By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria Wednesday announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city of San Diego with $2.25 million as part of the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All Program.
Created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program is a competitive, discretionary grant program that focuses on improving pedestrian safety. This is the second consecutive year the city has received funding from the program. Last year, the city received $680,000 through the program to develop a Comprehensive Speed Management Plan, Historically Disadvantaged Community Quick Build Program, and Slow Streets Program, all of which will help advance the city’s Vision Zero strategy and the newly adopted Complete Streets policy.
“I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary Pete Buttigieg for this investment in our city,” Mayor Gloria said. “These dollars will allow us to update our Bike Master Plan to ensure we are expanding climate-friendly transportation options and improving the safety of our bicycle network. In addition, this funding will allow us to develop an Accessible Pedestrian Connections and Safety Plan that will help us improve pedestrian access and safety north of Interstate 8.”
Pairing this substantial award with other previously awarded state and regional grant money will allow the city to not only update plans for accessible pedestrian and biking infrastructure, but more importantly, create tactical tools for implementation.
“This funding will be used to identify infrastructure improvement projects with preliminary design that can then be used to apply for future grant funding, spreading this investment even further to improve our City and meet our Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero goals,” said Alyssa Muto, Director of the city’s Department of Sustainability and Mobility.
The $2.25 million investment will help the city fund two pedestrian and bicycle safety plans. Specifically, the grant funding will advance and expand the programs:
The Accessible Pedestrian Connections and Safety Plan will map pedestrian connectivity areas and identify key accessibility and safety-related deficiencies along pedestrian networks in communities north of Interstate 8, building on the grant-funded work that is already programmed in the southern part of the city. It will allow for a detailed assessment of key public rights of way deficiencies, particularly to identify deficiencies with curb ramps and audible pedestrian signals, to create sidewalks and intersection improvements for pedestrians of all abilities. This plan will include sample large-scale projects focused on addressing these assessed ADA improvements, making more competitive applications for funding the remediation projects.
The Bike Master Plan update will help the city meet the current and expected needs of its bike lane network and advance the city’s Strategic Plan for Mobility and Infrastructure. This additional funding will allow the city to expand the update of the plan to include a focus on safe routes for children in local schools, create engineering designs for key locations in alignment with Vision Zero, and complement the existing bicycle network with improved bike parking opportunities. This work will help increase the quality of bicycle infrastructure to attract more cyclists and provide more alternative mobility options for drivers to be able to switch vehicle trips to biking to their destinations.
