Caltrans District 5 includes the Counties of Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Caltrans is the owner and operator of the State Highway System and maintains shoulders that often provide regional bicycle access within and across county lines.
Active Transportation Plan: The Caltrans District 5 Active Transportation Plan will identify existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities and needs on, across and parallel to the State Transportation System. Work on the Active Transportation Plan started in late 2018, and the Plan is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2021. There will be a 30-day public review period anticipated to begin in February 2021. The plan will identify bicycle and pedestrian needs on, across and parallel to, the State Transportation System. Toole Design Group, the consulting team, developed an overarching statewide data framework and methodology for using the active transportation data. The Caltrans Plan was last discussed at the May 1st, 2019 Bike & Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee meeting.Currently, Caltrans staff are meeting with local agencies and organizations to provide an update on the Active Transportation Plan development and discuss opportunities to build and expand partnerships with local agencies, community organizations and other stakeholders.
Rumble strip project: Caltrans will install ground-in, centerline rumble strips on State Route 1 in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, as shown in the attachment. No shoulder or edge-line rumble strips are being proposed in Monterey County. This project is estimated to begin in Summer of 2021 and be completed by Spring 2022. Caltrans is requesting Committee input on a this project.
Pavement project in Carmel / Highway 1: A Caltrans maintenance preservation project was recently completed on an approximately 35 mile section of State Route 1 from Torre Canyon bridge in Big Sur to San Luis Avenue north of Carmel. The project added a new layer of pavement to extend the life and wear of the pavement. The project did not narrow or widen the existing shoulder width. Public concern has been raised about the narrow width of the completed project's paved shoulder. Caltrans staff will explain the Agency's process for considering the needs of non-motorized highway users when designing and constructing maintenance projects. Caltrans staff will respond to questions about this pavement preservation project.
Overall, TAMC is encouraging Caltrans to include bicycle (and pedestrian) safety features in all of its projects, particularly lower cost improvements as part of maintenance and repairs, such as: shoulder widening within the right-of-way, restriping for left turns and at intersections, and narrower motor vehicle travel lanes to slow speeds. As part of the Active Transportation Plan, committee members are encouraged to provide input on future state highway locations where shoulder widening (even if intermittent) or other bicycle improvements should be included in future repaving projects.