Monterey Aldermen got a look Monday night at proposed improvements along Commercial Avenue.
Gresham Smith Senior Planner Mary Connelly said the project would be extensive, consisting of adding two eleven-foot through lanes, retaining three left turn lanes on Poplar Street, Chestnut Street, and Holly Street. In addition, a median island would be included along with larger sidewalks at each intersection. Connelly said the town can use the study to gain funding for the estimated $8 million project.
“As with our experience with grant strategy consultants at Gresham Smith the federal government really likes for you to identify project-level improvements before you pitch a grant application to invest in said improvement,” Connelly said.
Connelly said a site study revealed that about 4,000-5,000 vehicles travel on Commercial Avenue a day. Connelly said the study also revealed traffic deficiencies at the intersections on Commercial Avenue as the three intersections average about 10 crashes a year.
“Over 50 percent of the crashes that are visualized in that map are either angle or rear-end crashes,” Connelly said. “Which is typically associated with slowing down vehicles approaching an intersection, left turns trying to be made, and things of that nature.”
The Board of Aldermen approved moving forward with the final plan. Mayor Alex Garcia said the town will break up the project into three phases so it could be easier to obtain funding for each phase of the project instead of trying to do it all at once.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into that,” Garcia said. “Where can we get funding from? How much does the town have to put in? right now we are not in a position where we can put in the money. That’s why I had them break it up. At first, they just had an $8 million total and I had them break it up into quadrants so if we can get a grant to pay for one quadrant we can start with that and then go from there.”
Connelly said widening the sidewalk on Commercial Avenue intersections will provide several benefits.
“One it prevents illegal kind of on-street parking really close to your intersection which is a safety concern for any vehicles turning right kind of southbound and then right on Commercial Avenue,” Connelly said. “It also provides a lot of pedestrian zone for you to place street furniture, pedestrian scale lighting, signage, and wayfinding that can direct people to say the depot museum or the high school or what have you.”