Walking-Biking Installation Planned For Green Valley Road

Press release from Santa Cruz County:

May 21, 2021

To improve safety and encourage alternative transportation, the County of Santa Cruz is installing a temporary protected bike and pedestrian path on Green Valley Road between Amesti Road and Pinto Lake City Park.

The installation will be in place May 28th-June 23rd, with a launch celebration including free tacos, giveaways, and speakers planned for May 28th from 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. at Pinto Lake City Park. Speakers include Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent, and Liz Hernandez, an Amesti Elementary School graduate, neighborhood resident, and member of the Regional Transportation Commission’s Bicycle Advisory Committee.

The installation allows residents to test recommendations included in the Santa Cruz County Active Transportation Plan and give feedback on a possible permanent project. The public is encouraged to try walking, biking, or driving through the installation and give feedback by taking a survey at https://ecoact.org/poweredbyme/.

The Active Transportation Plan provides a roadmap for future improvements for walking and bicycling in unincorporated Santa Cruz County, including Davenport, Live Oak, Aptos, Corralitos, and Amesti. Begun in fall 2020 with the Powered by Me outreach campaign, which gathered input from hundreds of community members on barriers to walking and biking and ideas for future projects. Based on that input and additional data, the planning team has been developing a draft project list that includes the possible Green Valley project.

The pop-up installations use temporary materials like paint and metal planters instead of permanent barriers or landscaping. A second installation project is planned for late June along Portola Drive between 36th Avenue and 41st Avenue. Visit
https://ecoact.org/poweredbyme... for updates on the Portola Drive project.

The Active Transportation Plan is a partnership between the County of Santa Cruz Public Works Department, County Public Health, Ecology Action, and Bike Santa Cruz County. The project is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning Grant as well as local matching funds. Following the installation projects, the planning team will develop the draft plan, which will be completed in early 2022.

This press release was produced by Santa Cruz County. The views expressed here are the author's own.