Member News | The City of SLO is Asking for Community Input

Mark your calendars for important upcoming events and meetings that will give you opportunities to help shape the City of San Luis Obispo’s next two-year financial plan.  

“Your voice is vital to shaping San Luis Obispo’s future and we are providing all community members with a variety of opportunities to weigh in and share their perspectives on priorities for City services and programs,” said City Manager Whitney McDonald. “The feedback we receive from community members during this important public engagement period will directly influence the City’s budget and work priorities over the next couple of years.”
 
This input will be considered as the City Council establishes the Major City Goals that will guide development of the City’s 2025-27 Financial Plan. The goals identified will represent the most important, highest priority goals for the City to work toward accomplishing from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.
 
Every two years, the City invites the community to help establish top priorities that will make San Luis Obispo an even better place to live, work and play. Through the City’s budgeting process, the City Council then matches the resources necessary to achieve these priorities, while also ensuring that core services are funded, and integrate them into the next two-year financial plan.
 
City staff will compile community feedback from the survey results for the City Council to review before the Community Forum on January 23, 2025, and the Council goal-setting workshop in February. During the goal-setting workshop, the Council will officially set City goals for the next two years. A preliminary budget will then be presented to the City Council in April 2025 and the final 2025-27 Financial Plan will be adopted in June 2025.
 
For more information about the City’s financial planning process, visit www.slocity.org/Budget.

The City of SLO is also preparing plans for the annual street paving, transportation and mobility improvements project for 2025 and invites community members to attend the Active Transportation Committee meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2024.

At the committee meeting, community members will be able to learn about the 2025 roadway paving project and provide input to guide final designs for streets involved in this project, which include:

Tank Farm Road (Broad Street east to Orcutt Road)
Orcutt Road (Tank Farm Road to eastern City/County Line)
Sacramento Drive (Via Esteban to Industrial Way)
Calle Joaquin (Motel 6 to City/County Line).


Upcoming Active Transportation Committee Meeting:
When: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
Where: City Hall Council Hearing Room (990 Palm Street)

Project Design Elements
The City’s annual paving projects are primarily meant to maintain and repair paved streets to extend the life of existing pavement surface, but also provide an opportunity to incorporate improvements from the City’s adopted Active Transportation Plan and Vision Zero Program related to accessibility and safety. These improvements are important for meeting the City’s safety, mobility and climate action goals. Preliminary design strategies proposed as part of the 2025 paving project include

  • Repair and reconstruction of roadway pavement and replacement of faded pavement markings.
  • Addition of features to reduce illegal speeding on Sacramento Drive and Tank Farm Road, such as the addition of radar speed feedback signs and a proposal to reduce Tank Farm Road to one lane in each direction between Poinsettia and Righetti Ranch Road
  • Enhanced pedestrian crossings on Tank Farm Road, with high-visibility crosswalks, improved safety lighting and pedestrian flashing beacon systems.
  • Bikeway safety enhancements, including addition of high-visibility conflict markings at intersections, buffered bike lanes on Sacramento Drive and protected bike lanes with flex post separation on Tank Farm Road.
  • Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2025 and last several weeks for each roadway. Properties along each street will be notified of construction dates and times. All efforts will be made to minimize disruption to driveway access on these routes during construction activities.

Following the committee meeting, staff will review public feedback and revise draft plans based on input provided by community members and the Active Transportation Committee. The project will be brought to the City Council for final approval in spring of 2025 with construction beginning later that summer. Those interested in learning more and signing up for updates can visit:  www.slocity.org/2025pavingproject