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.
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.
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.
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.