Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Escondido council approves boost to Safe Routes to School funding, directs larger annual allocation
Summary
The Escondido City Council unanimously approved a one-time $35,000 increase and directed staff to raise the Traffic & Community Safety Commission’s annual allocation from $50,000 to $200,000 (using Measure I funds) to implement priority Safe Routes to School life-safety projects affecting 33 schools.
Escondido’s City Council voted unanimously to boost funding for Safe Routes to School projects and to direct staff to expand the Transportation Commission’s budget for future traffic-safety work.
The council authorized a one-time increase that will allow four near-term traffic-management projects to proceed and directed the city manager to increase the commission’s ongoing annual allocation from $50,000 to $200,000, with the additional amounts identified to come from Measure I funds. Staff said the one-time supplemental request includes $85,000 of project work this fiscal year and that $35,000 of that amount would come from Measure I; the broader life-safety package identified by staff totals about $1.9 million.
Joe Gilart, Escondido’s director of public works, introduced the item and turned the presentation to Craig Williams, the city’s traffic engineering project manager, who described projects prioritized through the Comprehensive Active Transportation Strategy (CATS) and a Safe Routes to School review covering 33 public and charter schools. Williams said the four near-term projects largely involve high-visibility crosswalks, ADA ramp work and similar interventions at specific school-area intersections, including a high-visibility crosswalk proposal for North Ash and Lincoln Avenue and improvements near El Norte and Valley Parkway.
Public commenters including Leila Sackfield and Marianne Dejacque of Compact supported the increased funding, urging the council to pair infrastructure changes with education, enforcement and school partnerships. Sackfield recommended combining physical improvements with training and crossing-guard coordination; Dejacque noted past walk audits and the need for community outreach.
Councilmembers asked staff how projects would be procured and implemented. Williams said small striping and crosswalk projects can be completed by the city’s streets crew, folded into the annual paving program or put out to bid; he also said radar speed feedback signs record speed and count data and that temporary mobile radar units (described as “armadillos”) are used by the police department for short-term monitoring.
Council members emphasized an education component alongside engineering — asking staff to return with specifics about driver and pedestrian education and community rollout. Staff said a more comprehensive funding and program discussion is scheduled for Feb. 25 and a related budget adjustment would come forward on March 4.
The motion to approve the supplemental allocation and to direct the city manager to increase the annual commission allocation passed 5–0; staff referenced the action as approval of “resolution 26 0 7.” The council did not identify any conditions or amendments to the staff recommendation in meeting discussion.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the four near-term projects into the upcoming paving program or bid schedule, return with an education plan and present the larger Safe Routes to School funding package for further council consideration on Feb. 25 and March 4.
