Grants Pass council directs staff to add bike lanes on Highland Avenue, approve pedestrian crossing upgrades

Grants Pass City Council voted to direct city staff to move forward with restriping Highland Avenue to add continuous bike lanes and to implement targeted pedestrian crossing enhancements aimed at improving safety near Highland Elementary and North Middle School. The action, approved in a roll‑call vote, also directs staff to monitor parking usage in the affected section and to notify property owners before removing on‑street parking.

The decision follows a presentation by Wade Elliott, assistant public works director, and Bob Lang, chair of the bikeways and walkways committee, who described gaps in the corridor where bike lanes stop and where school pickup and drop‑off routinely block existing bike facilities. Elliott said the corridor currently scores a 3 on the Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress scale, meaning it…