Capitola council backs widening 41st Avenue study to include Claire Street, mall coordination
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Summary
Council heard a consultant update on the 41st Avenue corridor on Nov. 13 and directed staff to expand the study area to include Claire Street and parts of Capitola Road, coordinate with the mall project and consider a budget amendment to cover the additional scope.
City consultants presenting the 41st Avenue corridor study told the Capitola City Council on Nov. 13 that the corridor serves as a major gateway and that community outreach revealed concerns about safety, multimodal access and the street’s identity.
Daniel Cunningham of SWA summarized outreach results — roughly 197 survey responses and three stakeholder meetings — and presented draft vision goals: multimodal streets, safety, corridor efficiency, economic activation and placemaking. The consultant noted 41st Avenue carries about 40,000 vehicles on the study stretch and identified pedestrian and bicycle conflict hot spots near Highway 1 and Capitola Road.
Councilmembers and members of the public urged the study team to coordinate closely with ongoing Capitola Mall planning and to extend the corridor study to include Claire Street and portions of Capitola Road. Staff estimated the cost to expand the scope would be roughly $55,000–$65,000 and said funding could come from the city’s general plan implementation budget, which has a healthy balance.
"We need to make sure these two documents weave together," the planning director said, referring to the mall project and the corridor study. Several councilmembers asked that staff return with a budget amendment to add Claire Street and the adjacent blocks to the study area, and asked staff to coordinate with mall consultants and Metro on bus stop and circulation planning.
Public commenters urged practical safety measures rather than high‑level imagery, recommended landscaping and raised concerns about rapid lane reductions ('road diet') on a heavily trafficked corridor. Council direction was to return with scope and budget options; no formal vote was required to provide that direction.
Staff said the corridor study will continue to emphasize multimodal safety while accommodating the anticipated changes in land use near the mall, and will return with revised scope and cost estimates.