Construction on a 3.5-mile bicycle lane designed to improve
mobility and student safety from the northwestern edge of San Juan
Bautista to Anzar High School is expected to begin in the
spring.
Construction on a 3.5-mile bicycle lane designed to improve mobility and student safety from the northwestern edge of San Juan Bautista to Anzar High School is expected to begin in the spring.
The approximately seven-foot-wide lanes will run on both sides of San Juan Highway and include signage, striping and stenciling to alert motorists that Anzar students as well as bicycle enthusiasts will be using the pathway.
“We’re really excited about the project,” said Veronica Lezama, transportation planner for the San Benito County Council of Governments (COG). “As soon as we get in the construction phase, we’ll initiate an educational campaign to focus not only on the bicyclists using the lane but on motorists; telling them that students will be there.”
The project, estimated to cost $2.1 million, is being funded from a variety of sources, including a Safe Routes to School account, state bicycle transportation funding and money from the Monterey Bay Air Pollution Control District.
“It’s definitely going to benefit not only students but those who want to do recreational cycling,” Lezama said.
Meanwhile, the COG board will consider adopting the San Benito County Bikeway and Pedestrian Master Plan at its Dec. 17 meeting. The plan, developed in the 1990s and last updated seven years ago, serves multiple purposes: it sets guidelines for planners and developers to use when considering accessibility issues for new projects and it makes it easier for local cities and the county to receive grant funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
A series of public meetings were held to gather input on the plan, which includes maps showing safe routes for children to walk or ride their bicycles to local schools.
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