By Zach Friend, County Supervisor 2nd District
Over the last year I’ve heard from a number of parents, and even residents that simply live near schools, that are concerned about the safety of students walking and biking to local schools. A lot of the concern surrounds speeding, lack of sidewalks or difficult pedestrian crossing near schools – specifically near Mar Vista Elementary and Rio Del Mar Elementary.
During this time we’ve met with traffic engineers, school district staff, law enforcement and other public works representatives on possible solutions. All of these entities have been solution-oriented, with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District actively willing to partner with us on student safety improvements. Public Works has been going after grant funding during this time and in our upcoming budget I have proposed funding for some safety improvements that I believe will make a difference near these schools.
The California Highway Patrol has performed numerous speed operations near the elementary schools and has shown a strong presence on Soquel, Dolphin, Pinehurst and Trout Gulch during school drop-off and pick-up times.
I am pleased to report that in this year’s budget we have a set of items that should help make it even safer for kids to walk and bike to school. Near Mar Vista Elementary we are proposing funding the construction of a new protected crosswalk with center island and lit crossing elements that alert drivers that someone is in the crosswalk.
This crosswalk will be located near Aegis at Heather Terrace and Soquel. Having it located at Heather Terrace allows students that are currently walking on the shoulder on the south (Ledyard) side of Soquel ability to cross to the sidewalk on to the north side of Soquel and walk on a protected sidewalk to school. In addition, public works is finalizing grant funding for the addition of a radar speed sign to slow traffic down on that stretch of Soquel near the school.
For the Rio Del Mar Elementary area we are proposing funding a new ADA accessible crosswalk at Pinehurst and Dolphin Drive so students can safely cross Dolphin. In addition, we are expanding the sidewalk on Dolphin so it will no longer end for about 200 feet before reconnecting (between Manresa and Seascape Blvd) so pedestrians will have the ability to walk on a sidewalk and crosswalk all throughout Seascape to the school. Lastly, there will be improved street markings noting the school zone and crossings and walkway improvements between Rio Del Mar Elementary and Clubhouse Drive.
Additionally this year we are working on an addition of a new crosswalk at Trout Gulch and Cathedral (which while not immediately adjacent to Valencia Elementary was something requested by parents to help with students walking in that area to and from school). I would like to thank the school district for their help with these projects and the parents and neighbors for bringing them forward.
Our hope is that all of these projects will be done in the coming fiscal year (meaning the projects are targeted for completion by the end of summer 2015. We know that there are many factors that impact timelines of public works projects but that is our goal. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please feel free to call our office at 454-2200.