The Seaside & Marina Safe Walking & Biking to School: Complete Streets Plan Is a multi-agency effort to identify barriers and opportunities to support safe walking, bicycling, skating, scooting and carpooling in the cities of Seaside and Marina. Seaside and Marina have both been identified as priority cities due to the high rates of youth biking and walking collisions and childhood obesity. To address these concerns, TAMC in partnership with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, the cities of Seaside and Marina, Ecology Action and the Monterey County Health Department applied for state funding. The Plan builds on the goals of the Measure X Program to ensure children across Monterey County have access to safe, healthy and affordable transportation options.
The planning effort launched in late August 2018. In Fall 2018 the project team conducted walking audits around each of the schools with members of the school community and public. The project team developed a list of recommended infrastructure and non-infrastructure improvements to reduce barriers to walking and biking to school and reduce traffic congestion in front of schools during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up.
The team also identified a series of streets that together would create a citywide network of slower safer routes to schools. These streets are referred to as "Safe Routes to School Corridors" which are the primary routes connecting to schools and "Safe Routes to School Connectors" which are streets that connect to the Safe Routes to School Corridors.
Seaside Safe Routes to School Corridors & Connectors:
- Yosemite Street
- Noche Buena (portions near schools)
- Broadway Avenue
- LaSalle Avenue
- Sonoma Avenue
- Kimball Avenue
- Waring Street & Flores Street (between Plumas Avenue and Military Avenue)
- Military Avenue
- Ord Grove Avenue & Hacienda Street
- Mingo Avenue (between Noche Buena Street & Yosemite Street)
Marina Safe Routes to School Corridors & Connectors:
- Carmel Avenue
- Cordoza Avenue
- Melanie Road
- DeForest Road
- Crescent Avenue
- Crescent Street
- Zanetta Drive
- Vaughn Avenue
- California Avenue
- Lynscott Drive
- Reindollar Avenue & Bostick Avenue & Bayer Street
The recommendations in the Plan are categorized by their expected implementation time frame "short" "medium" and "long". Short-term projects are those that are inexpensive and relatively easy to install, such as bulb-outs and restriping; medium-term projects require more funding and design work, such as bike lanes; and long-term projects are those that require even more funding, design and coordination, such as new paths. These categories do not affect project prioritization. For example, if a city determines a long-term project to be high-priority and are successful in obtaining grant funding, the project may be implemented sooner than a lower priority short-term project.
In May 2019 the project team installed temporary safe routes to school demonstrations on Broadway Avenue in front of MLK Jr School of the Arts in Seaside, and along Carmel Avenue in front of Crumpton and Marina Vista Elementary Schools in Marina. The on-street demonstrations allowed community members of Seaside and Marina to physically walk and bike through some of the proposed improvements and provide input on whether or not the projects should be made permanent. The results of public opinion surveys collected during the demonstration conclude that the majority of people liked the new street designs and want them to be made permanent. The planning team received input on the draft recommendations from: each school community, the School District, city committees, City Councils and the TAMC Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee.
Environmental Review:
The Environmental Impact Report for the Regional Transportation Plan and Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy provided program level CEQA review for the Active Transportation Plan. The Regional Transportation Plan and Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy Environmental Impact Report identified and analyzed the Active Transportation and Safe Routes to Schools programs. It also acknowledged that further environmental review will be needed at the project-level as the proposed improvements are implemented in order to develop appropriate mitigation for individual projects. The Transportation Agency reviewed the Regional Transportation Plan and Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy Environmental Impact Report and made appropriate findings when it adopted the 2018 Monterey County Regional Transportation Plan on June 27, 2018.
Next Steps:
The Seaside & Marina Safe Walking & Biking to School: Complete Streets Plan is expected to be adopted by the City of Marina, City of Seaside and Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Board in February 2020. Transportation Agency staff recommends the Transportation Agency Board adopt Resolution 2020-03 and the Seaside & Marina Safe Walking & Biking to School: Complete Streets Plan. The final draft Plan and resolution are included as web attachments.
Once the Plan has been adopted by the TAMC Board of Directors, staff will work with partner agencies to help prepare grant funding applications for this cycle of Active Transportation Program grants. Staff will continue to work with partner agencies to identify opportunities to include bike and pedestrian improvements as part of future street and road maintenance projects.