San Diego County CA— The San Diego region will receive nearly $16 million to fund four projects that increase the safety and mobility of pedestrians and bicyclists, enhance public health, and advance efforts to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the San Diego region.
Funding for these projects will be dispersed over four years from the regional competition for the 2019 Active Transportation Program (ATP), funded from various federal and state sources appropriated in the annual California State Budget Act.
The ATP is administered by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), which adopted the list of projects at its May 15 meeting following a recommendation by the SANDAG Board of Directors. In total, 45 projects competed in the regional competition, requesting approximately $145 million in funding.
In this award cycle, close to $750,000 will improve nearly 1.6 miles of bike trail through the Escondido Creek Trail Transit Center Bicycle Path Improvements Project, filling gaps along the trail and adding lighting, crosswalks, signage, and other infrastructure improvements. In National City, approximately $5.2 million will be awarded to construct a one-way cycle track and multi-use path to connect the 32^nd Street Naval Base with the trolley and the National City Southwestern Community College campus.
SANDAG will receive approximately $9.9 million for two biking projects. The University Bikeway Project will make vital connections within San Diego’s urban core by building three miles of dedicated bikeways and bike boulevard features along University and Estrella avenues. This project will increase bicyclist protection from vehicle traffic and provide greater visibility through key infrastructure improvements, including buffered bike lanes, signal-protected crossings, and bikeway markings.
Additionally, the SANDAG GO by BIKE San Diego: Education and Encouragement Start-Up Program will build community awareness, enthusiasm, and support of new bike infrastructure projects in the City of San Diego and encourage ridership as bike projects open. The Program will educate the public on how to safely navigate construction areas and provide businesses and commuters affected by construction activities information about the progress.
The ATP is competitively awarded in two stages, beginning with a statewide competition led by the CTC, followed by the regional competition. Four projects in the San Diego region were adopted by the CTC as part of the statewide competition in January 2019.
Since the program began in 2014, the San Diego region has successfully competed for and received approximately $79 million in funding for 28 projects in the statewide competitions and received approximately $68 million in funding for 22 projects in the regional competitions.
To learn more, visit sandag.org/atpfunding.