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 is not comfortable for less‑experienced riders and younger cyclists.

Elliott outlined a tiered approach: short‑term repainting and installation of thermoplastic bike symbols and signs, placement of SHARROW markings on lower‑speed side streets to route cyclists to trailhead parking, and intersection‑focused green paint at conflict points. He estimated the immediate bike facility striping work could be done for “around $100,000 or less.” He flagged sidewalk infill and full ADA upgrades as a major second phase with an estimated cost near $2,000,000 and pedestrian crossing reconfiguration costs he estimated near $100,000, and noted those larger projects would require additional engineering and right‑of‑way work.

Councilor Joel made the motion to implement the striping and the pedestrian crossing enhancements and to fund the work from existing transportation capital funds flagged in the presentation. After a friendly amendment, the motion also directs staff to conduct parking counts in the corridor and to notify and solicit feedback from owners of properties that would lose on‑street parking before moving forward. The motion passed with the following roll‑call: Councilor Rick yes; Councilor Rob yes; Councilor Eric yes; Councilor Indra no; Councilor Joel yes; Councilor Victoria yes.

Elliott said the city has a dedicated capital line (identified in the presentation as TR 6406) that is used for bike‑facility painting and that a traffic calming/bike‑ped capital fund could support pedestrian crossing improvements. He cautioned that sidewalk construction in the Highland area is costly and technically challenging because of hills, retaining walls and utility impacts.

Councilors expressed differing priorities in the discussion leading to the vote: some said the striping was low‑cost, near‑term 'low‑hanging fruit' to create a safe loop connecting new Dollar Mountain trailheads; others, including Councilor Indra, urged caution and more outreach because of potential parking losses in long‑established neighborhoods. The council majority approved the staff direction, with staff instructed to return with design details and community outreach plans.

The council action directs implementation of the striping and crossing upgrades as described, monitoring of parking prior to changes, and additional outreach to affected residents. The city will return to the council with follow‑up designs and any capital project requests for the larger sidewalk infill work.