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Caltrans presents $38–40 million 'Gateway for Monterey Bay' multimodal proposal; committee raises parking and access questions
Summary
A Caltrans planner outlined an eight‑element, $38–40 million grant application to connect trails and add crossings, a road diet and a roundabout in Seaside and Sand City. Committee members and residents raised concerns about parking, access to Laguna Grande Park and design trade‑offs; project would require environmental review and multi‑jurisdictional implementation if funded.
Kelly McClendon, a transportation planner with Caltrans District 5, told the Traffic Advisory Committee on April 21 that Caltrans and regional partners are developing a grant application dubbed the "Gateway for Monterey Bay" to bring approximately $38–40 million in state funding to improve walking and bicycling connections in Seaside and Sand City.
"We're partnering together as transportation agencies to develop a grant application to bring $40 million or approximately $40 million of state grant funding into the communities of Seaside and Sand City," McClendon said. He described the initiative as eight linked elements that together would close gaps in the active‑transportation network, including trail connections from Laguna Grande Park, crossing improvements at key intersections, a separated multi‑use trail in Sand City, a road diet on Canyon del Rey to reallocate travel lanes for bike and pedestrian use, and a proposed roundabout at Hardcourt to calm traffic and improve crossings.
McClendon emphasized the concept is at the grant application stage and that if awarded the work would proceed through environmental study and detailed project development. "If we get this grant funding, the next thing that we would do would be an environmental study," he said, adding that detailed traffic studies and additional public engagement would follow.
Committee members and residents focused questions on design trade‑offs and local impacts. Several asked whether a proposed roundabout would force relocation of the small Laguna Grande Park parking lot access; McClendon said the parking could be retained but access would likely need to move northwest to avoid entering directly into the roundabout’s circulatory area. Others pressed whether the road diet would increase vehicular delay; McClendon cited national before‑and‑after studies that show road diets and roundabouts reduce collisions and severe injuries even if delay may increase.
Questions about parking and business access surfaced repeatedly. One committee member asked whether the Broadway bike lanes and Canyon Del Rey road diet would reduce on‑street parking; McClendon said some parking conversions could occur but that design and environmental review would study trade‑offs. The presentation makes clear the project would be implemented by multiple jurisdictions — Caltrans would handle the state highway corridor work while the city and neighboring agencies would build local improvements — and that grant administration and partnership are central to competitiveness.
McClendon said the schedule is long: project development and phased implementation would follow a grant award and environmental process, with construction timing dependent on funding and agency schedules. The committee took no formal action on the presentation; members agreed staff should convey their feedback when the item goes to City Council for a possible letter of support.
