HOLLISTER
The Council of San Benito County Governments wants to hear from the public about walking and biking around the county.
COG is updating its bikeway and pedestrian master plan and is looking to include a “safe routes to school” component. Hollister has a high number of children under age 18 who either bike or walk to and from school. This survey’s goal is to ensure safer biking and walking routes to and from schools. Transportation Planner Veronica Lezama said she is “very excited about this.”
The updating of this plan will “strategize the needs of the public but also include economic development,” said Lezama. The economic development portion of the plan will likely include lanes going to and from downtown, retail services as well as social services locations. Public transportation will be another aspect COG looks to improve.
Lezama said this plan should be a step in “creating a more livable community” and should showcase what the county has in terms of transportation.
Brian Lucas, owner of Off the Chain Bikes, feels the issue is “very important.” Other than the “simple mechanical freedom” that bikes provide, he said that “especially for the younger kids, bike paths are completely necessary.” He also noted that bicycles provide excellent exercise and can save money on such things as gas.
A main area of concern for Lucas is continuing maintenance of current and future bike paths. He said that with current bike paths, lack of maintenance has made many bikers ride in the street. He also foresees it to be a potential issue for the future.
“When they put the bike path in, that’s not the end of it,” he said.
It’s also an important issue to Hollister mother of two, Karminder Brown. Brown is a big advocate of bicycling because “it’s very important to quality of life for us.” Her oldest son attends the dual-language academy and she won’t allow her son to ride to school because of the danger of riding on roads. She added that with the great climate in the area, riders have an opportunity to ride nearly year round.
Brown’s major concerns are with “any and all bikepaths” in the area. She is only aware of one bikepath in the city and said all major thoroughfares need bikeways, especially ones that connect to stores. Another concern of hers is the lack of crosswalks in the downtown area for walkers.
COG will be doing a “walkability”/”bikeability” audit in early November with its 14-member advisory committee. The committee is comprised of a wide range of people from including school officials, a Hollister Downtown Association member, county and city staff and a student from Anzar High School.
They’ll be going around town to see where biking and walking areas can be improved and implemented, according to Lezama.
If you would like more information on the survey or the master plan, call Veronica Lezama at 637-7665. The survey is available at www.sanbenitocog.org under the left-hand column titled, “What’s New.”
