The City of San Luis Obispo will soon receive $6.95 million in State grant funding to make the Higuera Street corridor safer.
Yesterday, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) awarded the City $6.95 million from the State Active Transportation Program to complete street improvements along the Higuera Street corridor between Marsh Street and Los Osos Valley Road, including accessibility and safety enhancements for walking, bicycling, and driving.
In addition, the grant will fund improvements to bicycle and pedestrian links east and west of the Higuera Street corridor to benefit safer bike and walking routes to Hawthorne Elementary and Laguna Middle School.
“We are excited to receive these grants to further the City’s climate action and active transportation goals,” said Active Transportation Manager Adam Fukushima. “The competition for these State funds is extremely fierce with over 433 projects submitted for grant consideration and just over 20% awarded.”
Originally identified in the City’s 2021 Active Transportation Plan and prioritized based on input from local parents and proponents for safe routes to school, the Higuera Complete Streets Project will enhance a 2.5-mile route between Marsh Street and Los Osos Valley Road, providing protected bike lanes, pedestrian crossing enhancements, traffic signal upgrades and measures to reduce illegal speeding and improve safety for all road users.
The project funding will also be supplemented by a $750,000 Community Betterments Grant recently awarded by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), which supports the Higuera Street corridor improvements as well as a new Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon crossing at the intersection of South Street/King Street near Hawthorne Elementary School.
“We are super pleased we could use limited regional funding to leverage state funding for a four-fold increase in the project scope,” said Pete Rodgers, Executive Director for SLOCOG.
The Higuera Complete Streets Project represents one of the highest priorities in the City’s recently adopted Active Transportation Plan and will help make progress towards the community’s sustainable transportation objectives and goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, as envisioned in the City’s Climate Action Plan.
The State’s Active Transportation Program’s goals include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improving safety for vulnerable road users, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Along with the award to the City of San Luis Obispo, the CTC awarded over $1 billion to 93 projects statewide.
The Higuera Complete Streets Project is currently in early design and will include more public outreach opportunities in 2023, leading to an anticipated construction in 2024/2025.
For more information about this project contact Adam Fukushima, Active Transportation Manager at [email protected].