Mount Shasta advances active-transportation planning, seeks grants for Lake Street, trails and crossings

Council members on May 12 received a consolidated briefing on active‑transportation planning in Mount Shasta and related grant opportunities that staff said will be pursued to add bike lanes, ADA ramps, crossings and trail links.

The briefing summarized prior and current work: the city’s February 2022 Shasta Mobility Plan, the county Active Transportation Plan completed in February 2025, an ongoing Lake Street complete‑streets study funded through Caltrans/STIP planning funds, and a federal Safe Streets for All planning award. Staff said the goal is to carry designs from the planning stage into engineering and construction when STIP reconstruction of Lake Street occurs, and to fold active‑transportation improvements into that reconstruction rather than add them later.

Staff described technical measures under consideration, including narrowing some travel lanes (from about 17 feet to 11 feet where feasible) to slow vehicle speeds, adding buffered bike lanes, improving crosswalks with flashing beacons, and reconstructing intersections with poor sight lines. Specific corridors discussed included Lake Street (STIP reconstruction), Washington Avenue (property surveys underway to support future reconstruction and a bike lane), and McLeod Avenue (a STIP project currently shown in a 2029 programming year). The council also discussed intersections such as Pine Street and the Mount Shasta Boulevard approaches as safety priorities.

Staff noted larger regional coordination for trail work: projects like a Midtown Trail and a long‑proposed City Park–to‑Lake Siskiyou trail would involve multiple jurisdictions (city, county, state land managers and the U.S. Forest Service) and could require joint governance agreements to coordinate funding and construction. The Alta mobility study’s trail and sidewalk cost estimates were discussed; staff reported an aggregate trails estimate from that prior work of about $12.5 million and a sidewalk program estimate of roughly $2.9 million, figures staff called “order of magnitude” planning estimates.

Funding strategies discussed included pursuing grants (Caltrans STIP, FHWA Safe Streets for All, other federal and state programs) and the alternative of a local revenue measure (sales tax or similar) to establish stable local matching funds and speed project delivery. Council members and staff emphasized that grant-by-grant funding will take time and that a local revenue source would accelerate coordinated delivery of multiple projects.

Staff also reported preliminary conversations with consultants about potential Caltrans reimbursement for additional wear on Mount Shasta Boulevard from oversized/overweight truck routings and about opportunities to pursue Caltrans funding for bypass or truck routing improvements where eligible.

Ending note: Staff did not present an item for council action; the briefing consolidated prior plans and outlined near‑term grant and design steps staff intends to pursue. Council members asked staff to continue coordinating grant applications and to bring design and funding packages forward as opportunities mature.