Grants Pass — The City Council voted Dec. 2 to direct staff to move forward with restriping portions of Highland Avenue to provide continuous bike lanes linking two new Dollar Mountain trailheads and to implement pedestrian crossing improvements near Highland Elementary and North Middle School.

The council’s action covers two items presented by Assistant Public Works Director Wade Elliott and the Bikeways & Walkways Committee: (1) restriping to install continuous bike lanes roughly between Sandy Drive and B Street and installing sharrow markings on adjacent lower-speed streets to complete a loop for trail users, and (2) targeted pedestrian crossing upgrades at Morgan and Valley View and other safety-focused traffic‑calming measures. Elliott estimated the bike‑lane painting and symbol work could be done “for around a $100,000 or less,” while full sidewalk infill would be substantially more and was not part of the current motion.

Councilor Joel moved to proceed with the striping and crossing‑improvement items and to ensure staff would contact property owners and monitor on‑street parking before any spaces are removed; Councilor Victoria seconded the motion. During debate, staff and councilors discussed tradeoffs including right‑of‑way limitations, the cost and complexity of a fully separated multimodal path, and the reality of school drop‑off congestion that will continue to affect the corridor.

Roll call: Rick, Rob, Eric, Joel and Victoria voted yes; Indra voted no. The council directed staff to begin implementation of the striping work using existing transportation capital funds identified for bike maintenance, to conduct parking/traffic counts in the coming weeks, and to mail affected properties for input as part of the implementation process.

Why it matters: Highland serves as an arterial route that passes two schools and a growing network of bike trails. Councilors described the approved work as a staged approach: lower‑cost, high‑value striping and signage now; potential sidewalk infill and more intensive reconstruction later if the council elects to fund those projects.

What’s next: Staff will begin monitoring parking usage along the corridor, notify property owners about potential parking removal, and return with refined designs, schedules and contract or in‑house work plans for council review. The council flagged possible grant funding (Safe Routes to School) for later phases.