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NVTA previews countywide active-transportation plan; Saint Helena chapter, funding and policy guidance expected next year
Summary
The Napa Valley Transportation Authority presented a draft countywide active transportation plan that consolidates older bike and pedestrian chapters, emphasizes maintenance and funding, and proposes a toolkit of treatments and policies. Staff and council members asked about NVTA's role in a regional climate action plan, quick-build options, street
Patrick Ban, program lead for the Napa Valley Transportation Authority, presented the countywide active transportation plan and a Saint Helena-specific chapter. He said the plan consolidates earlier county bicycle and pedestrian documents, inventories existing sidewalks and bike facilities, and includes a treatment toolkit and funding strategies to support maintenance: "We initiated a countywide active transportation plan effort to bring those 2 older documents together," Ban said.
Ban described outreach conducted this year, including pop-up events and an online interactive map and survey; he said almost 200 people responded to the survey and that an interactive map would remain open through Oct. 31. He outlined the plan's emphasis on safety, equity, connectivity, maintenance funding and data-driven evaluation. He said the plan will include a constrained project list for near-term implementation and that the NVTA board will see a draft in January or February, with the council discussion to follow in March or April.
Public commenter Chris Warner asked where NVTA had formally approved language in a draft regional climate action plan that lists NVTA as a partner on proposed measures. Ban replied that NVTA was not a formal party to the county climate action authority but is "working closely with county staff" and that he would coordinate with city staff if the council wanted clarification.
Council members asked pragmatic questions about how to implement more bike facilities locally. Ban recommended quick-build approaches (paint and inexpensive vertical elements), traffic calming, and expanded use of low-cost treatments such as class 3 bike boulevards to accelerate implementation while limiting parking impacts. On lighting, Ban said the plan favors pedestrian-scale overhead lighting in key corridors and acknowledges communities with dark-sky policies.
Ban also said the plan recognizes a role for NVTA in helping jurisdictions secure state and federal grants, and that NVTA will tailor a chapter for Saint Helena that the city can adopt and use to nominate projects for competitive funding.
