Castroville Bicycle-Pedestrian Bridge Decorative Treatment

1. APPROVE the use of funds from the Regional Surface Transportation Program set-aside for Complete Streets in an amount not-to-exceed $30,000 for the design, fabrication and installation of decorative treatments on the Castroville Bicycle-Pedestrian Railroad Crossing Bridge; and
2. AUTHORIZE the Transportation Agency's executive director to execute an agreement (subject to legal counsel approval) with the Arts Council for Monterey County to manage the design, fabrication and installation of the decorative treatments on the Castroville bridge.

The original design of the Castroville Bicycle Pedestrian Path and Railroad Crossing Bridge included artistic designs, but these features were were eliminated from the project due to a shortfall in funding.  This complete streets funding will allow these elements to be added back into the project through a collaboration of the Transportation Agency, the Arts Council for Monterey County, the County of Monterey, and North Monterey County High School.

This project will be funded with $30,000 from the Regional Surface Transportation Program set-aside for complete streets projects.  

The Castroville Bicycle and Pedestrian Path and Railroad Crossing project was constructed by the County of Monterey to provide students a safer route to school by connecting downtown Castroville to Elkhorn Elementary School and North Monterey County High School. The project also provides a safer link in the regional bicycling network that carries travelers from the Monterey Peninsula or Salinas to Watsonville and to Santa Cruz County. 

The original design of the bridge included lighting and artistic features in the structure and these elements were incorporated in the $10.6 million construction costs. However, due to a shortage of funding, the County of Monterey eliminated the artwork from the design. Approval of this request will restore the missing artwork by providing funding to the Arts Council for Monterey County to oversee an arts education project with North Monterey County High students and a local artist for the design, fabrication and installation of decorative features on the bridge.  By involving students in the bridge artwork, the expectation is that the bridge will be more immune to graffiti and other vandalism; in addition, student involvement will support the goal of improving student health by encouraging more students to walk and bike to school.

The project will be a collaboration between the Transportation Agency, the Arts Council and North Monterey County High School. The Council will be responsible for establishing a student art design competition for the project at the school. The Council will also be responsible for the fabrication and installation of the artwork, and the subsequent ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the project.

The Arts Council for Monterey County is a non-profit organization established in 1982 after Ansel Adams led a group of dedicated arts and business leaders to create the agency as part of a nationwide movement powered by the National Endowment for the Arts. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in our region through the arts. The Art Council provides arts education to thousands of students each year with the support from local PTAs, foundations, businesses and individuals.