Meridian to get slimmer
Federal grant funds Safe Routes To School project this summer.
The Town of Mammoth Lakes is using federal grant funds to narrow Meridian Boulevard between Old Mammoth Road and Minaret Road in order to add bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks. The project is one hundred percent federally funded by the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program and will cost $961,000 to complete.
The concept of SRTS “is to promote pedestrian and bike connectivity to school [with] an education component that encourages healthy lifestyles by building infrastructure,” said Haislip Hayes, associate civil engineer for the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
SRTS is a national program and the first pilot SRTS program was implemented in the Bronx, NY in 1997. The following year, the federal government funded two more projects, one in Marin County. In 1999, CalTrans began administrating a state funded Safe Routes 2 School (SR2S) program in California along with the federal program, and the Town of Mammoth Lakes has been awarded funding from both state and federal governments. Other SRTS projects have included the sidewalks on Sierra Park Road, Sierra Nevada Road, and Tavern Road, as well as, the rapid flashing beacons at pedestrian crosswalks.
The newest SRTS program involves the north side of Meridian and will tie into the multiuse path that ends at Tallus. “The project is intended to put Meridian on a road diet,” Hayes said. “It will shrink the road way down.” There will be three lanes— one lane both east and westbound plus a center turning lane— along with bike lanes and sidewalks.
Sidewalks on the south side are on hold pending funding and will not be a part of the project this summer. When construction is complete and the road re-striped, it will include a bike lane on boths sides of the street. The road will open up to five lanes at the intersections with Old Mammoth Road and Minaret Road. “We are working within the existing constraints of the signals,” Hayes said.
For now, the speed limit of 40 mph will not change. Speed limit is determined by the department of public works and is based on the average speed of vehicles over a period of time, according to Hayes. “Generally, people slow down on narrower streets,” he said. “Once people are accustomed to [fewer lanes] we will re-evaluate the speed limit.”
The project will take some coordination with the condo complexes that run alongside Meridian and Hayes said they have responded positively. “We will replacing anything that is disturbed by construction, such as replacing sprinkler heads, staircases and so on,” he said. “We will be sure to work with owners to make sure everything looks as it did or better.” There will also be room for snow storage as the path meanders through the trees, much like the existing multi-use path.
The project “enhances traffic calming in the town and the pedestrian corridor,” Hayes said. “People will feel safer.”
The Town also has state funds from SR2S in order to install flashing crosswalk beacons on the corner of Sierra Nevada Road and Old Mammoth Road, as well as, at the four-way stop at Sierra Park Road and Meridian Boulevard this summer.
Other SR2S funding is in a “holding pattern” but will provide pedestrian connectivity directly to the elementary school. The exsisting multi-use path dumps pedestrians directly into the parking lot and does not qualify as “safe.” However, the Town is waiting for Mammoth Unified School District to further develop their re-design plan for the parking lot at the elementary school in order to enhance traffic flow. The hope is to combine the projects to make it more cost effective for both parties.
Hayes has also applied for another SR2S grant in order to connect the Mammoth High School to Sierra Nevada Road with a sidewalk and pedestrian path. Hayes said it could be six months before the Town is notified whether or not they will receive the funding. “It is an highly competitive grant process,” he said. “But we’ve been successful in the past.”
For construction this summer— the two eastbound lanes will remain open. The middle westbound lane will be open, while the outer lane will be closed as construction crews build the sidewalk. “Obviously there will be a need for intermittent delays,” Hayes said. But there won’t be construction during major holidays or town events, such as Bluesapalooza and the Wine Festival.
“There will be minimal impact,” Town Manager, Dan Holler, said about construction. “It will be a coordination effort.”
The goal is to complete construction by October 15 “in time for winter snow,” Holler said. But it all depends on when the money comes in from the federal SRTS program. “We are at the mercy of the funding,” Hayes said. “I would estimate [starting construction] end of July at the earliest.”
