Planners are getting closer to making it safer to be a bicyclist
in San Juan Bautista.
The San Benito Council of Governments is hoping to receive
grants that would pay the $1.5 million price tag of putting in a
bike route and bike lane in San Juan. So far, the COG has about
$500,000 from a federal grant from the Congestion Mitigation and
Air Quality Improvement Program.
Planners are getting closer to making it safer to be a bicyclist in San Juan Bautista.
The San Benito Council of Governments is hoping to receive grants that would pay the $1.5 million price tag of putting in a bike route and bike lane in San Juan. So far, the COG has about $500,000 from a federal grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
“It’s a fairly expensive project, but it’s worth it,” said Lisa Berg, a transportation planner with the COG.
The COG has been working on the project since Anzar High School was constructed.
“We wanted a safe route to Anzar High School,” Berg said. “We want to get them on their bicycles – it reduces stress and gets people active.”
Offering safe routes to destinations makes it more appealing for people to walk or bike to work or school. The De Anza bike route is the only one in San Juan; there are no bike lanes in the city.
The new bike route would start at the intersection of Monterey and First streets. A bike lane would be added to the route starting at the new housing development on First Street and continue through San Juan Highway to the Highway 101 overpass.
A bike route includes the installation of signs highlighting the route, but a bike lane is 6 to 8 feet wide with white lines and other markings.
“A bike route doesn’t give the bicyclist any safety per se. The signs just warn about the potential of a bike. A bike lane gives the bicyclist some protection,” Berg said.
The COG has applied for the rest of the necessary funds through two state grants – Safe Routes to School and the Bicycle Transportation Account, both through Caltrans. Berg is still waiting to hear about the Safe Routes to School grant and the application for the other is due in December. The bike route and lane will cost the taxpayers nothing.
The COG also needs to complete an environmental report. If everything continues and the COG receives the grants, construction could start as early as next summer or winter, Berg said.
Because state funding is so tight, the COG won’t be building many projects for the next eight years, she said.
The main reason for the bike lanes and routes is to increase safety for students, teachers and adults who want to recreate and anyone who wants to walk or run, Berg said.
“That road out there (on San Juan Highway), the shoulder is so narrow right now and the speed at which traffic is going – it’s really confusing out there,” she said. “We want to give people a real level of safety.”
