Transportation and Mobility Committee pushes to layer green-complete streets onto resurfacing plans

Aaron Ware, vice chair of the Transportation and Mobility Committee, presented the committee’s priorities for 2025, saying members want to use scheduled road resurfacing projects to implement the city’s Complete and Green Streets policy and to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Ware listed resurfacing projects the committee is targeting for added safety and green features: Eubel Heights, North Park, Yellowstone and Ultimar. He and committee members said overlays of crash data, Vision Zero principles, the city’s Comprehensive and Safety Action Plan (CSAP) and the Complete and Green Streets policy can help prioritize crosswalks, bike lanes, curb and stormwater work and other safety features during resurfacing rather than after the fact.

Council member Gail Larson asked whether the committee’s recommended overlays would require additional city funding. Finance and council-level budget discussion followed: a committee member cited the current resurfacing line in the city budget as about $2.5 million and said a council member plans to propose increasing that item; exact proposed amounts were not finalized in the meeting. "Doubling that amount ... would help us because it ain't cheap," Ware said, adding that resurfacing money generally covers paving and does not automatically fund added elements such as bike lanes or new sidewalks.

The committee said it is building relationships with planning and public works so those departments will attend committee meetings and coordinate early on resurfacing projects. Members suggested items that could be included during resurfacing: new crosswalks at Fairfax and Arlington across North Park, stormwater outfall repairs and addressing sanitary sewer leaks beneath North Park that currently discharge to storm outfalls.

Safety and data were recurring themes. Committee member Chris Bryce prepared overlays of crash data and cost analyses for the committee, and Ware said the group will pursue stakeholder engagement, public forums and an “open house” to gather public input. Committee members expressed interest in aligning resurfacing with the city’s CSAP and Vision Zero priorities and said they will invite planning and public works directors to future meetings to secure operational coordination.

No formal votes were recorded at the meeting. The committee indicated it will continue outreach and expects to present coordinated recommendations to council and the administration as budget discussions proceed.