|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
San Mateo County has awarded $1.3 million to Redwood City’s Vera Avenue bicycle boulevard project.
The grant is part of a resolution adopted by the San Mateo County Transit Authority’s Board of Directors to allocate $26.8 million for countywide projects aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and alleviating congestion. It includes $24.6 million from Measure A and Measure W Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Funds and $2.2 million from the Alternative Congestion Relief/Transportation Demand Management Program.
“This program of projects highlights our commitment to building safer, more accessible infrastructure for all modes of travel,” said board Chair Carlos Romero in a Friday press release.
The bike boulevard is the first of its kind in Redwood City, extending from El Camino Real to Alameda de las Pulgas via Red Morton Park.
It is a 1.1-mile stretch of Vera Avenue that was transformed into a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly route in 2022.
The city chose Vera Avenue for several reasons including its relatively lower volume of traffic, bike-lane compatibility and its proximity to low-income residents.
The project was initially implemented as a trial using C/CAG Transportation Development Act Article 3 grant funds, which is a specific type of funding designated for bicycle and pedestrian projects distributed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority.
But the project will now be permanently established with the $1.3 million grant. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Program funding aims to further enhance design improvements such as neighborhood traffic circles, bike crossings, and signage to create a safer, more user-friendly bicycle boulevard.
According to Malahat Owrang, the project manager and a principal transportation planner with the city, the permanent project is estimated to be completed in the fall of 2025.
“I’m happy about the funding,” said Owrang. “The purpose is for better and safer bike access to Red Morton facilities and Roosevelt Elementary School.”
The county is funding a total of 33 projects including $2 million for San Bruno’s Huntington Avenue Bikeway Phase II and $200,000 for Half Moon Bay’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Small-Scale Projects.
“These projects reflect a vision for sustainable transportation and community connectivity throughout San Mateo County,” Romero added in the press release.
