Atascadero wants to upgrade Highway 41 corridor for bikes, pedestrians

The city of Atascadero is undertaking a comprehensive redesign of the Highway 41 corridor to make it safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, improve traffic flow and create a more appealing place for new businesses to open.

Officials held the last of three public workshops Tuesday evening and then, later that night, the City Council authorized a consultant to put the finishing touches on a draft concept for the project, which would renovate the stretch of highway that connects downtown Atascadero at El Camino Real to Atascadero Lake Park and the Charles Paddock Zoo.

“We need a safe riding area for tourists and locals alike to go between downtown and the park area,” Councilwoman Roberta Fonzi said. “Many people and families use the lake as a place to walk. The park has been a gathering place for many years. We want to encourage people to go there.”

The city’s consultant, Steve Weinberger of the Bay Area-based firm W-Trans, will finalize a design that envisions new bike lanes, bike and pedestrian buffer zones and designated pathways, improved bike and pedestrian crossings at intersections, a roundabout and landscaping.

A final design is expected to return to the council in May before Caltrans formally decides on approval. Caltrans owns the right of way and has been giving input on the ongoing study. The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments provided $200,000 in funding for the research on the potential project.

The idea is to better connect the flow of alternative transportation on the highway between El Camino Real and San Gabriel Road, a well-traveled thoroughfare that sees 8,000 to 15,000 daily vehicle trips.

Also, the city imagines that an upgraded pathway would encourage businesses to open along the corridor, which has vacancies and undeveloped parcels.

The project divides the improvements into three segments along the corridor. The highway shoulder has more than 30 feet of space in places on both sides of Highway 41.

The first stretch of Highway 41 (El Camino Real to San Andres Avenue), closest to downtown, would include bike lanes and striping, while maintaining an existing sidewalk.

The second leg (San Andres Avenue to Portola Road) would include protective buffers between cars and cyclists, such as 7-foot-wide stormwater planters. On the other side of the buffers would be bike lanes, walkways and tree plantings.

The third leg (Portola Road to San Gabriel Road) would include new striping and bike lanes.

The concepts call for parking throughout the corridor so spaces would be available in front of businesses.

New striping for bikes also is envisioned between El Camino Real and Atascadero High School, extending to Highway 41, along Atascadero Avenue. A roundabout limiting cars to 20 mph would be built at Atascadero Avenue and High School Hill Road, an intersection with major congestion after school and after football games.

The cost and timeline of the project have not been determined. Weinberger has presented proposals for both short-term and long-term improvements, which would vary depending on available funding.

Weinberger recommended the city apply for a state grant through Caltrans’ Active Trans-portation Program, which will start taking new applications this summer. “The project likely won’t happen unless the city gets some kind of grant funding,” Weinberger said.

Two residents who attended the workshop Tuesday gave differing opinions on the concept.

Mike Orvis lives north of San Gabriel Road and often rides his bike along the highway.

“It will be a much easier and safer ride to the zoo from downtown and vice versa,” he said.

But Gail Vanderlinde, who lives along Atascadero Avenue near the high school, said she opposed the plan.

“Having a two-way bike path (on the south side of the corridor between Atascadero Avenue and Portola Road as proposed) will be very dangerous,” Vanderlinde said. “Cars that need to cross the bike route will pull out of driveways and look one way but not the other. They could easily hit a cyclist because drivers won’t be expecting to look both ways.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Atascadero wants to upgrade Highway 41 corridor for bikes, pedestrians."