RELEASE DATE:               Friday, September 10, 2021

CONTACT:                        Theresa Wright

PHONE:                            831-775-4411

E-MAIL:                            theresa@tamcmonterey.org

“TEMPORARY REDESIGN OF EAST ALISAL TO BRING  ALISAL VIBRANCY PLAN TO LIFE”

MONTEREY COUNTY –  East Alisal Street will look very different this October. To improve safety and encourage walking and bicycling, the City of Salinas is installing temporary pedestrian improvements and bicycle lanes on East Alisal Street between Griffon Street and Hebbron Avenue.

The temporary installation will be in place October 14th – November 10th. During that time, East Alisal Street will be reconfigured to one vehicle lane in each direction to create space for bicycle lanes and pedestrian improvements. The design of the project is based on a concept included in the Alisal Vibrancy Plan, which was developed with three years of extensive community input.

Alejandro Chavez, the Executive Director of the Salinas United Business Association, is excited to see steps towards future permanent changes in the corridor. “The temporary project on East Alisal Street will install the design that came out of the Alisal Vibrancy Plan process, as a way to get feedback from the community on whether these changes should be made permanent.  These changes could also support local businesses by creating a more vibrant and walkable commercial corridor.  We will see how our community and our businesses react to these changes and hope that we begin to see positive infrastructure changes in the Alisal,” he said.

E. Alisal is heavily used by families and children attending Sherwood Elementary School and has been identified as a safe routes to school corridor in the active Salinas Safe Routes to School planning process.  The temporary redesign of E. Alisal street allows the community to test the new design by walking and biking along the corridor and providing feedback to the planning team.  An anonymous survey will be available for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists to provide feedback on the new design in late October.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the temporary redesign of E. Alisal Street and to learn more about the project will be held on October 14th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm in the parking lot of 523 East Alisal Street.
The Salinas Safe Routes to Schools Plan is a partnership between the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, City of Salinas, Monterey County Health Department, Ecology Action, Santa Rita Union, Salinas City, Alisal Union and Salinas High School Union School Districts.

The project is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning Grant as well as local Measure X funds. Following the installation projects, the planning team will develop the draft Safe Routes to Schools Plan for 45 Salinas schools, which will be completed in 2022.

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 “The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) is responsible for investing in regional transportation projects for Monterey County residents, businesses and visitors.  The mission of TAMC is to develop and maintain a multimodal transportation system that enhances mobility, safety, access, environment quality and economic activities in Monterey County. For more information visit www.tamcmonterey.org or call 831.775.0903.”

 “The ”Safe Route to School” is a TAMC program which offers tools, programming, and resources to schools, guardians, and communities aimed at improving safety and traffic around schools. The program’s goal is to keep every child safe and healthy by reducing the number of students involved in collisions to zero. For more information visit https://saferoutesmonterey.org”

 “The Monterey  County Health Department exists to enhance, protect and improve the health of the people in Monterey county. To accomplish this, the Department provides a wide variety of health-related services in the area of public health, environmental health, behavioral health and clinic services.”

 “Ecology Action provides innovative, equitable energy, water and transportation solutions for a prosperous  low-carbon future.  We design effective programs, successfully activate communities, forge mutually beneficial partnerships and influence policy to advance equitable, climate-smart initiatives. For more information visit: https://ecoact.org/”