Building upon prior planning efforts, local agencies are focusing efforts on improving circulation within and past the San Lorenzo Valley Schools along Highway 9 in Felton.
The San Lorenzo Valley Schools Complex Circulation & Access Study (SLV Schools Access Study) seeks to improve access to the San Lorenzo Valley High School, Middle School, and Elementary School (SLV Schools Complex). The SLV Schools Access Study will build upon the 2019 Highway 9/San Lorenzo Valley Complete Streets Corridor Plan (SLV Plan) and aims to improve access by walking, bicycling, transit, and car. The study will also look to improve traffic flow along Highway 9 for non-school traffic.
The SLV Schools Access Study covers three priority projects in the SLV Plan (projects #9, 10, and 11). The SLV Plan is a community-based plan, developed based on evaluation of existing corridor conditions, physical and regulatory constraints, and public outreach efforts to identify the needs of the community. With extensive input from surveys, focus groups, and at public meetings from 2017 to 2019 the SLV Plan was adopted on June 27, 2019. With the primary goal of increasing safety for users of Highway 9 and connecting county roads to by improving facilities for all modes of transportation on the corridor, the SLV Plan also prioritized actions to address key transportation challenges.
The SLV Schools Access Study project area covers Highway 9 between the southern intersection of Glen Arbor Road and Graham Hill Road and will include site access and circulation at the three SLV schools. With three separate entrances to each school campus, the existing layout results in delays on Highway 9 during student pick-up and drop-off times, particularly when coinciding with the morning commute. Highway 9 lacks continuity of sidewalks for people walking and using bus stops, while narrow shoulders constrain bicycle travel along the corridor. Older students use Santa Cruz METRO buses to travel to and from school and sidewalk gaps mean students and other people walk in the shoulder to reach many bus stops. The study will work with Caltrans staff already evaluating opportunities to improve walking and cycling along Highway 9 between Felton and the SLV Schools Complex in their 05-1M400 Safety Project, to align improvements at the schools complex with any Caltrans-led improvements along Highway 9 to the south.
In partnership with San Lorenzo Valley community members, the study is led by Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and funded by state planning grants leveraged by Measure D, with additional funding support provided by San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District. The collaboration includes representatives from the County of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO), and Caltrans.
The RTC invites the public to attend a June 8th online workshop from 6-7:30pm and complete an online survey to evaluate traffic conditions and identify needs along Highway 9 and at the SLV Schools Complex. The survey will be available until June 30th, the survey and workshop link can both be accessed at:
https://sccrtc.org/slvplan. Input from the survey and workshop will inform the project team as they draft concepts for transportation solutions along Highway 9.
For more information or updates connect with Highway 9/SLV Complete Streets program manager Brianna Goodman at info@sccrtc.org.
