Commission recommends Roche Avenue traffic-calming plan after second ballot meets policy thresholds

The Salinas Traffic and Transportation Commission voted Thursday to recommend that the City Council approve a traffic-calming plan for the Roche Avenue neighborhood after a second round of resident ballots met the city policy thresholds.

The recommendation follows a March re-ballot after staff corrected the mailing list used in the first round. City staff told the commission that 73 households were eligible in the revised roll, 40 returned ballots (a 55% return rate, above the 50% minimum), and 38 of the returned ballots were in favor while two were opposed. That produced a 95% support level among returned ballots, which exceeds the policy’s 67% support requirement.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final approval. Chair Pearson opened the item by describing it as a “Roche Avenue neighborhood traffic calming plan” brought forward for consideration and a recommendation to council. A city staff presenter summarized the chronology: an initial January 2025 vote failed to meet the policy’s support/return thresholds, the commission requested a second vote in February, staff corrected the mailing list and re-balloted in March, and the neighborhood met both the return-rate and support-rate criteria on the second round.

During public comment, Peter Zolais, a Salinas resident, criticized the city’s traffic-calming policy itself, saying the policy’s reliance on community advocacy disadvantages neighborhoods without active advocates. “I think we should apply city services based on need and based on a set of logical criteria,” Zolais said. He suggested reversing the policy’s default so that absence of returned ballots would be treated as implicit support rather than implicit opposition.

Commissioners asked staff clarifying questions about the ballot math and the two opposed ballots. Staff said one oppose comment asked for wider streets — likely tied to striping changes in front of a school — and the other opposed ballot provided no comment. Commissioners expressed appreciation for staff outreach that led to the corrected mailing and second-ballot effort. Commissioner Peterson moved approval of the recommendation; the motion carried on a roll-call vote with the following recorded votes: Commissioner Guerra, yes; Commissioner Peterson, yes; Commissioner Hamlin (listed in the roll-call), yes; Commissioner Hernandez, yes; Commissioner O'Souza, yes.

The staff report and presentation stated the recommendation as a resolution approving implementation of the Roche Avenue neighborhood traffic-calming improvements supported by residents. The commission’s action is procedural — it forwards a recommendation to City Council rather than adopting construction work itself. Staff said implementation steps and scheduling will be set by the city if council approves the resolution.

The item also included a brief staff explanation of how the corrected household count changed the earlier calculation: the original mailing list had included nonresidential addresses and other land uses; after verification the eligible household count was reduced from 81 to 73, which changed the numeric minimum for a valid ballot-return threshold to 37 returned ballots. With 40 returns, the project met that threshold and the support threshold required by the traffic-calming policy.

The commission moved on to other business after the vote; the recommendation will appear on a future City Council agenda for final action.