The Salinas City Council on Oct. 14 approved a prioritized list of street re-striping projects for 2025–26 and directed staff to develop a formal, criteria-based re-striping policy for future decisions.

Council member Barajas offered a substitute motion asking staff to bring back a re-striping policy that would use data-driven criteria such as traffic volumes, crash history, striping condition and equity. Barajas said a formal policy would make future decisions more consistent and recommended a two-year planning horizon. "I'd like to request the future agenda items so we make sure we establish a formal street marking priority policy," he said. The substitute motion was seconded by Council member De La Rosa and passed by roll call.

City staff described the prioritization method used this year: roadway classification (local street/collector/arterial), traffic volumes, striping condition and service requests. Staff noted the department no longer relies solely on resident service requests and has interns review arterials and collectors annually. Staff also warned of procurement and pricing constraints: only one regional striping contractor is available and recent on-call bid prices came back much higher than expected, limiting how many segments the city can afford. Staff said the current budget likely covers five segments and that the final award will depend on bid pricing and additive alternates.

Council members raised equity and procedural concerns. Council member Sandoval urged a policy that accounts for safety and underserved areas; others requested that future staff reports include council-district labeling so members and residents can track geographic distribution of projects.

Why it matters: striping affects traffic safety, pedestrian crossings and bike lanes; a formal prioritization policy can help ensure consistent, equitable, and transparent use of limited maintenance funds.

What’s next: staff will return with a draft policy and the council’s prioritized re-striping program will be implemented subject to final bid prices and available funds.