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Politics & Government

Salsipuedes School Sidewalk Project Sidelined by State

County is awaiting Caltrans funds for $1.5 million project to build sidewalks and crosswalks on a section of Highway 152 in Salsipuedes

Caltrans will set aside $500,000 for a $1.5 million project to build sidewalks and crosswalks on a section of Highway 152 in Salsipuedes, the home to two schools.

Yet the funding will not arrive in the county until at least fiscal year 2013-14, according to several county officials. County Supervisor Greg Caput says that decision could have tragic consequences, and is pushing for some sort of interim solution.

“In the next six months to a year I would like to see something that makes it safer for the kids that have to cross there from Lakeview Elementary School and St. Francis High School,” Caput said. “It can't happen soon enough...it's an accident waiting to happen.”

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The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved $543,000 for the project on Tuesday from the Suggested Route To School (SRTS) fund. This money will cover design costs, permits and environmental impact studies. That process could start next month, but SRTS money cannot be used for construction, and all plans must be approved by Caltrans, which is responsible for the highway.

Director of County Public Works John Presleigh says the entire project will include sidewalks and crosswalks with pedestrian traffic lights. It will stretch from Holohan Road to St. Francis High School, about one mile to the east. Students at Lakeview Middle School, which is in between, often narrowly avoid traffic by darting across the heavily driven route between Watsonville and Gilroy since the only crosswalks are hundreds of yards from entry ways to the school.

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Most Lakeview students are residents of Watsonville. A suburb bordered by Highway 152 was built in response to over development within the city limits also creates a lot of the vehicle and pedestrian traffic. This has led to talks between Presleigh and Watsonville Public Works Director David Koch on how to gather the remaining $500,000 needed to complete the project because their residents children are the ones at risk.

“This is a matter we will have to take to the city council,”said Maria Rodriguez of Watsonville Public Works. “In the past we have had discussions [with the county] and there were discussions about putting some sort of contribution.

Waiting two more years to break ground on the project leaves St. Francis High School with few options to to get between the school and their church on the opposite side of the road. There is currently no crosswalk or traffic signal of any kind between the two making the trip from class to mass a low mileage venture in more than one way.

“I used to be the president and we would talk about, 'what do we do about 152?',” said Father David Purdy. “The only way we get across the street now is we van them.”

This requires five vans making three trips to get the school's approximately 200 students across the road which has heavy traffic most of the day. Purdy remembers that in the early '60's there was a yellow traffic light alerting vehicles that there could be pedestrians crossing, but says when he returned to the area a few years ago the light was gone. The stretch of road is a 25 mile per hour speed limit on school days, but Purdy says that accomplishes little other than earning the state revenue from tickets written by California Highway Patrol officers, says Purdy.

“Some of those signs that blink 25 but says you are going 90... what do those cost?,” he said.

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