of ongoing road maintenance. City staff will review the Safe Routes to Schools Plan project list when planning maintenance projects to look for ways to incorporate bike and pedestrian improvements. This allows for a highly cost-effective strategy for implementing the projects included in this plan. For larger projects, leveraging local funds with additional grant funding will be critical. Having an approved Safe Routes to Schools Plan in place is a strategy to make Salinas Valley cities more competitive in future grant applications for construction funding.
In conclusion, staff recommends that the City Council receive a presentation on the draft Salinas Valley Safe Routes to Schools Plan and provide any feedback on any changes they wish to see in the final plan.
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: The projects identified in the Salinas Valley Safe Routes to Schools Plan will improve safety and enhance the quality of life of Gonzales residents. Having an adopted Safe Routes to Schools Plan will help the City of Gonzales be more competitive in grant applications for infrastructure improvements.
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 Yes X 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
The Council could direct City staff to revise the selected projects.
BUDGET IMPACT
This Plan was funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant and $126,501 of Measure X Safe Routes to School Program funds through TAMC. There is no impact to the City’s General Fund.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council receive a presentation on the final draft “Salinas Valley Safe Routes to Schools Plan” and provide staff with any changes or adjustments.
Attachments:
1. Executive Summary of Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan
2. Gonzales Safe Routes to Schools Plan