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San Luis Obispo awarded $6.95 million grant to improve Higuera Street corridor

December 9, 2022

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Wednesday awarded the city of San Luis Obispo a grant of nearly $7 million to make improvements to the Higuera Street corridor, in large part for the benefit of bicyclists and pedestrians.

SLO will receive $6.95 million from the CTC’s State Active Transportation Program in order to complete street improvements along Higuera Street between Marsh Street and Los Osos Valley Road. Improvements will include accessibility and safety enhancements for walking, bicycling and driving.

Likewise, the grant will fund improvements to bicycle and pedestrian links east and west of the Higuera Street corridor to enable safer cycling and walking routes to Hawthorne Elementary and Laguna Middle schools.

The overall improvements fall under the umbrella of the city’s Higuera Complete Streets Project, which includes creating protected bike lanes, pedestrian crossing enhancements, traffic signal upgrades and measures to reduce speeding. A $750,000 grant from the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments will also help fund the project. Construction is expected to commence in 2024.

“We are excited to receive these grants to further the city’s climate action and active transportation goals,” said Active Transportation Manager Adam Fukushima. “The competition for these State funds is extremely fierce with over 433 projects submitted for grant consideration and just over 20% awarded.”

The CTC has awarded more than $1 billion combined to 93 projects statewide. The goals of its Active Transportation Program include include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving safety for vulnerable road users, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.


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They should use the money to put back the two vehicle lanes they took away years ago!


7

Nice, they can continue to mess up our streets.

What a mess they made of downtown trying to turn right at some of the cross streets is horrible, sticks in the way and bumps on the ground.

I very seldom see a bike rider in those fancy new lanes, one was all I saw yesterday this was a full trip down Higuera and up Marsh, nice waste of tax dollars.


24

I see more people driving in the bike lane on Higuera, because it’s as wide as a car lane, oddly painted, and confusing not only to locals, but to visitors that have no idea that the city council is filled with idiots.


7

A transportations manger’s tsu.na.mi in funding. My hope is that the improvements represent a natural flow and not littered with circles, arrows and more signs to take your eyes off of the road.

The downtown stripping has complicated intersections and traffic flow at some locations. There is no doubt that vehicular traffic is be designed out of the equation by the amount of money spent to create safer bicycle routes. The COVID work at home days may morph into rainy day work at home opportunities too, another one of the perks in designing consequences that the voters won’t resist until it affects them. That said, I do like bike friendly routes for downtown life and yes the revitalization of a downtown household supply chain to displace some of the party bars and eateries. The downtown can be a place to live again.


-16

Yeah, now they can siphon several million of this pot of taxpayer money to use on consultants, reviews, revisions, and so leaving only a fraction for actual construction. An early Christmas gift.


34

Great; now more cyclists and pedestrians can get hit by cars and traffic can be backed up even further; AWESOME :)


34